Sightmark 6-100×100 Spotting Scope Review

Sightmark 6-100x100 Spotting Scope

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Pros

- Two spotting scopes in one housing
- 100X magnification
- Lightweight, especially for how powerful it is

Cons

- Neither waterproof nor fogproof
- Significant bluish-yellow tint fringing one side at high magnifications
- Unable to focus on nearby objects at high magnifications

Hey there, thanks for stopping by my review of the Sightmark 6–100×100 Spotting Scope. I’d never heard of Sightmark before this glass came to my attention, and I’d never heard of a spotting scope with such a humongous objective lens, either. This made me pretty excited to check this puppy out and see how well it could perform. Read on to learn what I discovered.

This spotting scope is actually two in one, and is the most unique design I’ve ever come across. The auxiliary channel appears to be a straight-through roof prism design with a 25mm objective lens. The real monster on the scope, though, is the main channel – a 100mm objective lens that appears to utilize a porro prism design and should allow plenty of light in for a fantastic image. The eye relief leaves quite a bit to be desired, though: it’s an extremely short 12mm at maximum magnification through the main channel, and only 16mm through the auxiliary channel.

This scope weighs in at only 3.31 pounds, and measures 16.73 inches long. It’s not the smallest spotting scope on the market, but Sightmark has managed to keep the and girth down remarkably for such a powerful piece of glass.

What Do I Get For My Money?

This is an obvious question, since you need to know what accessories you might require to make the most of your investment. Here’s what you should find in the box:

  • The Sightmark 6–100×100 spotting scope itself
  • Lens covers
  • Sunshade cover
  • Tripod
  • Carrying case
  • Lens cloth

The carrying case is pretty decent, but the tripod is one of those throwaways that manufacturers include just to say they give you one. I’d recommend a professional-grade tripod, and the spotting scope will work with anything that has a 1/4“ or 3/8” mount.

How Powerful Is This Spotting Scope?

The auxiliary channel provides magnification from 6X to 25X, allowing you to obtain your target and get ready to really zoom in. Then you switch over to the main channel, which allows you to zoom from 25X all the way to 100X. This spotting scope offers plenty of crispness and clarity in the image, making it suitable for everything from target shooting to birdwatching to backyard astronomy. Unfortunately, the image’s color reproduction starts to break down at high magnifications, and you may notice a bluish-yellow tint fringing one side of the image. This sort of chromatic aberration is symptomatic of insufficient care being taken when grinding and treating the optics.

You’ll also notice a pretty narrow field of view at maximum magnification, but that’s to be expected. At 6X magnification, you’ll be able to take in 402 feet of terrain from 1,000 yards, and 143 feet at 25X magnification. At maximum magnification, you’ll be limited to seeing 34 feet of terrain from 1,000 yards.

Is It Easy To Use?

For such a sophisticated device, the Sightmark 6–100×100 Spotting Scope is remarkably easy to use. A separate control allows you to quickly and easily switch between the 25mm and 100mm objective lenses, and the focus and magnification wheels are easy to locate. It seemed a bit odd at first, using the eyepiece wheel to focus instead of zoom, but I quickly got accustomed to the change.

How Well Does the Sightmark 6–100×100 Spotting Scope Gather Light?

Courtesy of its 100mm objective lens and fully multicoated optics, this scope has fantastic transmittance. The scope’s twilight factor ranges from 12.2 to 100, depending on which objective lens and magnification power you are using. At 100X magnification, the moon will fill your eyepiece and you’ll see plenty of detail. It’s also quite easy to make out several of Jupiter’s moons and the rings around Saturn.

Does the Scope Feature Good Optics and Focus?

We’ve already talked a bit about the various optics used in the Sightmark 6–100×100 Spotting Scope: two optical systems in a single housing, both utilizing fully multicoated lenses. The prisms seem to be BaK–4 glass, but the manufacturer doesn’t specify.

Focusing is smooth and easy, with just enough resistance to prevent accidentally bumping your image out of whack. The major downfall is that the close focus distance at 100X magnification is a staggering 656 feet. With the magnification set to 6X, things get slightly better but still further than I’d like: 32 feet.

What’s the Housing Like?

To keep the weight down (and possibly the cost), Sightmark constructed the housing purely of plastic. This is unfortunate, since the durability of the scope suffers significantly as a result. There is rubber covering the controls, which makes them easy to use even with slippery or gloved hands, but that’s about it.

How Durable Is It?

Durability is a major drawback to this scope. You really have to treat it with kidgloves. It’s not shockproof, waterproof, or fogproof. Sightmark even states that the glass has not been nitrogen-purged, and the advertised IPX3 water resistance only guarantees splash resistance.

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Sightmark 6-100×100 Spotting Scope Review Summary

Thanks for reading my review of the Sightmark 6–100x100 Spotting Scope. This could be such a great piece of glass, but it’s marred by a lack of durability, short close focus ranges, and short eye relief. On the plus side, it’s the only spotting scope I know of that offers 100X magnification.

Conclusion Rating
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Jeff Byrnes

This post was written by

Hi there! I’m Jeff, an avid outdoorsman and hunter who really likes exploring new technology. I’m especially into hunting optics, which is why I’m writing these reviews! I hope you find my articles helpful in your own shooting and hunting.


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