Gosky12x50 Monocular for Adults, Monocular Telescope with BAK4 Prism & FMC Lens,Lightweight Monocular Ideal for Bird Watching Hunting Wildlife Hiking Traveling-Black

Love that this monocular can be focused with one hand. We use it to spot birds for picture taking. We are always searching for eagles!

The size of this monocular is perfect for using on our patio to watch all the wild animals we have on our rural property.The body covering makes this monocular very comfortable to hold and to use. While the monocular is described as being waterproof, I would still use it sparingly in the rain or other wet conditions (such as on a boat, near a pool, etc.).The focus wheel is extremely easy to use. The 12x magnification works well for the things I need this for. The 50mm lens makes the images very bright. The clarity of the lens is really good, especially for a monocular at this price point.The eyepiece is a soft rubber, so it is easy to hold the monocular up to your eye. Just twist the rubber eyecup to adjust as needed.The monocular has lens caps for both lenses. The front cap is tethered with a ring so won't get lost easily. However, the eyepiece cap is not tethered, so I used a small cord and tethered it to the tripod screw. I wish this cap would have the same type of tether ring as the front cap.The included phone mount would be a nice bonus, but it only has one opening for a phone camera lens. Because of this, it does not work with my iPhone 13 Pro Max, which has three camera lenses. It would have been nice if this phone mount design were updated to work with multi-lens smartphones. As it is, I can't use this mount with my phone, so am not sure how well it would work with a single lens phone.The included carrying case, lens cloth, and wrist strap are all nice accessories to have. NOTE: The phone mount does NOT fit inside this carrying case. The carrying case can only accommodate the monocular itself.Overall, I am happy with this monocular for what we wanted to use it for.

Awkward to use

I like to do some bird watching in the warmer months and I thought I would give this monocular a try. It's not as heavy to carry around as binoculars are.This monocular has got a 12×50 high power magnification. What this means is that it can make things look twelve times closer than they actually are. So, if you're looking at a bird that's 240 feet away, it'll appear as though it's only 20 feet away.And the 50mm objective lens is a good size, too. Bigger lenses tend to gather more light, which can help give you a brighter image. So, this monocular will give you a nice clear view of anything that's up to 289ft/1000yards away. That's a little more than half a mile which is a decent distance for a monocular.The lens on this monocular is Fully Multi-Coated which is a nice feature because it helps to reduce glare and internal light scatter to improve the quality of the image. And it's got a BAK-4 prism inside. BAK-4 is a type of high-quality glass that's used in optics that helps to eliminate lack of clarity and improves light transmission.The monocular is IPX7 waterproof which means it can be submerged in water for short periods of time without damage. Plus, it's got O-ring sealed optics for added protection against water and dust. It's also filled with nitrogen gas, which is a neat little trick that helps prevent the lens from fogging up. It also comes with a soft fabric storage case. The external surface has a textured grip to make it easier to hold on to and helps absorb any shocks if you accidentally drop it.The monocular is designed to be compact and easy to use with one hand. I personally love this feature because I've got an iphone in the other hand most of the time. Speaking of phones, this monocular comes with a universal smartphone adapter. This means you can attach your phone to the monocular and take some really neat pictures. It's a great feature for bird watching, hunting, hiking, camping, or just taking in the scenery.This Gosky monocular looks like a solid piece of equipment that's well-designed and packed with high-quality features. Whether you're an outdoor enthusiast, a bird watcher, or just someone who appreciates a good view, I think this monocular could be a great addition to your gear.

You get some fish-eye effect with this lens. I watched some youtube videos of other 12x monoculars for cameras, and they were a lot smaller and didn't have distorted images. This appears to do 12x. The camera attachment is very adjustable, and you can avoid blocking camera buttons. You can't adjust the distance between the monocular and the lens on the phone. You need to be at least 7' 4" away from something to get it in focus. There is no zoom. The "twist eyecap" changes how much of the view you see. You can test this by using it as a monocular. In the photos, the eyecap is adjusted all the way out, and all the way in. With the eyecap all the way in (closed), you get the cut-off lines on the sides. You don't get that cut-off using it as a monocular. I tested this with a Moto E Android phone.

I'm a bird watcher and over the years have gotten really good at using my phone to take pictures through the lense of my high powered binoculars that sit on a tripod. I've always wanted an monocular to help spot birds and the fact that this one came with the ability to attach my phone to it for pictures was a bonus. Long story short...I LOVE the monocular, the phone holder is just meh. The monocular has a great feel and is easy to focus and use to locate birds and other items. I love how light it is compared to my regular binoculars. The attachment is really fussy and takes quite a while to get it dialed in. Then it's really hard to keep your phone to stay in place no matter how tightly I've screwed everything down. If I used the monocular exclusively on a tripod it might work better, but then that defeats the purpose of the monocular. It's still a great price for the monocular, just don't expect much of the add-ons.