2.3×9.3° FOV173 yd ID
Sensor & lens explorer
Find your balance.
More detail at distance. Enough field of view to find it. 155 scopes, 20 combinations.
The sensor and lens map
LowerIdentification RangeHigher
NarrowerField of viewWider
Sensor / lens
19 mm
25 mm
35 mm
50 mm
60 mm
75 mm
256-class
Entry level
Good for close range and budget setups.
384-class
Popular choice
Value option for close to medium range
640-class
High performance
More detail for serious hunters
1280-class
Maximum detail
Best for long range with the widest view
3.5×7.0° FOV228 yd ID
3×11.6° FOV173 yd ID
2.5×10.5° FOV228 yd ID
HuntGrade Buying Guide category 13.5×7.5° FOV319 yd ID
HuntGrade Buying Guide category 23×7.5° FOV322 yd ID
2×17.6° FOV228 yd ID
2×12.5° FOV319 yd ID
HuntGrade Buying Guide category 33×8.8° FOV456 yd ID
HuntGrade Buying Guide category 43×7.3° FOV547 yd ID
4.4×5.9° FOV684 yd ID
2×17.6° FOV456 yd ID
2.3×14.6° FOV547 yd ID
HuntGrade Buying Guide category 53×11.8° FOV684 yd ID
HuntGrade Buying Guide Categories
No catalog scopes
14 of 20 combinations shown
Median specs Counts link to scopes
Why these buying guide categories?
These five are our starting points for balancing what you pay, how much detail you get and how much ground you can see. Together, they cover the worthwhile steps from a lower-cost scope to a wider, more detailed view. If identifying farther out matters more to you than a wide view, another sensor and lens combination may suit you better.
Why can two 3× scopes look different here?
These previews fit each category’s horizontal field of view into the same width on your screen. Two scopes listed as 3× can capture different widths of ground, so the animal can appear different sizes here. The preview does not reproduce how large the picture looks through the eyepiece.
Our apparent FOV figure is an estimate calculated from published FOV and base magnification. It has not been verified through the eyepiece and does not set the size of these previews.
Learn about apparent FOV and the eyepieceHow to read the map
Each scope appears once, under its primary lens. Gold outlines mark our five Buying Guide categories, not the only good choices. Shaded cells have no scopes in our catalog; they do not mean a combination is impossible to make. Counts describe the catalog, not current retailer stock. Prices use each scope’s lowest saved retailer price where available, otherwise its catalog price.
The direction cues describe the general tradeoff at comparable pixel pitch; the sensor comparison assumes the same lens. The modeled views use median sensor dimensions and field of view. They show framing and sensor sampling, not measured image quality. Estimated identification distances come from our lens-and-pixel-pitch model. Open a comparison to see how much the scopes within each category vary.
See our methodology