SV406P 20-60X80 ED Spotting Scope for Phone Birding Photography

It has high magnification and it requires a good, steady tripod. The optics are good but the sharpness controls are a bit clumsy. I like the fact that SVBONY provides several oculars (lenses/zooms) that can change the magnification and expand the usefulness area. SVBONY also provides digital cameras that can replace the ocular. The control of the camera through the phone app is cumbersome as the app leaves a lot to desire. Overall it is a good product.

Clean and dark interior, pale green coating, near perfect fit and finish--except extremely tiny little bit of slack of rubber armor near the rotation ring. Not an issue even from cosmetic point of view, just a minor remark. Optically it is good enough to run against my old William optic 70 ED Zenithstar. Its chromatic aberration (CA) is no worse than ED doublet despite its more complicated optical path, larger objective size and lower focal ratio (5.375 vs 6). It beats the doublet hands down in contrast and seems to be a little bit sharper. I find it definitely easier to identify small details too. The star test is not totally perfect, but being a spotting scope it is not geared to high powered planetary observation. The view on crescent moon is fantastic and CA is totally unobtrusive even be at zoom 60x. I have another WO 66ED doublet F6 Ferrari version with even better optics. Still the SA406P holds its own very well. The bottom line: I can sell the Zenithstar now. It makes me wonder how good would its bigger brother be? Is an upgrade really meaningful?

I primarily use this ED spotting scope as a grab-and-go telescope on a video head. The ability to use 1.25mm eyepieces and the optical quality were the deciding factors for me. Mechanically sound. The coarse focus offers pleasant resistance, and the microfocus is nice and smooth and precise. The zoom eyepiece produces a reasonable image and is absolutely satisfactory to use. I use the Svbony 68° wide-angle eyepieces in 6, 9, and 15mm, Plössl in 15 and 32mm, and the UWW 20mm 70° and 65°. All of the eyepieces I use come into focus and deliver outstanding results with this spotting scope. The optics will certainly easily achieve 120-130x at night with excellent imaging. After some research, I couldn't figure out exactly which lens pairing is used, but I did find out that this spotting scope is a triplet ED! This is on par with ED refractors with a three-lens design. Therefore, this great piece uses three lenses. The color correction is very decent for this price. Depending on the eyepiece, blue fringing is only slightly noticeable at the edges, and in the central image section, there is virtually no chromatic aberration. This makes the CA at the edges almost unnoticeable. A real test of this is Jupiter. At 70x magnification with a 6mm eyepiece, the main bands are razor-sharp, without any distracting blue fringing or violet halos. The classic two-lens ED refractors with FPL51 glass definitely can't keep up and produce more chromatic aberrations. For me, this spotting scope is truly a jack of all trades: superb optical performance, variable eyepiece selection, robust, waterproof, lightweight... Highly recommended as a robust telescope.

Tried this brand out on recommendation of a friend of mine who has spent over 10k on all his glass over the past decade after he looked through one of this brands spotting scopes at the range. Said he wish he knew of them sooner because it would have save him thousands of dollars. So far I concur with his assessment after comparing this to his 3k scope while out glassing for coues deer, I am very happy with the quality and performance of this scope when matched up to his!

Although not really designed for astro work, I really enjoy working with smaller optical aids and pushing the limits to really "see" what is achievable with a modest sized devices. The SV406P ED, although not an APO, is just a really nice spotting scope and does a great job of wider field star shots.

Very good construction and optical quality compared to the price. AC level is low. The clarity is good about 2 thirds of the image but it is not very bad towards the edge. The colors are really beautiful! Magnification seems to be correct (which is not the case with cheaper models that have the same parameters only on paper). The brightness is very good! A single negative point, the clarity adjustment made of two concentric buttons rubs inside as if it is missing a washer and does not have enough lubrication. But after more use, it rubs a little less often, just randomly, but it seems obvious to me that it's a small manufacturing quality defect. But otherwise it's wonderful and considering that quality control is not the strong point of this brand, I consider myself lucky to have found one with a quality image! Nevertheless, the prices of this brand are actually excellent for what is offered! One more thing - the green cover with many openings and zippers is very complicated, but once you get used to it, it's really useful. In conclusion, it really deserves the 5 stars given! (with one objection....... be lucky to get a good copy!)

Now I have to put in a good word for this SV 406P ED spotting scope! I initially requested a return because usable quality was only achieved at a magnification of 20 to 40. Then suddenly there was this clear day with clean air. Add to that a decent tripod – and I mean a really stable tripod, the kind I use for medium format cameras (6x7), and that was it! Suddenly I was able to achieve focus even at the full magnification range, even if it required a very fine adjustment of the setting dial, BUT it was razor-sharp, unbelievable. The moon was close enough to touch at a magnification of 60, a buzzard in focus on its feathers 150m away. I'm a professional photographer with over 45 years of experience, and lenses can easily cost five figures. It was an experiment: can you even achieve quality for €300 in these magnification ranges? YES! It's astonishing how well these lenses produce. The ED glass certainly makes a difference. The overall image is high-contrast, with surprisingly little color fringing, even in stray light. I was able to compare a €6,000 spotting scope—yes, clearly better! But this difference is by no means worth €5,700! One issue remains: without a stable tripod with a fluid head (which unfortunately costs more than the spotting scope), it's practically unusable. The fluid's delay makes it easier to locate objects because it allows for the smallest adjustments. Therefore, it's not really suitable for hiking, as you'd be lugging 12 kg around your back, but it's absolutely recommended for vacations, etc. Single-leg tripods are only advisable in the lowest zoom range. For hiking, the smaller SV 410 9-27x56 ED is a good recommendation; it's two-thirds smaller and only requires a lightweight tripod with a fluid head. Conclusion: A lot of fun for relatively little money, clean air, and a lot of things. The 20 to 40mm range is very good because it's easy to adjust. Plus, the interchangeable eyepieces! Another tip for achieving the best sharpness: screw the eyepiece in until it stops, focus, and rotate the entire eyepiece to potentially improve the quality. Have fun! (I wasn't familiar with Svbony before, but it was the best choice.)

What an excellent spotting scope. One of the selling points for me was the 1 1/4" collet for changing eyepieces and the 2 speed focuser. That makes it a great travel scope for both day and night viewing. The build quality is very good. The focusing knobs are silky smooth. It's well baffled to reduce scattered light. With all caps fitting tightly. My only complaint is that the eyepiece collet diameter is slightly undersized so my slightly oversized astronomy eyepieces are a struggle to put in. The advantage of this tight fit is a better water seal in rainy conditions. Image quality is tack sharp with no real edge distortion. False color is well corrected with nothing around the moon. The zoom eyepiece supplied with it is excellent. The rotation is smooth and it is para-focal so it stays in focus throughout the power range. Has generous eye relief with a nice twist up eye cup. The whole package is a keeper for me.

A month ago I purchased this scope and I can’t be happier with it. The optical quality is really amazing, just falling down a little bit at 60x magnification, but overall is wonderful. It has confortable focus knobs and you can get really clear and neat images very easily. Building quality is excellent. I use it for birdwatching and and I am delighted. I have tested it both in sunny and cloudy days and the performance has been magnificent, offering high contrast neat images in all conditions. If you are considering an scope for birdwatching I think this is the best option because the quality/value ratio is unbeatable.

Delivery within 24 hours and package in very good condition. The spotting scope is of very good quality, both in terms of materials and finish. Just a test, but already very satisfied with the result. The colors stand out well, and the focus is precise thanks to the quick and fine adjustment. Observing a forest edge at 1.4 km, the image is sharp, the colors quite correct, despite the disturbances due to heat (image movement). Be careful, the spotting scope remains quite heavy and you need a suitable stand. Be careful, the SV214 smartphone holder is not compatible; the lens diameter is a little too large for the mounting system.