This 80x telescope gives your phone's camera a boost, and it's on sale for $35
Keep a close eye on wildlife, sporting events or the night sky with this gift-worthy gizmo that can help you take better photos and is 50% off.
As a pro photographer who lives in the mountains, I love snapping pictures of wildlife. The walls of my home are peppered with photos of owls, foxes, elk and bears. That said, I don't always carry my fauna-photo setup with me. It's heavy, bulky and expensive — it ran me more than $5,000 (gulp). Thankfully, you don't need to spend those kind of bucks: The Md.Life 80x Zoom Monocular Telescope, on sale for only $35, means you can get great close-up images with the camera you already have: your phone.
With 80x zoom, this telescope will help you see — and photograph — clearly from almost a mile away.
Why is this a good deal? 💰
With this discount plus the on-page coupon, you're only paying $35 for this telescope — a whopping 50% off the usual price, and quite the deal for what you get, including a tripod and smartphone attachment.
Why do I need this? 🤔
We've all been there. You look up at the night sky to see a gorgeous full moon and think to yourself, "That would look great on the 'gram." You grab your phone and snap a pic. The resulting photograph is not at all what you want, with the moon taking up only a few pixels in the frame — not worth posting at all.
While smartphone cameras have gotten insanely good in the past few years, almost to the point where you can barely tell the difference between a photo shot on your phone and one shot with a pro-grade camera, one area that still lags is zoom. It takes a long lens to get close-up images of wildlife, the sky or a sporting event, and our phones are too compact. Even the cheapest camera with good zoom capabilities will run you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
This telescope features 80x zoom, which will give you — or your smartphone — a clear view of subjects up to 1,500 yards away. That's almost a mile. It also comes with an easy-to-use smartphone adapter and tripod, so everything you need for quality photos is included. The telescope itself features an adjustable eye cup and focusing wheel, as well as a nonslip rubber coating to keep you from losing your grip.
What reviewers say 💬
Over 700 customers have given this telescope a five-star review, and more than 200 have flown off the virtual shelves in the last month alone.
Pros 👍
"Amazing visibility and lightweight," said this five-star fan. "We take it to the beach to look out out the water to see the dolphins. We use it at night to look at the moon and stars. We can even see craters on the moon with it! So easy to use and set up with my phone and take pictures or just watch the screen. My kids enjoy looking at the pictures too. Easy and lightweight to carry anywhere! Very durable and fits in your bag when you're off on adventures."
"This monocular was great," noted this traveler. "I took it on a safari because we had weight restrictions on the small planes that we took between Nairobi, Meru and Maasai Mara. In the end, I gifted it to one of our guides and he loved it."
A third shutterbug took this telescope on a trip to Yellowstone. "There was a family of buffalo grazing in a field I would estimate to be 1,500 to 2,000 feet away. Using the camera attachment was easier than I thought it would be. Line up the hole with your phone's camera lens and then attach it to the scope. It was good for pictures and actually easier for videos."
Cons 👎
While you shouldn't expect professional-level quality, some customers still found their images weren't sufficiently crisp. "The only real negative was the camera attachment; it doesn't really give a good image and it is blurry around the edges," mentioned one four-star reviewer, adding the caveat, "I say this only trying it quickly two times."
Another customer who rated the telescope four stars said, "I found the monocular hard to use and to stabilize. I think my personal preference is for binoculars. However, the product itself was fine. I think it matched the description. Perhaps not as far ranged as I was hoping but all in all, it's a solid monocular for the money."
Reviewers say they like this lightweight gadget better than heavy, bulky binocs.
If you have Amazon Prime, you'll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more.)
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
