| | |  | Celestron | Home » » » Celestron 52247 Ultima 65ED 45 Degree Spotting Scope | | | | | | | Description: | | 65mm (2.6") diameter 45° angled refracting spotting scope, waterproof, 386mm focal length (f/5.9), multi-coated optics, low dispersion ED glass, 16-48x zoom eyepiece, sighting tube, soft case. | | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 19.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 8.0 inches | | Product Height:
| 7.0 inches | | Package Length:
| 17.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.7 inches | | Package Height:
| 5.5 inches | | Package Weight:
| 4.1 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 4 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 Best value for this classMar 20, 2010
I don't think you can find a better value for this class of scope. Great quality and performance. I left off a star because the zoom has a narrow field and goes out of focus when zooming (normal for an inexpensive zoom?). But the quality of the image is still very good for the price and many other eyepieces are available. It comes with a great case that can stay on while viewing but the scope is waterproof according to the manufacturer. I'm very happy with the purchase and with Amazon's service.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Ultimate choice for archeryMar 08, 2010
I bought one of these specifically for archery where you need to clearly identify the colors of tiny arrow vanes at 90m shooting distance. I am replacing a Bausch&Lomb Discoverer 15-60x 60mm spotting scope that lacked image quality at anything above 15X amplification.
This spotting scope combines waterproofing, 45deg. angled eye sight, very good image quality and good size for a reasonable price.
I have a perfect eye sight so I can say that starting at 16x amplification the image is as good as it can be - very comfortable eye relief, easy focus, good colors, good contrast, outstanding details and textures... I really can't see any defects on the image.
Adding zoom to, say 36x the field of view expands and I have to get my eye closer to the ocular to see the entire image. The focus is more difficult to adjust but the image is basically at the same quality.
Going up to 48x zoom increases size of the objects but I would say does not really add more details. There is a barely detectable color fringe that can be seen on some edges and the image seems to loose overall contrast but still very good details resolution.
Bottom line, at amplifications as high as 48x there are other factors that play an important role on the image, such as refraction from the atmosphere, minimal shaking of the spotting scope due to the wind, more sensible focus and difficulty positioning the head steady. I would say that probably spending high money on a Leica or other very high end spotting scope would not really add much of overall image quality due to these factors just listed. If you are considering for photography there could be some improvement though.
Another thing, this spotting scope is not small but it is very portable. Consider portability issues if you are thinking of an Ultima 80 or 100mm. The 80mm is fairly big and wouldn't be suitable for a shooting line. It seems the 100mm is some kind of monster.
I have not compared this one with the non-ED model but I bet the ED lenses pays off. I was really well impressed with the overall image quality of this model.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Celestron Ultima 65 EDNov 13, 2009
I have owned a variety of Celestron products over the years and also a variety of spotting scopes from the $50 Barskas all the way up to $2100 Zeiss. Celestron continues to produce superb optical instruments for a fraction of the price of their performance level. I have owned the Celestron Regal F-ED in both 65 and 80 mm versions and the inexpensive non-ED Celestron Ultima 65. All were impressive. The Celestron Ultima ED 65 is equally so. For $300 you can get an image that is practically free from color fringing at all magnifications. Yes, some refocusing (non-parfocal) is required as you move through the zoom range but it is minimal.
Image quality is excellent though at any price...
- Reasonably bright image
- Very sharp
- low chromatic aberration
- excellent edge sharpness
- excellent color representation
- good contrast
Physically....
- the scope is lightweight
- all parts seem to be well put together
- focusing knob functions very smoothly and precisely
Negatives you ask? Well....
1. As mentioned above the scope does not accept standard 1.25 inch astro eyepieces. The fit is very close though and I am determined to find an adapter somewhere that will allow this combination. The 1.25 inch eyepieces that I have tried in the scope (you can put them in the body but they aren't "attached" in any way) all seem to reach focus at infinity so there isn't a compatability issue from an optical standpoint. It is just the physical connection issue.
2. There was some excessive "lubricant" on the outside of the scope body upon arrival. I have found this issue with several optics that I have purchased over the years but don't really have an explanation for it.
Lastly, though you cannot use 1.25 astro eyepieces with the scope you can use the Baader Hyperion zoom as the Baader comes with a special adapter mount. You can use the Baader with any "Synta/Celestron" spotter (all of the Ultima and Ultima EDs). The factory supplied zoom is very good in terms of the image it provides. The only drawback is the narrow field of view found on many standard zoom eyepieces (40 degree-60 degree apparent FOV). The Baader takes the image to a new level by increasing the apparent field of view from over 50 degrees at 20x all the way up to about 70 degrees at the 8 mm (approximate 45x) setting. Edge sharpness, color representation, light transmission are all excellent. So, for $300 (scope) and $200 (Baader zoom) you can have a spotting scope that comes close to rivaling scopes that cost in excess of $1000. That is pretty impressive in my book.
I certainly recommend this scope with or without the Baader zoom. It is certainly a bargain!
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Nice small scope, little chromatic aberrationsJul 03, 2008
Buying this spotting scope was kind of a hit or miss, as I couldn't find any review at all, on any website.
The reviews of the non ED version were pretty positive, so I decided to take my chance and buy it.
Pros:
1. Very portable (small, not too heavy).
2. Very little purple fringing.
3. Waterproof and fog proof.
4. The cheapest ED scope on the market (you can get it for about 330 USD).
5. The focus knob is easy to use, and allows for fine focusing, but it can be moved very fast as well.
6. Good resolution at all the zoom levels (you will need to refocus after changing the zoom).
7. It has a T-Ring adapter in the eye piece, allowing you to connect a DSLR camera to it. But see the cons too.
Cons:
1. You can not use 1.25" eyepieces! This is really annoying, because the eyepiece it comes with is just maybe 1mm smaller than the standard 1.25" format used by a lot of telescopes and spotting scopes. 1.25" eye pieces can give you a lot of flexibility and better quality that a zoom eye piece can not give you. That's the main reason why I give it 4 stars.
2. The T-Ring adapter is at the end of the eye piece, so you can not use prime focus. Instead, you have to use eye piece projection. Now, the problem with the eye piece projection in this particular set up is that at the minimum zoom you will get severe vignetting. To get rid of the vignetting you have to go all the way to 48x zoom, and that's way too dark for a camera. Even at ISO 1600 I had to have a shutter speed of 1/40.
Long rant:
After using it for a few days, and 'benchmarking' it with other spotting scopes, I am pretty happy with my purchase.
Since I do not have a resolution chart, I took a medicine bottle with small writting on it (the letters were about 2 mm), placed it ~25 meters away, and looked at it with my Celestron C90 Mak, this spotting scope, and a Yukon 100x100 (not mine). Ufortunately, I didn't have access to a similar sized spotting scope, so the test was a little unfair.
The Yukon couldn't fully zoom in at such a close distance. The text was, however, readable, but there was a lot of purple fringing.
The C90, with a 15mm eye piece (80x zoom), could also resolve those small letters, but not as good as the Yukon. There was very little purple firinging, which is normal because the main elements are two mirrors.
Finally, with the Ultima 65ED, the text was unreadable at maximum zoom. I am not sure if this is due to not being able to zoom in enough, or because of the lack of resolution. The purple fringing was pretty similar with the C90 (very little).
Testing all 3 spotting scopes with some real life scene (for example looking at a field 2KM away) had similar results, the big guys won, which I pretty much expected. However, the Ultima 65ED was pretty close, and under most of the real life circumstances you really don't need more than 48 zoom.
My overall recommendation is to buy it if you need a nice portable scope that you can take with you wherever you go, including on plane trips.
But if you do not plan to take it with you anywhere, and would like to have some fun looking at the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter, more zoom, and the ability to use different eye pieces, then get the C90 Mak (which is 150 bucks cheaper). If you have more money to spend, probably the best thing to do is to go to a brick and mortar store and compare try all kind of scopes until you can find the best one for your money. But in its price range, I think you will have a hard time finding something better.
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