Celestron Ultima 65 18 to 55x65 Straight Spotting Scope, Green, 52249, 18-55x65mm

I bought the Celestron Ultima 65 (Straight) after looking at other modestly priced spotting scopes for use while target shooting. I looked at Tasco, Bushnell, and Barska models as well. In the same $100 price range as this scope most scopes feature a 60mm objective lens and are rated for 20-60x zoom. I like the fact that this scope only tries to give you 18-55x zoom because frankly, most scopes in this price range at max zoom are nearly useless. The little Celestron is an exception however as it is completely usable at maximum zoom and I attribute that to a larger objective (65mm), better quality glass, and a more reasonable maximum rating.Viewing objects around my neighborhood I quickly decided that in bright daylight there is no doubt this scope will work just fine for me on the 200 yard rifle range that I usually shoot at. Were I shooting longer range I would not have been looking at $100 optics but as I said the scope performs well at 55x. I viewed the moon with it (a bit of a torture test for inexpensive optics) and while it certainly exhibits some color when out of focus it performed amazingly well when in focus. I noted that one does wind up right up on the glass at maximum zoom with very little eye relief (I found my eye glasses uncomfortable to use at maximum zoom) but, again, at least the image was still usable and at more modest zooms it's very comfortable to use. It comes with a T-mount adapter that will allow one to use the scope for photography and at modest magnifications with modest expectations it will work well if pressed into service for this but, frankly, you should be looking at the better ED line of scopes if you're shopping for a photographic tool.The scope is small, very light, and seems well made. The optics look to be well coated. It comes with a handy carrying case that you can zip over the scope while it is mounted on a tripod, but it does not come with any sort of tripod and others in this price range do. This is a good thing in my view because I suspect that it means that more money went into the glass and construction.In short, I was pleasantly surprised and I found this scope to be the pick of the litter when it comes to inexpensive 60-65mm objective spotting scopes that I tested. Some in this price range (or perhaps $20 less expensive) were just terrible. For the money I don't think you can go wrong with this scope but please do make sure that it's the size that you really need. If you're going to spend more time at 50-60x and less at 15-30x you may wish to spend more and get better brightness and perhaps more eye relief with another scope that features a larger objective and/or better glass.

Bought this on sale. The quality for such budget exceeds my expectation. Light weight as well. On fair weather, the optics is clear at 18mm. When zoom in to the max, the view becomes limited to only the centre of eye piece being clear and you will need to readjust the focus. Used it for birding and useful for shorebirds observation. Overall, quality is acceptable given the low budget spent. Value for money.

I was on the fence of spending the money and getting a Vortex spotting scope. The main reason why is because Vortex has a lifetime warranty on their products. You break it for whatever reason, they'll replace it for free. But that Vortex spotting scope was about $400. I figured since I normally try to take care of my stuff and don't thrash it, I'd take my chances on the more less expensive Celestron spotting scope ($139).I would mainly use the spotting scope for when I sight in a rifle and occasionally get a closer look at some of the wildlife in my backyard. Maybe look at the moon. So my use of the spotting scope would be minimal.I received my spotting scope and played with it the next day. I was impressed. The optics were clear. I was happy. I can see airplanes land about 10 miles away. It was getting shaky and fuzzy that far away but I can see them. I'd never really use them that far but that goes to show how powerful this spotting scope is and it's clear.I also ordered an Amazon brand 60 inch tripod. It's a must have if you're going to use this spotting scope. It'll be less shaky compared to just holding it with your hand. I'd buy it again if I had to.

I own/have owned a number of optically excellent high end Celestron items and this item just turned out to be a disappointment. I bought this primarily to observe a bird feeder in our backyard, about 50 yards away. Here's what I didn't like:* Narrow apparently field of view of eyepiece. I'd be surprised if the apparent field of view exceeded 35 degrees. Modern *cheap* eyepieces routinely have 50+ degrees AFOV (expensive ones can go up significantly more). This coupled with a fairly high power and an utterly unusable "finder scope" makes target location difficult.* Optics don't support powers above 20x: the view gets dim, fuzzy and chromatic aberration effects start to become apparent in the form of purple fringing. Now, there's not much you can do about chromatic aberration without using more expensive ED glass, but having powers up to 55 in this scope is just not a good idea. If this scope were supplied with two good quality non-zoom eyepieces, topping out at, say, 30x, this would be a more realistic spotter.* There's an adaptor ring to connect to a T-ring to allow projection imaging using a DSLR, such as a Canon Rebel. This has to be a cruel joke perpetrated by bored workers in the factory. People with cataracts probably see better than the image formed in this way. Perhaps using afocal imaging (using a camera with a lens attached peering into the eyepiece) may give better results but I didn't try as I didn't have the right adaptor for my older Nikon 4500.* The adaptor ring is to be attached to the eyepiece by removing the rubber guard, exposing the threads underneath, and screwing it in. Once you further screw the adaptor into a DSLR T-ring, the adaptor ring get stuck in the eyepiece and needs extreme measures to loosen.But it's not all bad:* Decent image quality IF you stay at 18x and no more* Lightweight* Excellent coatings on the lenses and eyepiece* Nice carrying case.I really wanted to like this spotter but since the primary objective of the spotter isn't fulfilled, I'm regretfully giving it 2 stars.

I recently purchased this scope to use for long range shooting. For my purposes, having to be able to see a .3" hole in paper at long distance, Quality of glss was the most important feature. I decided to order the Celestron Ultima 65 on a recommmendation from another shooter. I wasn't sure if I was going to be happy with it, since most shooters agree a much more expensive optic is needed for long range. I must say I was very impressed, as were some of the other shooters at the range. Most were competitive shooters and former military. They all thought it was "amazingly good glass" for the price. Most Spotters look good at min. magnification, but if you turn them up to full mag, they are useless. With this scope, I was able to easily see my .308 bullet holes at 200 yds and beyond. I could sometimes see hits at 300 yds if the wind was low. In my opinion that's pretty darn good for a budget spotter. The eye relief was almost non existent at 55x, but other than that, I'm very happy with this scope, and would definitely recommend it to someone who is not looking to spend $300-500 on a spotter. There are certainly better optics available, but not for this price.