Swarovski 30x Wide Angle Spotting Scope Eyepiece

Perhaps 90% of the time, a 30X fixed power ocular is the optimal choice for birding. This gives a substantial jump over what one can see with even an 10X binocular, while most of the time, greater than 30X only magnifies heat shimmer. The very wide field this ocular offers at 30X matches or exceeds what most zoom oculars would show at 20X, including even the current Swarovski 20-60X. Sharpness is superb, as is contrast. Eye relief, including for someone with very thick eyeglasses, is excellent. The one potential alternative, but likely to be more expensive, will be the Swarovski 25-50X pending for later in 2009. Occasionally, one would be able to use the 31-50X powers with that, but particularly for the smaller ATS65 series, the 30X likely remains that best choice, and one I have not regretted since I acquired it along with my ATS65HD several years ago.