Barska Gladiator 25-75x100 Waterproof Straight Spotting Scope W/tripod

		O ring sealed for complete waterproof protection and Dry nitrogen purged and sealed to prevent fogging clouding and moisture damage Multi coated optics and massive objective lens increases light gathering ability thus delivering brighter images in low light conditions 4 New From  $ 235.00
Similar Products
Barska Digiscoping Adaptor
Dolica AX620B100 62-Inch Proline Tripod and Ball Head
Barska Deluxe Tripod Extendable to 63.4" w/Carrying Case
BARSKA Telescoping Digi Adaptor
Barska Car Window Mount
Customer Reviews
Big Scope 2010-04-02 I bought this scope for wildlife viewing. I didn't realize how large this thing is. Trying to mount this scope on a tripod is like mounting a canon on a step ladder. It is best used on a car window mount. I suggest only using it on a hand cranked window. I made an adapter For my tripod that works like a window. Using a piece of aluminum angle 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 3/8" x 3 1/2". I drilled and taped It to match the treads on my tripod after the ball mount was removed. It works good though not as steady as a car window. The tripod that came with it is in no way suited for this scope. It would instead be a nice miniature tripod for a camera. The carrying case is nice,but the eye piece dust cover is junk. Lastly the optics are at best only fare. As you approach 75 power the image gets a little blurry. But the money is not bad. all and all, I am satisfied. Too want better is to pay more.
Excellent value 2010-03-11 NOT a field scope, more a living room scope, but excellent for that purpose. Focus and zoom controls are easy, precise and smooth. Optical performance: clear, sharp and bright at all magnifications, and with much less loss of sharpness and light than with other zoom scopes I have tried; eye relief is wonderful for eyeglass wearers, and with a bad astigmatism I am particularly sensitive to this; spherical aberration is excellent, almost absent; chromatic aberration is apparent in very bright conditions at about 50x if the eyepiece moves relative to your eye, but if the scope is held steady it is very acceptable. Construction seems solid, although not sufficiently so for the outdoors. Again I would never attempt to use this heavy scope in the field, and that is purely because of its weight (it has a huge objective lens, which is why I bought it), and the magnification level which means you must have it very steady (this would be true of a $2000 scope of this power too). If this had been a $2000 scope, then it might have gained only 3 or 4 stars from me, but for $240 from Amazon it fully deserves 5 stars. The tripod: NEVER use it for this scope, although it's fine for a much lighter scope. I have an old Velbon tripod that is very solid, and works just fine, but you MUST be careful when using this scope with any tripod, and that is purely because of the weight. Not clamping the vertical axis control will likely lead to it crashing down against the tripod. For that reason I would also suggest that this scope is only suitable for adult use. I would recommend acquiring a tripod with ball bearings on the horizontal axis, which means a more expensive tripod, but I do not believe that a tripod without ball bearings would be usable with this scope's weight. Barska have apparently addressed the problem of not having the tripod adapter at the equilibrium point by adding an extra plastic distance piece that moves the swing point forward. The plastic piece appears delicate, so another reason not to use the scope in the field, or to carry it around a lot. Finally, if you want a permanent, high power observation scope for your living room window or veranda, with brilliant performance under low light conditions, this is for you. If you want a field scope, or one for pre-teens to use, look elsewhere.
Broke minutes after taking it out of the box 2010-02-26 I recently received this scope from [...] and immediately took it out to test it. Upon choosing a target and a magnification I attempted to focus the zoom and ended up breaking the nob off of the scope. Upon investigation it looked like the zoom focus was glued against the adjustment axle, instead of bolted, or made a single piece. To say the least I was amazed of how quickly this product broke, I hope this was a manufacturing defect and not the norm. Either way I will not be purchasing items from this manufacturer again, opticsale has offered to replace it... we will see how that goes.
One large problem 2010-01-17 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
Barska Gladiattor 25-75X100 2009-12-27 We have a lot of Deer around my town and Eagles.While I have a pair of Glasses 10X50 they still are a bit away from us.So I purchased these hoping to bring them in closer,it sure does,I can not say enough about the extra light at dusk they bring in, the Deer look very nice at this range....This Scope is very heavy,you will need a good tripod to rest it on.The dinky one it comes with just will not handle it.