First Look: Leupold SX-5 Santiam HD Spotting Scope

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posted on October 29, 2018
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Built as a durable field optic for long-range precision shooting and hunting, the Leupold SX-5 Santiam HD spotting scope is loaded with the latest optical technology, packaged in a durable housing that protects the high-quality glass from rugged use.

“Our consumers are some of the most dedicated, relentless hunters in the world,” said Zach Bird, product line manager for Leupold & Stevens, Inc. “They need optics that are as tough as they are–and the SX-5 Santiam HD Spotting Scope has been designed from the ground up to deliver that performance.”

Two models of the SX-5 Santiam HD spotting scope are available to consumers, one with a straight eyepiece and another with an angled eyepiece. Each design is built with a proven Porro prism and offers heightened clarity, stretching from each edge of the sight picture. The multi-coated lenses contained in the armored housing are designed to remove color dispersion, providing a clear, distortion-free sight picture straight to a user's eye. The lenses are also coated with the Leupold's unique DiamondCoat 2 and Guard-Ion treatments to protect against scratches and water-beading.

For hunters and shooters operating in the low-light hours surrounding dawn and dusk, the spotting scopes are an ideal choice. Contained in each model of the SX-5 Santiam spotting-scope lineup is Leupold's innovative Twilight Max HD light-management system, which is the same system used in the company's popular VX-5HD and VX-6HD scopes. This ensures that light transmission is optimized to allow for clear glassing in minimal ambient lighting, ensuring that shooters have the target details they need as soon as the sun peaks over the horizon. The company claims that the enhanced light transmission in this spotting scope extends low-light visibility by as much as 15-30 minutes on either end.

"The Twilight Max HD light-management system literally helps you see more in less light,” Bird said. “The superior glare reduction it offers ensures the maximum amount of usable light gets to your eye. Our proprietary lens coatings and superior optical design help deliver the very best contrast and resolution, ensuring you'll be able to see things like tines in heavy brush in very little light.”

At its lowest setting, the field of view behind the Leupold SX-5 Santiam HD 27-55x80 mm spotting scope is 105 feet at 1,000 yards. At its highest magnification setting, that FOV at 1,000 yards shrinks to 73 feet. The unit weighs 68.7 ounces and measures 16.4 inches long with the straight eyepiece and 15.7 inches long with the angled eyepiece. Each spotting scope is finished with a shadow-gray finish, and the suggested retail price on the optic is $2,339.99.

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