Features:

  • ED Objective Lens: Minimizes chromatic aberration, accurate color reproduction, increased resolution and contrast.
  • XLT Coatings (Fully Multi-Coated Optics)
  • 20-60x Zoom Eyepiece and Standard 1.25" Eyepiece. Close Focus-21.3 ft (6.5 m) at 20x with included eyepiece. Focal Length-480 mm (18.9 inch)
  • Magnesium Alloy Body: This material is strong and durable, but lighter weight than traditional aluminum alloy housings
  • Rotating tripod mount with detents: Place the orientation of the eyepiece in the best viewing position for application
Fantastic scope for a (maybe temporary) discount

Summary: If you're on the fence, and at the time of reading this review the price is still $729, buy it before the price goes back up or the product becomes discontinued. I researched for "the best" spotting scope for under $1000 two years ago and the Regal M2 100ED remains the highest regarded in the birding, casual astronomy, and shooting/hunting circles. But at $850, the price was still a little steep for me, so I held out. Two years later in early October 2013 Celestron released a rebate, dropping the price on the Regal line. The 100ED became $729, then $723. I couldn't pass up this discount since the 100ED price does not move up/down like other products. All other stores will honor the $729 price since it's set by Celestron. Amazon is having stock issues but other stores have stock if you're in a hurry. This discount is either due to Celestron needing revenue at the end of the year, or they're discontinuing this line. If they discontinue, we'll either get a slightly better product at the same price, significantly better at a higher price, or a worse product. All three options aren't worth it for me to wait. Fantastic scope for a (maybe temporary) discount by Celestron.

Great optics for a greatprice

Not the prettiest spotting scope out there but optics and ease-of-use are exceptional. It compares very favorably with other scopes I have tried (we do quite a bit of birding). Someone pushed it over onto a concrete side walk once and it picked up a few scratches and a very slight crack to an internal lens but it has not affected the performance. The zippers on the case managed to come un-tracked (and continued to despite my attempts at repair) and Celestron sent me a new case and lens cap free of charge, despite being outside of the warranty period (they didn't even ask). Great customer service! My only regret, and it's minor, is that I didn't pick up the 80mm version instead of the 65.

The telescope is excellent, ergonomics

The telescope is excellent, ergonomics, sharpness, performance are at the rendezvous. An excellent price-quality ratio, there is not really equivalent to this price, for such a performance. Aesthetics is also very nice. The object deserves its 5 stars without hesitation, although I would not say the same for the tripod Celestron 82052, a little complicated to mount and especially to adjust. Stability is essential when you raise x40 or more. I would have prefered to take another tripod than the one recommended because of the documentation that is not clear enough for its complexity of the tripod. Anyway, the purchase of the Regal M2 100 ED can be made eyes closed.

Very happy with this spotting scope.

Far better than the price would lead you to believe. After reading tons of reviews on various scopes I took the chance I picked the Celestron. Glad I did.

Crisp and Clean optics! AWESOME

I received the scope today and immediately set it up. I liked that the eyepiece had a really nice eyepiece cover made out of a solid metal. Probably brass or something. I then put on a tripod and started focusing on objects in the distance. I used the sighting line on the lens shade to help site in. I found this easier than other spotting scopes I have used. Others have a tiny sighting scope that just seems to make the scope bulkier. I have a Nikon spotting scope and the spotter is plastic. Once I felt I was lined up I was able to use the course focus adjustment to focus on the objects. Once this was set the fine adjustment really brought in the object crisp and clear. The focus adjustments were easy to use, smooth and fast to set. I used various objects at variable distances. Very smooth to adjust the focus and found it was easy to set by feel of my hand. The eyepiece is a 16x to 48x magnification. I set the eyecup up since I do not wear glasses. Felt very comfortable. I started at 16x on objects and found it easy to zoom in and out by rotating the eyepiece. As mentioned adjusting the focus was easy to do with my hand while looking through the eye piece. The tripod mount allows rotation of the scope. Real easy to do, slight turn of the knob and the tripod ring rotates. As the ring rotates it clicks into different positions. I rotated it a full 360 degrees as the manual states. At the same time I adjusted the eye piece fairly easy by loosening the lock ring on the eye piece. Nice to be able to do this. I like to go to the gun range and shoot prone. I can see how the versatile positioning will work with the proper mount. The tripod mount is great because it has 4 holes to mount with. This allows to mount the scope balance. My Nikon has one hole so however the scope mounts is how it mounts. The Celestron mount is much better. After I setup the scope and practiced I disassembled and put in the carry bag that it came with. I drove out to the rifle range. I put some lead down range about 200 yards and was able to see my target crystal clear. I used 3 different rifles. .308 easily seen and clear, .223 clear and crisp, and .17 HMR no issues seeing how I did. I used standard silhouette targets, non color change. Highly recommended.

Great scope at a decent price

First off, the optics are great. I took the attached pictures (base, 20x, and 60x magnifiation) around 6pm, so the light wasn't great by any means, but even at 60x magnification, the images were bright. I think you could easily get 100x or more with a different eyepiece. Apologies that on some of these I didn't do a great job focusing, but the scope itself can be focused very well, with both coarse and fine knobs. The 45 degree angle can make it hard to sight in. The slot on the extendable shade can help a bit with that. After comparing to many other scopes, I went for this one for a few reasons - on sale with rebate, fully multicoated with no chromatic aberration at default magnification range, t-ring adapter included for digiscoping, great warranty, and lots of features (rotating mount, coarse and fine focus knobs, shade to prevent glare, interchangeable eyepiece, etc.)

You could pay more but why

I looked at a few >$1000 models in Cabela's and decided to order this one on Amazon due to the features. I like the extra zoom, carry bag and ease of adjustment. The only advantage some of the other models might have versus this one is field of view. How important is that to what you do with it? I think in most cases it isn't that critical.

Solid Scope for the money.

Purchased for spotting rifle targets up to 300 meters and limited digiscoping. Fit and finish are excellent. All controls work smoothly and positively. No chromatic aberration seen during day, desert conditions. Lens cover and eyepiece cover feel robust and attach firmly to the scope to protect the glass. Can see individual leaves on trees over 400 yards away at 60x with no apparent image degradation. Some folks reported problems with the nylon storage bag; however, mine fits perfectly. My only minor gripe is that the zoom function on the eyepiece twists counterclockwise (left relative to the user) to increase, which is counter-intuitive to me. All my other zoom riflescopes and binos twist right/clockwise to increase magnification. Not enough to remove a star, it just threw me the first time I tried to zoom and wondered why the ring wouldn't turn. Still need to try it in overcast, twilight and night conditions, and run a star test to fully evaluate the scope. However, I'm happy with it and confident it will more than meet my needs for a spotting scope.

Stars are the limit...

I purchased the Regal M2 100ED as a quick grab scope for astronomy. I have thoroughly evaluated the sharpness of images at 22-67x and have found that the sharpness is exceptionally well. One of the main reasons that I opted for the Regal over the Ultima was the 1.25" eyepiece housing. I have tried a few of my other eyepieces, and have had very good success in their performance. The two of the eyepieces that I used to determine the range of magnification was my Orion Status 5mm (108x) and 3.5mm (154x). My target was a backyard flood light. My findings were at 108x that the image was very sharp. The light covering had a distinctive pattern that was easily visible. At 154x, the light covering was still fairly sharp and the pattern was still visible, but seemed to have lost some of the distinctiveness that was present at 108x. I can not honestly evaluate if it was the clarity of image or the light's luminosity that caused the loss clarity. Overall, I think the Regal is a very well made spotting scope that will perform very well in the night skies.

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