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Telescopes & Spotting Scopes

We stock the best spotting scopes and telescopes in the industry; designed and tested for easy use and to a high calibre for both beginners and experts.

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FREE DELIVERY ON ORDERS OVER £50

Free Same day dispatch on orders placed before 3pm*

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49–60 results

What is the difference between spotting scopes and telescopes?

Everything about telescopes is designed to maximise your long-range viewing of space and the night sky. Telescopes have a large optical tube for more light gathering, intense magnification capabilities for viewing things millions of lightyears away and an angled viewing lens for comfort. However, all this makes telescopes quite heavy and large, which means they are not very portable and almost impossible for terrestrial viewing.

For terrestrial viewing, such as nature observation, this is where spotting scopes shine over telescopes.

The magnification is much lower and will not work well at night however the image quality due to the precision glass elements is much higher.

This means that you can get exceptional close-up views of nature from great distances.

Although these spotting scopes are optimised for terrestrial observation, they will offer fantastic views of the moon. Spotting scopes can be configured in have straight or angled viewing depending on your needs, However, if you want to view more of the night sky and astronomy telescopes are much more suitable.

Whether you prefer straight telescopes to follow fast-moving objects or  angled telescopes for maximum comfort when observing for long periods of time – we have a range of new, used or ex-demo telescopes to suit your needs.

Our range of state-of-the-art telescopes provides clear and quality images. Choose either straight telescopes or angled telescopes from industry experts Kowa, Swarovski, Leica and Viking Optical.

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We have numerous good quality telescopes for sale that are easy to use at any level. Specifications on our telescopes vary but generally fit loosely into three size categories: 50mm objective lenses with a typical zoom magnification range of around 12x-36x, 60mm or 65mm with a zoom range 15x-45x, and 80mm+ with zoom range 20x-60x.

Image quality and any other criteria such as size, weight, and budget. There is no substitute for trying out a telescope to find the perfect fit.

Other than the three size telescopes listed above, it's worth bearing in mind that to get the best possible viewing, some form of extra support will be necessary (ideally a tripod) as the high magnification is impossible to hand hold.

With its higher magnification, telescopes are very useful for more distant observation but due to the narrow field of view that makes finding closer and more fleeting subjects difficult. Nature enthusiasts would recommend binoculars to have enough magnification for most of your wildlife encounters, as well as being the more popular choice the majority of the time.
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