For the price you pay the image is not that great.

I'm not an expert on optics, by any means, but I can tell you this, for the price this can't be beat. At the highest magnification you lose some light and clarity, but I've been using this up to 700m and it is clear and flawless. If you have unlimited resources, spend $2k on fancy glass, if your budget is more down to earth, this is arguably the best use of them.

The quality of the scope itself is simply unbelievable. You can actually see .17 holes at 100 m without strain of the eyes. My only concern is similar to others - the scope mount it came with is kind of weird quality. It has amazing micro controls, so you can fine-tune scope at largest settings, but keeping scope in place with this mount is serious challenge - it feels like it always tends to fall on a side which is annoying. Yet, this is amazing purchase for very reasonable price.

Rating: 4 of 5 starsFirst one I received appeared to have issues witheye relief and sharpness of focus. Replacementlooks good; I tested it with Jupiter (night sky)and saw the two gray bands across the disk clearly.On a bird watching trip (main use for the 'scope)other people who viewed birds through their telescopesand through the Alpen remarked how clear the imageappeared to them and how wide the view was. It lookslike this one is a winner.Why not 5 stars? I'm not absolutely certain I get the imageas much sharply detailed as I would like. But I'm not yetcertain how much of that has been atmospheric "heat shimmer".I intend to do more comparison viewing through this 'scopeand 'scopes other people have (which cost much more) to seehow much more fine detail I can see in their images, if any.Other possible negative for some people: this is a large'scope with the 80mm objective lens; some people might prefera smaller, less heavy, less bukly 'scope for carrying aroundin the field. But I like the extra size for the extralight-gathering in low light level conditions; this gives ita bit more versatility in a wide variety of conditions.Packaging: both telescopes appeared undamaged in shipping;the boxes were easy to deal with and to pack/unpack. Noproblems there.Recommending to other people: so far, the 'scope itself hasbeen doing the recommending to other bird watchers. I'll seeif it continues to do well in comparisons in future tripswith other bird watchers and their 'scopes. I will point outthe lower purchase cost to anyone interested. There have beena couple of reviews rating it a very good buy for the money,and I have at present no reason to disagree.On a personal note - I don't really have much use for thelittle table-top tripod that came with the telescope;I separately ordered a full-size tripod to use with thetelescope in the field for bird watching.If Amazon could work out a "deal" with Alpen to get the'scope alone without the tripod for a cheaper price, thatwould actually be a better deal for people like me.But I did get a significantly better price through Amazonthan was offered through other internet vendors.No real complaint - just a possible option someone atAmazon might consider if feasible.- PW

I've been researching spotting scopes for months now, and thought I'd found the perfect combination of price, value, and optics - but it was not to be. I was encouraged by the positive reviews I'd read on this scope from several sources, as well as the endorsements from major magazines' gear reviews. After using he scope for a few days, I feel betrayed.The first harbinger of trouble was when I unpacked the scope, and part of the tripod just fell apart. Now, I knew the tripod wasn't going to be bulletproof, and that it was a light-duty included accessory that would require gentle handling, but REALLY? It couldn't even make it out of the package before failing?I realize that any scopes less than German optics like Zeiss and Leica are going to be made in China, Korea, or the Philippines. This was born out upon opening the box and being assaulted with that nauseating smell of Chinese rubber and plastic. Ever been in a Harbor Freight Tools store? Same smell. I'd hoped that paying what this scope cost would ensure a little better fit and finish than the $59 versions at the local discount sporting goods store, but everything about it screams "cheap import..." Crappy cardboard box, poorly made case, and that smell, that nauseating smell.But it's supposed to be about the optics, right? So let's see how it performs. Be forewarned, the scope is heavy. While this gives it a solid feel, it's impossible to secure on any average tripod such that it doesn't vibrate and quiver if so much as breathed on.I knew eye relief would be a problem since I wear glasses, but at the higher powers the exit pupil is really hard to align. I'm used to dropping my glasses to use most optics, but at anything above 20X moving your eye any fraction from the centerline of the eyepiece cause you to lose the field of vision instantly. It's a game of trying to find the sweet spot to be able to actually see through the scope.The focus knob, while smooth and easy to turn, requires about a dozen turns from close focus to infinity. Since I wanted this scope for both shooting range use as well as birding, that's a major problem since the Ring-Necked ducks I was trying to observe weren't inclined to sit still while I fiddled with the focus for 30 seconds trying to get things even close.A peek inside the objective end with a flashlight revealed a scarily crude quality of construction internally. Rough nuts and bolts, gobbed with black paint.The "soft carrying case" is a crude canvas bag with no padding, but the dealbreaker is that the zipper is on the BOTTOM of the case! You have pack everything in and turn it over, then if you're carrying it by the shoulder strap and the zippers aren't closed well, your scope falls out the bottom.If I'd paid $100 for this scope, I'd have resigned myself to having to live with these shortcomings for the price paid. But at over 3X that, I feel like like I was badly misled.I can't imaging this being anyone's "best buy," and I can't imagine that a hundred dollar option could be any worse. I'll never be able to swing a Leica scope, and I'm disappointed to find that everything in the sub-$500 range is just junk.

This is my first spotting scope, and although I have no prior experience with one, I am very happy with the Alpen 20-60x80 overall. I had been using 10X50 binoculars as an amateur birdwatcher and didn't realize until now how much more visual close up the spotting scope provides.I wear glasses and like the eye relief which allows me to use the scope without having to remove them (with my binoculars, I always had to remove them). In fact, the large eye relief allowed me to hold my cell phone camera up to it and take a picture. It came out pretty good. The Alpen 20-60x80 specs are accurate and should be well understood so as not to expect more or less for this instrument. I was very impressed with the well made desk-top tripod that came with the scope. Also, the scope was packaged with great care and came in a soft carry case.I did a simple test of the scope using a target at 215 feet away with the scope set at 60X. The basketball-sized object filled the field of view at about 75-80%. I was pleased with the closeness and clarity (late afternoon sun light).Because I am not a serious user of a spotting scope, I could not justify buying a more expensive one. But I didn't want to spend less money on a cheaper scope and have it lack what the Alpen 20-60x80 provides.I feel I got more than my monies worth.