SVBONY SV28 Spotting Scope

Amazing value for the money paid. Impressed at the image quality at this price point – PLEASE NOTE, this is for the SV28 PLUS, which has a few upgrades from the SV28 including larger upgraded eyepiece and sturdier lens caps. Bought the SVBONY SV28 PLUS (20-60x80) as my first spotting scope primarily for the kids to look at the moon and wildlife on a family trip we will be taking to Cobram in the next month. From what I could find… Read more

online which was mainly for the SV28 and not the PLUS version which i purchased, the lens caps at both ends have been improved. The lens cap on the 80mm objective lens is similar to my cannon DSLR, where you pinch the middle to release the cap which appears to be ABS plastic. The Plus also has a twist up eyecup and i believe the non plus has a fold up eyecup.

Only used mine for a few days in various conditions. Can't fault it for the price. surprisingly clear focus during day/lowlight at 20x magnification. Enough light transmitted at 20x to line up the object you are aiming for but find it harder to fully dial in the focus knob. I'm happy with the brightness at 60x, even in low light conditions I was still able to see the object with good detail.

I haven't used the camera mount yet which was included as it appears to be too small for the eyecup. I may have to remove an o-ring in the camera mount as it was provided with it preinstalled.

I will try and come back in a month or so with some photos taken through the camera mount from the trip im going on and provide more info then including if I note any chromatic aberrations from higher ranges of magnification.

For reference i purchased this for $118 on ebay (with a 20% code) including postage.

Pros > very good quality for the money > clear in all light situations at 20x. found it harder to focus in lowlight/dark surroundings at 60x > 80mm objective lens paired with a 23mm eyecup meant i didnt have any issues with light transmission > relatively light considering the size > SV Plus upgrades of the lens caps and eye piece seem a lot sturdier than the standard SV28

Cons > phone mount seems too small/tight for the upgraded eyecup for the PLUS. > tripod is flimsy. Would suggest you supply your own. It has a standard 1/4 screw so any camera tripod will work. > focus know was a little stiff when first out of the box. Seems fine now. Hopefully doesnt loosen any further to a point where it moves itself when out in the field.

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UPDATE 5/7/24

I have had the scope about a month now and still very impressed with it. A few extra points below: > As expected the tripod itself that is included isn't great, but fine if you have nothing else. > The camera mount ended up being able to be used if you remove the internal rubber ring on the phone mount. It is lightly glued in but easily pulled out. > Picture quality at 20x is excellent. At higher magnifications the quality is still very good, but requires a bit more play with the focus knob. > At 40x-50x magnification the chromatic distortion becomes more apparent if the image contains a lot of blue hues. > Low light performance was great.

I attached 3 pictures below. An image of a Koala I encountered in the trees at 20x zoom The same Koala at the end of a hike about 30min before sundown (40x zoom) and one of where the koala was with respect to where I was. Image was actually a lot clearer than the pictures I took. I had forgotten to bring the phone mount, so took those pictures holding the phone against the eyecup which isn't easy.