I compared this Celestron 12-36 X 60 spotting scope to a 20-60 X 80 Lando and a 20-60 X 80 Gosky . The much lower priced, more portable Celestron delivered reasonably good sharp images which only degraded slightly at higher powers as did the Lando. However, the apparent image size of the Lando 20-60 X 80 and the Gosky at its lowest magnification at 20X actually seemed larger than the Celestron at 36X Mag and of course much clearer and brighter at its starting magnification of 20X. Also, the Tripod with the Celestron was terrible, almost worthless. You would have to aim way above what you are looking at and set the control knowing the scope would fall dramatically more before hopefully coming close to the image you want to view. This Celestron scope absolutely needs a better tripod as the table top tripod that comes with it is barely usable - especially when trying to adjust at a higher powers. Also, the 20-60 X 80 Lando allows you to focus about 10 feet or so closer at near objects at 20 Ft and its tripod works well and locks in place well and does not keep vibrating at the slightest touch up and down like the fidgety tripod with the Gosky. The Celestron is about 11" long compared to the Lando and Gosky 20-60 X 80 at 17".The Lando seemed to also offer noticeably clearer optics than the Gosky 20-60 X 80 and has the best tripod of the three.For the difference in price of about $50 more (remember the others need a new tripod), if the larger size is not a problem, I think the Lando 20-60 X 80 is a clear winner. So, for budget scopes, I strongly recommend that you spend the little bit of extra money and buy and Lando. Its hard to imagine a more expensive scope doing all that much better than the Lando. In all fairness to the Gosky, I may have gotten a defective scope which is being send back as the magnification collar spun all around as if not connected properly. The Gosky did not focus near as clear as the chisel sharp Lando.I bought this spotting scope because it is small and lightweight and fits in my day-pack for hiking and birding trips. I have a 20-60x 80 Opticron scope that cost 10 times as much, but with the added weight of a tripod I rarely use it. Overall, I was very impressed with the Celestron 12-36x x 60 scope. In the field it definitely helps to see detail that I cannot make out with my binoculars. I carried out a side-by-side comparison against the Opticron for reading newspaper print 50 feet away. The Opticron has better image quality as one would hope for the price tag, but the Celestron was quite impressive. A number of limitations have been pointed out by other reviewers. The focus ring is a little stiff to turn - the main problem is that, even on a fairly sturdy tripod, there is slight movement of the scope while turning focus. At the highest magnification, one has to turn the ring incrementally and check the focus a each point. This adds a few seconds to the focusing procedure which may or may not be critical for wildlife watching. The eye-relief is fine for me but may be a problem for spectacle users. The close focusing distance is a bit longer than other scopes, but in practice one would likely switch to binoculars at this point. The supplied tripod is not much use for the telescope since it requires a table of the right height. However , when mounted with a camera, the tripod is useful for table-top photography.In another comparison with the Opticron, I tried taking pictures of the moon with a hand-held digital camera resting against the eyepiece. I noted that while the Opticron gave a 3x larger image on going from 20x to 60x setting, the Celestron gave only a about a 2.1 fold magnification on going from the 12x to 36x setting. Comparison with the Opticron image size, suggested the 12x setting was accurate but the 36x as closer to 26x magnification (photos attached: do not judge image quality since exposure was difficult to control on my camera and it is hand held, but the relative diameters are meaningful). I checked with the Celestron Technical Department about this apparent discrepancy and they assured me the zoom settings were accurate, but they said they do not reveal their calibration procedure as a matter of policy. So I will leave it to the reader to interpret my findings. For my purposes the magnification range is fine as anything over 30x is often limited by atmospheric conditions. A 26x scope in my daypack is infinitely more useful than a 60x scope left at home.the pros are the landscout is light and portable is easy carried packed away for travel the images through the lense is fairly clear with good light transmission field of view is reasonable oboviously narrows as you increase magnifacation it weight is 500grams i believe i mean for the price you ll not get a better little scope tripod needed for higher magnifacation you can handhold to a degree at the lower magnifacation it only comes in angled version now a few cons nothing major it has bak 7 glass some people reckon bak4 is better images but trust me ive had many sciopes bak 7 work well in this unit the large focusing wheel can be a little stiff the eye relief is a little short but still buy this scope you wont be dissapointed theres other cheap scopes out there simular price wont hold a candle to this one i paid 66 pounds wait for this price you should buy it for said price good luck hope this helpsI had been looking for a reasonably priced spotting scope for some time and this certainly fits the bill. I comes complete with lens caps and tripod stand in a nice zip case with carrying strap. The 12 to 36 magnification is adequate for the ranges at which we shoot and the large focusing ring is easy to use yet firm enough that it does not move accidentally. The tripod mount thread is similar to camera tripods so you could always add a lower or higher tripod to suit your needs. For indoor 25 metre shooting the unit sits neatly on the firing bench. The scope is held in the tripod mount by a ring mount which is adjustable so you can have the eye piece facing in any direction you favour. An excellent product at the price.Simply excellent quality - I was amazed at how clear and crisp the images were through this scope throughout the entire zoom range, it's literally as good as the naked eye and I am continously impressed. Can't recommend this scope enough, you really get what you pay for!Has good quality compares well to others costing 4-5 times the price.Great for the price. Bought to take on holiday and did the job.