Celestron Ultima 80mm Spotting Scope Review (20-60x)

  • By: Sana Ijaz

Have you ever missed an excellent glassing sight because your scope’s lens got foggy? If yes, you’re in the right place. 

The Celestron ultima 80mm spotting scope is a revolutionary glass that will make your adventures more fun and memorable. Celestron is a name well-admired amongst the glassers due to its emphasis on quality, comfort, and affordability. 

This Celestron Ultima 80mm spotting scope review was inevitable since most glassers aren’t well-aware of this glass’s features and are doubtful of its capability. We always strive to equip you with advanced knowledge of different glassing equipment; if you want to look inside this premium-quality spotting scope, read on!

Celestron Ultima – the ultimate fit for high-end glassing

If you are in a hurry, click here to check Celestron ultima 80mm spotting scope price on Amazon.

Celestron ultima produces razor-sharp imagery and never lets you miss a worth-seeing view. Its eyepiece is angled at 45 degrees that enhances your comfort and helps you maintain a straight back. As extended glassing is always exhausting, you can leave your ultima spotting scope on its stable tripod and rest a bit.

Its reliable rubber armor protects the bak4 prism system and 80mm large lens from external harms. Also, the useful accessories that come with ultima 80mm scope facilitate you to operate and shelter it comfortably. The angled eyepiece, 80mm large lens, bak4 prism system, and central focusing knob are a few features that show its practicality in the wild environment. Whether you’re a birder or a hunter, Celestron ultima 80mm spotting scope will always back you. 

Celestron ultima 80mm scope at a glance

To know more about this spotting scope, let’s discuss its features one-by-one and get a detailed Celestron ultima 80mm spotting scope review; shall we?

Technical Features

  • Magnification: 20-60x
  • Lens size: 80mm
  • Eye relief distance: 18mm
  • Exit pupil diameter: 1.3-4 mm
  • Eye piece angle: 45 degrees
  • FOV: 105 – 53 ft at 1000 yards
  • Close focus distance: 26.3 ft
  • Twilight factor: 40-69
  • Weight: 57 oz

Pros

  • Multi-coated glass
  • Resilient rubber armor
  • Smooth focus knob
  • Easy digiscoping
  • Nitrogen purged
  • Razor-sharp imagery
  • Excellent lowlight performance

Cons

  • Fringing slightly increases in higher magnifications
  • Produces flare sometimes

What’s in the box?

  • Celestron Ultima 80 angled spotting scope
  • Celestron tripod
  • Tripod adapter
  • Zipper Carry cases for scope and tripod
  • Soft straps
  • Lens cap
  • Eyepiece cover
  • Cleaning cloth
  • User manual

Celestron ultima 80mm spotting scope Features

Magnification

Celestron ultima 80mm spotting scope has an impressive magnification ranging from 20x to 60x. With this wide-ranging magnification, you immediately get a bright and up-close view of the farther objects.

Setting your desired magnification is also very convenient as the Celestron ultima spotting scope has a large zoom eyepiece that you can attach/detach easily.

Once attached, its smooth rotating knob lets you select any magnification from 20x to 60x. Since the higher magnification decreases FOV, the glasser gets to adjust it quickly, depending upon the settings.

Having up to 60x magnification means this scope is ideal for hunters, birders, stargazers, and sightseers alike. This important plus point of ultima spotting scope sets it apart from numerous entry-level scopes and makes it a good pick for every glasser.

Lens diameter

This spotting scope has a hefty 80mm lens to brighten the imagery and show minute details of your subject with ease. Moreover, this vast central lens is multi-coated to reduce reflection and increase light transmission.

There is a massive difference between this scope’s minimum magnification and lens size, which provides a great exit pupil diameter. The larger the EPD, the brighter the imagery; Celestron Ultima scope thoroughly follows this rule.

Your eyes will receive bright, well-defined, and razor-sharp imagery from this enormous central lens. This central Achromatic lens produces 77% more vivid imagery than a 60mm lens can, which is another perk of Ultima 80mm.

This scope’s multi-coated lens and the high-quality Bak4 prism show impressive optical quality. Whether you use it in lowlight or broad daylight, the Celestron Ultima scope’s premium lens always produces well-coherent imagery. 

Eye relief distance

Focusing through a spotting scope exerts pressure on your eyes that can eventually cause headaches and sore eyes. To ensure that your glassing is always relaxed, the Celestron Ultima 80mm scope provides an 18mm eye relief distance.

If you wear glasses, keep the eyepiece to a higher level and maintain a considerable 18mm distance with it. Similarly, if you aren’t a glasses wearer, you can keep the eyepiece on its lowest level and adjust your eye accordingly.

Eye relief distance is a crucial factor in glassing gears as it determines your eyes’ comfort. Therefore, Celestron has thoughtfully incorporated a wide ERF in this inexpensive scope. Don’t dread focusing with one eye because this spotting scope will always facilitate you.

Exit pupil diameter

Spotting scopes often compromise on image vividness as a massive difference between lens size and magnification decreases exit pupil diameter. But fortunately, Celestron ultima has taken care of that factor too.

If you keep your ultima scope’s magnification at 20x, the exit pupil diameter will be 4mm (80/20=4). But, when you increase the magnification, this EPD reduces. The least EPD in ultima scope is 1.3 mm at 60x magnification.

Generally, the glassers require 60x magnification in broad daylight to cover a vast region, which doesn’t affect the light’s path, and you get just-fine optical quality.

Similarly, if you set your scope to 20x in comparative lowlight, you’ll get immaculate 4mm EPD. Both of these situations are good enough for all activities. So, don’t worry about the light’s pathway, your ultima scope will manage that.

Eyepiece’ angle

A spotting scope’s eyepiece is angled at a certain degree because if it is straight, the glasser’s eyes are stressed. Luckily, Celestron ultima spotting scope’s focal eyepiece is angled at 45 degrees, which keeps your eyes comfortable. 

This angular placement comes in handy during digiscoping and detailed observation sessions. You can stand straight and look through your angular scope in a broad region. 

Also, as moving the tripod’s head is a continuous practice, you can keep the scope at a lower level and quickly adjust the pod’s pan head.

Field of view

As spotting scopes are acknowledged for their magnifying capacity and image clarity, they mostly lack in terms of FOV. Unlike most small-sized binoculars, scopes’ field of view is limited, but their magnification can effortlessly compensate it.

Celestron ultima 80mm scope offers 105ft to 53ft field of view at 1000 yards. As magnification and FOV are inversely proportional, your range will shorten at higher powers.

For example, you get a 105ft clear field of view at 20x power. But, when you increase the scope’s power, the FOV decreases. At 60x magnification, the field reduces to 53ft.

Although these numbers don’t sound impressive, you shouldn’t worry. When your spotting scope produces a 60x image of each subject, the FOV doesn’t matter much. Eventually, you’ll cover more area than with a low-power-high-FOV device.

Close focus distance

The ultima 80mm spotting scope comes with a minimum close focus distance of 26.2ft. As this CFD is more extensive when compared to most binos, it might look like a down point, but it’s not. 

Spotting scopes are used for wide-ranging activities i.e., hunting, scouting, etc. In such ventures, a wide CFD won’t affect the imagery, and you’ll cover an incredibly vast region in once glance. 

However, if you like focusing on the nearest objects with a scope, you should try an alternative.

Ergonomics

Spotting scopes are mostly misunderstood as bulky glassing gears that work well but are hard-to-carry. However, Celestron Optics has ensured that your Ultima 80mm spotting scope is sturdy, ergonomic, and easy-to-carry simultaneously.

Firstly, there is rubber housing around this scope to strengthen your grip and protect its lens and prism system. This rugged rubber armor doesn’t let the scope waver from a tripod and keeps you well-focused.

Secondly, you get a stable tripod with this ultima scope, which makes glassing more comfortable. The Celestron tripod has a 3-way pan head and a quick-release plate that lets you adjust/re-adjust your scope. This tripod also has vertical and horizontal bubble levels for easy upward/downward glassing. Once mounted, you can move your ultima scope and focus on your subject in a gist.

The large eyepiece zoom means you can quickly zoom in to view your favorite object without moving your scope. This eyepiece zoom has a focus dial from which you can select a magnification and lock a great view. Also, the large focus knob is ergonomically placed in the center to ensure that you don’t have to quit glassing to access it.

Celestron Ultima 80mm scope comes with multiple useful accessories that help you protect and use your scope with ease. The tripod and scope come in separate cases that have straps for smooth movement. You can leave the scope cover on during harsh weather and still glass by opening the zips present on its either side. The resilient eyepiece and lens covers keep your spotting scope sheltered outdoors and don’t let harsh conditions affect them.

The packed scope and tripod are easy-to-adjust in any backpack and don’t consume your luggage space. Since this scope weighs around 57oz, it won’t tire your muscles while you haul it around.

Low light viewing

Celestron ultima spotting scope has an enormous 80mm lens that is thoroughly multi-coated to enhance the optical quality. With this smart scope in hand, you’ll always get bright and aberration-free imagery. 

The ultima scope comes with considerable EPD that lets in an ample amount of light and brightens the views even in lowlight. Moreover, this premium spotting scope’s twilight factor is 40 at 20x power and 69 at 60x.

Both TFs make lowlight glassing incredible and ensure that you don’t stop an exhilarating mission in the absence of light. Henceforth, you can use Celestron ultima spotting scope for tactical purposes, vigilance, shooting, and numerous other causes even in an insufficient amount of light. 

Its Bak4 prism system and premium-quality lens glass also add to the delight of glassing and lets your eyes see incoherent views.

Weather resistance

This scope is thoroughly purged with compressed nitrogen, which keeps the lens dry and well-protected from external debris. Also, the glass is sealed with a sturdy rubber ring to shelter your ultima scope further and facilitate rough-rough glassing. 

The soft view through scope cover has zips on both ends that let you continue viewing without taking it off. This additional feature facilitates in rainy or dusty weathers where one shouldn’t risk the scope’s safety.

This scope has a firm grip, purged lens, sealed eyepiece, and protective covering; all these factors indicate its practicality in harsh conditions.

However, to analyze this ultima scope’s computability with your target activity, let’s discuss the main glassing missions one-by-one. This in-depth Celestron Ultima 80mm spotting scope review will show both its positive and negative sides, stay tuned.

Compatible with indoors and outdoors alike: Celestron ultima won’t let you down!

An excellent glass isn’t confined to a particular activity; it must be practical in all environments so that the glasser can enjoy his passions to the fullest. 

Whether you’re a birder or a stargazer, Celestron ultima 80mm spotting scope will fit your needs easily. Let’s see how:

Birding

Celestron Ultima 80mm spotting scope produces flare-free, splendid, and coherent views of the feathered beauty. Regardless of the distance of the bird, you’ll enjoy your hobby effortlessly with this scope.

Its lens and prism system produces razor-sharp views even of the moving objects and don’t strain your eyes. You can easily focus and zoom in on the subject with the large eyepiece zoom and take a detailed look. Watching birds while sitting in a peaceful outdoor setting is always calming; Celestron ultima further adds to this leisure and lets you carefully observe them.

Also, this scope offers impressive light transmission that repels false color-composite and always shows true-colored views.

You’ll love watching the birds with a Celestron Ultima spotting scope; its magnification is excellent, its light transmission is superb, and it produces razor-sharp optical quality.

Hunting

As hunters are mostly on the move, they prefer compact and efficient equipment. Therefore, Celestron has made sure that your ultima scope is always ready for your ventures.

You can quickly set this scope on a flat surface and lock your target animal. The astonishing 60x magnification never lets the prey escape your sight and helps you shoot quickly.

Wide-ranging hunts require smooth focus and excellent magnification capacity. Therefore, Celestron has added 20-60x outstanding magnification and sizeable central focus knob in this scope.

Whether you’re a short-ranger hunter or prefer long-range ones, this ultima scope always works brilliantly. It allows you to scout a broad terrain carefully and smoothly focus on your preferred object. 

You can also camouflage with the surroundings and use your ultima scope discretely. Its rugged body and sleek design help the hunters in all terrains so that they ace every adventure.

Vigilance

Due to its great twilight factor and light transmission, Celestron ultima is ideal for vigilance/peeping purposes. When there isn’t sufficient light, and you can’t miss the target, you can rely on this brilliant spotting scope.

Its 40-69 twilight factor and 80mm large lens make lowlight vigilance possible. Whether you want to guard property or stay alert of the surroundings while camping in the woods, Celestron ultima will be your trustworthy partner.

A Celestron ultima scope mounted over a 3-way tripod is an invaluable asset for surveillance and vigilance personnel. You’ll stay still in your position and use the tripod’s 3-way bubblehead to focus on the object. If you’re into surveillance activities, look no further than this spotting scope.

Digiscoping

Getting vivid pictures of distant objects is every photographer’s dream. If you’ve struggled with tacky optics in the past, worry no more. Celestron ultima spotting scope comes with a removable T-ring, which is used to attach a camera to it.

Once this T-ring is anchored to the scope’s eyepiece, you can attach your DSLR to it and click some marvelous pictures. Celestron ultima puts an end to blur pictures, FCC, and extra flare during the broad daylight.

Quickly fix your photography camera to it, use the tripod head to adjust the position, and click 60x more explicit pictures in a moment. This scope’s compatibility with photographers’ needs makes it an all-in-one spotting scope. 

Stargazing

Although astronomy telescopes have a quite different structure than the spotting scopes, you can always use Celestron ultima to gaze at the stars. Its angled eyepiece keeps your eyes relaxed and lets you glance at the sky with utmost clarity. 

The 60x power makes various planets and their moons visible to your eyes. You can sit in your balcony and enjoy entry-level celestial viewing with this impressive spotting scope.

However, to look at the stars/sky, you must have a tall tripod; the one that comes in the package has a maximum height of 63 inches that can be problematic for people above 6ft. If you’re taller than 5.25ft, get another tripod to match your needs. After that, glancing at the sky is notably easy with the Celestron ultima scope. 

FAQs

Can I use ultimat 80mm without a tripod?

Yes, you can. Looking out from a car window or a safe place is comfortable with this Celestron ultima scope. You’ll only have to search a stable surface to set it, and it’ll be good to go. You can even glass discretely with this scope if you find a flat and covered surface to set this scope.

How to attach a camera to this spotting scope?

There’s a T-thread under the rubber eyecup of Celestron ultima 80mm scope. You have to uncover that thread by taking the eyepiece off. Once the thread is exposed, attach your camera’s lens to it and rotate it until it’s fixed. This whole process is quick and easy-to-do. After mounting your camera, you’ll get optic’s outstanding 60x picture quality even from a digital camera.

Celestron ultima 80mm spotting scope summary

Having a reliable spotting scope means you can enjoy numerous activities and experience splendid views of nature, birds, and animals while standing far-away from them. My Celestron Ultima 80mm spotting scope review was aimed to shed light on its features and help you make a decision.

If you want to invest wisely, opt for this brilliant spotting scope. It has brilliant 20-60x magnification, 40-69 twilight factor, a central 80mm lens, and a rugged armor; all of these features are ideal for glassers.

Whether you like lowlight hunting or want to take care of a valuable asset, Celestron ultima is your answer. Its impressive light transmission and color-differentiation produce vivid imagery and ultimately end the possibility of blur views. 

So, scout a mountain to observe wildlife or see beautiful birds flying around, this spotting scope makes all activities relaxed, proficient, and memorable.

Make this lifetime investment now, and enjoy high-end glassing for the years to come!

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