A Look at the Celestron Regal Spotting Scope

I have gradually upgraded my scope over the years for my never ending quest of getting better results, I started with a Camlink CSP80 a cheap, affordable scope, it did do the trick and  I wanted to see if digiscoping was for me. My thirst for sharper images caused me to spend more dough which I then bought a Celestron Ultima 80ED. A Scope that you can say is inbetween Celestron's just Ultima Range and its Regal range and then without taking any risks (getting a scope by a different brand) I bought a Celestron Regal 80 F-ED the best offered by Celestron.

The Eyepiece

Because of its 1.25 barrel the
Celestron can fit third party eyepieces

The eyepiece is different to the Ultima and the Ultima ED series of scopes. The supplied regal eyepiece feels chunkier, larger and better built with the scope itself containing a locking mechanism to secure the eyepiece into place and with this 1.25" barrel you have a large selection of third party eyepieces. 

This is a great thing since digiscoping is no place for zoom eyepieces and a wide angle lens can get rid of all that vignetting, alas, depending on the camera. Back to the supplied eyepiece Just like thier Ultima series the eyecup comes off to reveal a thread,a 52mm thread to be exact a different size to that of the ultima series but it comes with a little (and I mean little) adapter that allows you to fit anything that already fitted on your Ultima scope.

Design

The Celestron looks far from cheap, in fact it is of very sturdy build, I wouldn't reccommend dropping it but it has survived a few falls. Weighing at 2041g the weight of Celestron scopes is one of the biggest reasons why people tend tosteer away from them but with such a small price tag I do not see the weight as an issue but it can be for people of a few older generations. I have checked and the Celestron Regal 80 F-ED is only 500g heavier than the Swarovski scope. My personal opinion is that the scope is fine to carry and most of the weight is let off when it is being carried on a tripod so you will most likely not suffer a back ache.

Focusing

The regal comes with two focus knobs, one for coarse focusing and one for fine focusing. I have had some people contact me having an issue with the coarse focus knob being stiff, this is true, but, just to start with. Over time the coarse focus will loosen to a satsifactory level allowing to focus with ease, even with your pinky finger.

Image Quality

Cameras can easily attach to the
Celestron thanks to its threads

Comparing to the Ultima ED the colours are more accurate, more detailed and more focused it and it gives satisfying results. Purple fringing seldom makes itself appear and the colours are accurate when looking through the eyepiece.

As a digiscoping scope the detail it can pick it is pretty impressive given there is plenty of light and capture is at the right moment, with a few nit picks here and there considering its price tag the image quality is far from poor.


The Celestron Regal spotting scope offers tremendous value for money, and according to some third party reviews is hands down the best scope you can get for under £1000, with a few setbacks such as the weight these are nit picks and with a under £1000 price tag it would be hard to ignore such a good product.