Barr & Stroud Sprite 20 x 50 Telescope - Waterproof, BAK 4 Prisms, 20x Magnification - For Outdoor Enthusiasts and Bird Watchers

This was bought to replace an ageing set of Binoculars whose dioptre wheel had parted company with the body. This seemed to be a lighter and smaller alternative. The main use was to be birding and wildlife watching. So light and portable was the order of the day. The Barr and Stroud did not disappoint.The price was excellent, even compared with other monoculars of the same spec. It is a re-badged and less expensive by £10 Bresser Safari Sprite. It's a lot cheaper than the similarly specced Visionary M20.In use it seems quite robust. The focussing is quick and intuitive to some extent. At any rate I was able to use it right out of the box with no false starts. The image is clear and bright with no refraction around the subject. It can be hand held (just) but is better with some support. The small tripod supplied is, from my point of view, about as useful as a chocolate teapot. It is a table top model, and unless you have a handy collapsible table with you up the hill or in the woods .......... The problem is that the tripod socket on the underside is recessed somewhat and most normal tripods won't actually fit. It would have made a little more sense for Barr and Stroud to have supplied a tripod extension screw in place of the table pod. These are easily obtainable and do the job for a little extra outlay. You can then use the quite nice metal tripod for your compact camera instead.This is a really good little monocular and amazing value. I give it five stars.

I read a lot of reviews about Monoculars before buying this one...It seemed to fit the bill.I wanted a good magnification with crisp clear image quality for bird watching and target shooting to view the impact points from a distance.First impressions of this unit were that it looks very ‘russian’ in build, strong, quite heavy and very robustThat would have been great if the optical quality was up to Russian standardsSadly, the image quality is terribleVery dark, and impossible to focus to a sharp crisp image.The very best I could achieve was very blurred, unable to make out blades of grass at forty yards.The magnification is meant to be x20 but it doesn’t look any larger than through a better quality pair of x10 binoculars I used as a comparison.I have returned the monocular as it is simply too expensive to drop into a drawer never to see the light of day again.If you need a clear, sharp image then this is definitely NOT the answer I’m sorry.

Firstly, the service: I ordered this @ 10:30 am on the Monday and it was delivered to my door by 2pm the following day!The product: I'm no serious bird-watcher or owt, so I don't know what others may expect, but for me, the casual 'observer' this is a terrific monocular. I know the extra 'magnification' can result in the images being a little 'shaky' (or so I believe from some other reviews) but from what I've experienced, it doesn't present any great problem.The unit is a nice size to handle and the focus dial is easy to use..... even when wearing gloves. I have seen some complain on different models that the focus is hard to adjust, but unless you are perhaps trying to track a fast-moving object, then again there is no issue.It comes in a handy belt-pouch, and with a lens cover (though this could slip off quite easily,so be careful.) My only tiny little gripe would be that a neck-strap would be handy ... though I do appreciate the unit is maybe a little on the heavy side to have hanging around your neck for any great length of time.Nice one!

This monocular has extremely good build-quality and feels 'just right' in the hand. Optically it does not meet the same standards. The eye-relief is much too short to be comfortable - it is not possible to get full field of view wearing spectacles. The focus mechanism has too much play in it and together with the very narrow depth of field makes it extremely difficult to obtain a perfect, sharply focused image. The poor brightness does not help in this respect either. Optically this monocular does not come up to the quality expected from a company like Barr and Stroud.

ProsGood image qualityClear bright image at day and nightBuild qualityHandlingConsHard to focus due to some lack of precision - when focusing clockwise if I miss it i need to make a great counterclockwise move to get back in focus. It should be just a small adjustment.

I wanted something small and powerful; needed something stronger than my 8x21 binoculars.I read the reviews on this and after much indecision eventually went for it.As far as i'm concerned these are fantastic. Much lighter and more compact than the equivalent strength set of binos and although larger than my 8x21's much better for distance overall. Feild of vision is smaller but that would be true with any MonocularAn earlier reviewer mentioned problems focusing but I have to say I haven't found that a problem. You do need to be more precise than with binos but once you've done it once it comes easily.Whilst not too impressed with the tripod that is included it does the job if you place it on a windowsill but I found that my camera tripod was much better if you were standing.Handholding does require a very steady hand but that would be the same with powerful binos too.Overall i'm very impressed by the quality of the item and i'm glad I finally made the decision to purchase them!Purchased from Picsio who are very good and recommended also.