Danubia Wolf II Zoom Spotting Scope 15-45x50 inc Table Tripod

Description

The Wolf Spotting Scope has a 15-45mm zoom with a 50mm objective lens, so gives stunning detail and colour rendition. The Wolf Scope is a compact and handy zoom scope which works by focusing on the subject and then zooming in, for a closer look. Both operations are seperate, so there is no worry that once the focus has been fixed by turning the ribbed dial on the top of the unit, the zoom action will 'knock out' the focusing. Brilliantly designed, the Wolf II Spotting Scope has two openings for the eyepiece to fit into, making it either a straight or angled spotting scope depending on personal preference; so two for the price of one. The optics will close focus to around 4 metres by twisting the main body of the scope and at standard use to about 8 metres; once the body of the scope is turned 90°, the focusing wheel changes to close focus, so it becomes a really versitile piece of equipment.

The rubber surrounding the eyepiece, protects any glass wearers or the naked eye when in use, making it a comfortable viewing experience and the BAK7 prisms have slightly less aspherical over-correction and chromatic abberation on the blue and violet wavelengths, which in this case, makes them preferable to BAK4 prisms.The multicoating on the front lens, also helps with light transmission and will protect the scope's external optics from scratches and dirt. 

The sun shade on the Wolf II Spotting Scope is extendable and works really well in bright sunlight by eliminating stray light hitting the optics and causing annoying internal reflections. Simply extend it when the sun is bright and then slide it back for dull days, or for using at dusk and dawn. If using the Wolf II Spotting Scope whilst wearing glasses, then leave the eye-cup down, if using the scope with the naked eye, then simply hold the zoom barrel and twist the eyecup out.

The Wolf Spotting Scope comes with a nylon case, which has a couple of straps on the inside which hold the mini tripod stand, two lens cpas and a cleaning cloth.

Short review by Alison Harrison

The Wolf Spotting Scope is an interesting scope, as it can be used as a straight or angled scope, depending on which aperture you put the eyepiece into. There is a removable cap which protects whichever aperture isn’t being used and the eyepiece simply screws into whichever aperture you want to use; straight or angled. To be honest, personally I find the straight scope easier to use, especially when it is attached to a tripod and I am sitting in a hide, but it’s great to have the angled option if you are out and about. The compact nature of this spotting scope makes it a pleasure to use and because it has a mini tripod the carry bag it comes with has been cleverly designed with a place to fix the tripod inside the bag, which makes the carrying option just 25x15x7.5cm overall. Once screwed into the tripod bush on the bottom of the scope, the metal tripod keeps the scope solidly fixed at around 25cm high when it is straight and approximately 30cm when angled. The handle on the tripod head screws and un-screws to lock and unlock the tilt arm and once locked, it’s solidly fixed.

The 15-45 zoom works well, as the focus wheel and zoom option are separate, so to save time, it is easy to focus on the subject and then zoom in or out, without losing the fine focusing on the subject. The zoom ring is on the actual eyepiece, so although it is quite close to the face, it is still easy to use. It also has the magnification numbers etched onto the ring, so you can see what magnification you are at. The focusing options on the scope are as cleverly designed as the eyepiece, as there is a left and right arrow on it, so if you turn the whole spotting scope body left or right, the focusing distance changes from a close focus of approximately 4metres to the standard focusing from 8 metres to infinity. This is a great system for nature viewing, as birds, butterflies or lizards can suddenly appear on the floor close by and you can still get all the detail, from plumage or skin detail simply by turning the scope body and re-focusing in the opposite direction. The twist up eyepiece locks into position, so is perfect for using with or without spectacles and the rubber surround prevents scratching, or an uncomfortable viewing experience.

The pull-out sun hood helps with stray light when the day is very bright but is great to simply slide away when not in use.

Overall this is a well-designed compact spotting scope and has good BAK-7 optics, which keep colour fringing to a minimum and helps with edge to edge quality. Excellent value for money, they will help enormously to improve hobbies like bird watching, archery and general nature viewing.