A family member just bought a home in Portland, OR (yeah, me neither, but he's in love, so he has a good excuse). It's a beautiful piece of property with a windowed, elevated view of downtown, the Willamette River, the airport, and the mountains beyond. All kinds of cool things to view through optics.
I want to send him a housewarming gift, and I thought some type of tripod-mounted optics would be a great way for him to enjoy the view. He's older. He won't be able to handhold heavy optics, and this is a case where they will be set in place and rarely, if ever, moved. Portability is irrelevant.
I guess the key question is: What type of optics are more enjoyable from a tripod? Binocs or some type of single eye spotting or telescope? What's the best bang for the buck? How much value is there in a tripod that costs $150+ vs. $35? Don't want the tripod to look cheesy, either, as it will effectively be a piece of furniture in his living room. I also see that mounting a phone to optics is quite the range these days. Don't know anything about that or how practical it is.
All comments appreciated. As far as Portland comments: He's going in with his eyes open. The most hopeful thing I can tell you is there will be one more conservative vote. Spitting into the wind, perhaps, be he's prepared to take his lumps.
I want to send him a housewarming gift, and I thought some type of tripod-mounted optics would be a great way for him to enjoy the view. He's older. He won't be able to handhold heavy optics, and this is a case where they will be set in place and rarely, if ever, moved. Portability is irrelevant.
I guess the key question is: What type of optics are more enjoyable from a tripod? Binocs or some type of single eye spotting or telescope? What's the best bang for the buck? How much value is there in a tripod that costs $150+ vs. $35? Don't want the tripod to look cheesy, either, as it will effectively be a piece of furniture in his living room. I also see that mounting a phone to optics is quite the range these days. Don't know anything about that or how practical it is.
All comments appreciated. As far as Portland comments: He's going in with his eyes open. The most hopeful thing I can tell you is there will be one more conservative vote. Spitting into the wind, perhaps, be he's prepared to take his lumps.
