| If you want rugged big aperture optics in a lightweight waterproof package – be it for kayaking, marshland or shore birding, or anywhere rough treatment and an occasional soaking are expected – give a serious look at this armored 20-60x Elite zoom. You will be hard-pressed to equal the performance and durability of this rugged performer. Its roof prism design allows a much more compact body shape than the bulky porro prism housing of a conventional spotting scope. The Bushnell 70mm Elite roof prism spotting scope is ideal for someone who needs an armored scope that can handle virtually any sort of rough treatment and low light/bad weather conditions, yet is compact and light enough to take anywhere in the world. The Elite’s fully multicoated 70mm crown and flint glass achromatic objective lens gives crisp and bright images, a third brighter than those of a 60mm scope, with only mild and well-controlled chromatic aberration. Because of the optical design needed to keep the scope compact, the roof prism Elite is not quite as bright as a porro prism scope of the same aperture, due to unavoidable light losses within the Elite’s image-erecting prism. The difference is normally only seen in a low light side-by-side comparison of the scope types, however, and is not noticeable in most observing situations. PC3 phase-correcting coatings on the roof prisms provide visibly better color fidelity and detail when observing the shadowed areas of a backlit or silhouetted bird. This makes difficult identifications easier when looking towards the rising or setting sun. The Rainguard coatings on the 70mm Elite are permanent hydrophobic (water-repelling) coatings applied to the Elite’s external optics (objective lens and eyepiece). They cause the condensation from rain, fog, snow, or your own breath to form much smaller droplets than those on conventional optic coatings. Smaller droplets scatter less light, resulting in higher light transmission and a much clearer image. The Rainguard Elite can even be used in a driving rain. Naturally, to complement the water-shedding external Rainguard optical coatings, the Elite is filled with dry nitrogen and sealed to be totally waterproof and internally fogproof for a lifetime of use in all climates and temperatures – from Attu’s cold and damp to the steaming rain forests of Costa Rica. Its one-piece seamless aluminum body is clad in black rubber armor for exceptional durability and resistance to the elements, as well as providing a more comfortable grip in all climates. The Elite’s objective lens cover is tethered to the scope so it can’t be lost. A hard slip-on protective eyepiece cover is standard equipment. The supplied soft nylon case has a convenient belt loop for no-hands carrying. You can mount your Elite on a tripod while still in its case. The zippered case flaps fold down so you can observe without having to take the scope out of its case. A soft rubber eyepiece rim protects eyeglasses from scratches. Focus shifts from the horizon down to 30’ in less than one turn of the knurled focus ring, while a quarter-turn of the separate knurled power ring zooms from 20x (90’ field at 1000 yards) to a crisply-detailed 60x close-up (with a 50’ field). The specifications shown at the left are for use at 20x. The usable eye relief at that power is a very good 18mm, for comfortable and virtually unvignetted viewing by eyeglass wearers.
From 40x to 60x, eye relief is a still-reasonable 10mm, allowing high power eyeglass use without seriously limiting the field. At 40x, the field of view is 62’ at 1000 yards. At 60x, the field of view is 50’ at 1000 yards. The 70mm Elite is not adaptable to photography.
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