Celestron Hummingbird 9-27x56 ED Spotting Scope 52308

Celestron Hummingbird Review

Lightweight spotting scopes are becoming more and more popular with birders and hunters, especially those who do a lot of hiking or backpacking. The Celestron Hummingbird is Celestron's first attempt to jump into the fray. Here's our in-house review of this micro-spotter.

Build Quality

The Hummingbird is a pretty simple scope, so there's not much to it. The eyepiece is builtin, with a 7-22x zoom on the 50mm model, and a 9-27x zoom on the 56mm model. Eye cups, zoom, and focus adjustment are all within tolerances, not too loose, and not too tight. Celestron's quality control has always been excellent, so no complaints here.

Features

The Celestron Hummingbird includes a carrying case with - get this - a belt clip. This scope is so small that you can comfortably carry it strapped to your waist. Try doing that with a full size scope. If that's not quite your style, it also includes a shoulder strap. Lens cleaning cloth and manual are included as well.

Lens and eyepiece caps are included, but they don't attach to the scope, so you'll probably want to leave them in the bag and use them when you store the scope.

Optical Quality

Very good! Color is true to life, we were not able to spot any bias towards cool or warm. Contrast and clarity are excellent, and sharpness continues almost all the way to the edge of the field. This is an ED scope, after all. We were able to spot a lot of detail at any range from 15-150 yards. At any range or zoom, there is enough eye relief that you won't have to bury the eyepiece into your eye socket to get a full field of view. For the price of this scope, the optics are a huge win.

Benefits

The one thing that really stood out to us when testing the Celestron Hummingbird is that its size and weight make it a very forgiving scope. We were able to use it on a windy day with a budget tripod, and it was very stable. At full zoom, views were clear and steady. We moved the tripod around with the scope attached, and there's so little weight that we barely felt it. You could conceivably put the scope on your tripod and leave it on all day.

You'd expect to have to make some compromises in a compact spotting scope to get full size performance. With the Celestron Hummingbird, you don't get removable eyepieces or attached lens caps, but you do get a lot of mobility and some pretty excellent optical performance. This is about as compact as you can get while still maintaining that level of viewing performance, so we're impressed.

• Easily carried in vest or coat pocket, in belt pack, or shoulder bag.
• ED lens optical system provides sharp, clear images with vivid, well-managed color.
• 9-27x magnification range spans binoculars and spotting scopes
• “Birder-friendly” close focus distance: 10 ft. / 3m close focus satisfies birding field optic requirements.
• Waterproof / Nitrogen filled -- Protected against wet weather, humid conditions, and other environmental challenges.

The name Hummingbird reflects many of the qualities of hummingbirds: very small size, highly mobile (they can fly in most any direction at will), and capable of long-distance travel (many migrate between South and North America). The Celestron Hummingbird is a “micro” ED spotting scope, and like its namesake, the Hummingbird Micro Spotting Scope is as well suited to long-distance travel as it is to the backyard.

Ideally suited for travel – the Hummingbird will easily fit in pocket, shoulder bag, or carry-on luggage. This spotting scope is perfect for traveling birders as a more travel-friendly alternative to a full-size spotting scope. The lowest magnification level can also serve as a substitute for a binocular.

The Waterproof / Nitrogen filled construction of the Hummingbird keep it protected against wet weather, humid conditions, and other environmental challenges. The durable armor works to keep the Hummingbird protected against bumps and jolts both during transport and in the field.

The Hummingbird is tripod / monopod / window mount adaptable providing a variety of options for viewing. This spotting scope can easily be secured to a stable platform for comfortable long-duration or long-distance viewing.