Barska Gladiator 25-75x100 Waterproof Straight Spotting Scope w/Tripod by Barska
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Digital camera reviews of Barska Gladiator 25-75x100 Waterproof Straight Spotting Scope w/Tripod
Digital camera Review: I like it but...
Summary: 4 Stars
I guess I'll start with the nice things.
- It seems to pretty sharp throughout its zoom range (caveats below).
- The construction seems reasonably solid. It doesn't feel flimsy. The body is rigid and nothing rattles if you shake it.
- Unlike other reviews I've seen, I like the built-in lens shade. I've had a number of camera lenses with shades and this one is pretty hefty/solid by comparison.
- With a 100mm front element, this thing is BRIGHT! When you turn the zoom to max, this scope is as bright or brighter than an average scope is at its minimum zoom.
I'll go ahead and say the one really bad thing I have to say about the scope: the tripod that comes with it is utter, absolute, inconceivable JUNK! I saw similar comments in other reviews and I can only say that I don't think any of them went far enough when it came to bashing that tripod! When you open the box, grab the tripod and throw it into the nearest trash can and never waste another thought on it. If they paid more than $1 for it, I'd be amazed! Mine was broken when I got it and even if it hadn't been, it would never hold up this scope.
This next bit isn't necessarily bad, but it is critical: this scope is HUGE!! The pictures do NOT properly convey its size. Without the lens hood extended, it is 19 and 3/4 inches long and the outside diameter of the front is just shy of 5 inches. The product page says 9 pounds and you should believe it. The problem with this is the weight distribution. This scope is VERY front-heavy and they did not put the tripod mount under the center of gravity so you constantly have to deal with the consequences of that design decision.
Have you ever taken a ruler and clamped one end of it to a desk so that you could pluck the other end and make it vibrate? That's what this scope is like on a tripod. It is so front-heavy that it puts a lot of twisting force (torque) on the head of the tripod and therefore puts the whole tripod under tension. Consequently, it vibrates and jiggles at the slightest touch. It will even vibrate when someone walks past the tripod (depending on the surface you're on).
If you need a scope for something that requires constant resetting of the scope, you may want to go for some other scope. I bought mine to use primarily as a spotting scope at the rifle range so this isn't a big issue for me. I also have a fairly heavy duty Bogen professional photography tripod from my days as a photographer and while it has no problem with the weight, even it vibrates a lot with this scope. It all comes back to their (crazy) decision to not put the tripod mount under the center of gravity. If they had done that right, then at least the tuning-fork-like vibration problem would be eliminated.
This finally brings me back to sharpness. It doesn't matter whether this lens is sharp or not if it's vibrating. You can't see much of anything while that is going on. When it does settle, though, it seems be as sharp as I can ask for. I live in Atlanta so there is always enough humidity and/or haze to wash out colors and details even at two hundred yards. And at that distance, wind and heat shimmer also interfere with resolving detail so at this point the best I can say is it looks sharp to me. If you focus on something close enough to eliminate those factors (say 100 feet or less), it is very sharp and seems to have good color saturation and contrast.
Now that I'm thinking about it, I should probably say more about brightness. For those that may not know, any zoom lens of any type will always look darker as you go from minimum zoom to maximum zoom. At max zoom (75x), this scope is still as bright as the naked eye. It is great at twilight. You can look at birds or animals in brush after the sun has gone down and have no problem at all seeing every detail. The flip side of that coin is that it is very bright at min zoom (25x) in bright sunlight. If you use this in bright sunlight with a scene that is mostly light colors (i.e. white sand), then your eyes will probably start hurting in short order. For anything less extreme, you can probably tolerate it.
Misc.
- It has very short eye relief (I think that's the right term). In other words, you have to have your eye very close to the eye piece to see the full image. If you wear glasses and for some reason can't use a scope without them, you will not be able to use this scope. And considering the brightness of this scope, that also goes for sun glasses.
- It is supposed to be "waterproof" but I will not ever willingly test that claim. :) For what it's worth, I did see one reviewer who said he left it on his deck over-night and the dew didn't seem to effect it.
In summary, I'm pretty happy with the scope but it may not be for everyone.
Digital camera Review: Lots of light and detail for not much $$$
Summary: 5 Stars
I already had a 20-60x field scope with a 65mm objective lens, but found it wanting in early evening lower light (often when bears and wolves become more active), so was looking for a lower cost option. After a fair amount of research, this scope seemed to be the ticket. We have had it out on a number of trips and it works well. The key element is a very stable tripod for it. When one is at 75x magnification, a little bit of anything can make a lesser tripod shake, which means the image isn't too good, either. We haven't been on an outing where others had high dollar scopes, too, but our other scope in decent light held it's own. This one is taking in so much more light, it's no comparison better.Digital camera Review: One large problem
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased this product online at Amazon on October 8th as a Christmas gift for my husband. It is the above Barska Spotting scope. It arrived in reasonable time and showed no signs of damage. It was given to my husband on Christmas Day where we were disappointed to see that the eye piece was completely broken off. Not the glass part, but the plastic that surrounded it, making it unusable. We wrote to Amazon immediately, wanting to exchange the broken one for a new one. The only response I got was that I was past the date of returns and therefore would have to pay for shipping back, half the original cost of the scope or buy a brand new one and they would reimburse me for whatever amount they thought apporpriate. This was quite a surprise considering the $1000.00's of dollars I have spent with Amazon over the years. It was a Christmas gift and I had no reason to think I should open it, knowing full well that many items (C.D.'c, DVD's, Books etc.) are not returnable if opened. Is there any other result we can expect that replaces an unusuable scope with one that works? I spent many hours researching scopes and this was the one I had chosen. Any help would be appreciated.
Sincerely, Karen Glenn
Digital camera Review: Outstanding Buy
Summary: 5 Stars
I sure am not an expert and this is my first spotting scope, yet after doing the research and owning a pair of 8 x 42 Barska binoculars (I love) I pulled the trigger on this scope. I am delighted with it especially compared to its competition that is pricey. Here I feel it is a great bang for the buck scope. It is clear and stable and sees birds close(10M) as well as far (1 KM) for hawks. I even left the Gladiator out and while it was covered with rain and dew, a quick wipe off and no damage. The stand could be improved, but as for the scope I am very happy.Digital camera Review: Pleased with this scope
Summary: 5 Stars
Eye relief is long enough for me to see the entire field of view while wearing my glasses. Zoom plays well with the exit pupil diameter. Focus knob requires lots of turning but allows for some fine adjustments. The action is very smooth and precise. Optics are top notch.
This is a straight line scope, so it is not the best for pointing upwards at the sky. Best for the terrestrial viewing it is designed for. You can still view objects near the horizon pretty conveniently, however. The lens gathers so much light it is almost hard to look at the full moon on a clear night.