Gosky12x55 HD Monocular Telescope with BAK4 Prism & FMC Lens, Lightweight with Smartphone Adapter - For Bird Watching, Hunting, Hiking, Traveling

I recently purchased the Gosky 12x55 HD Monocular Telescope, and it has exceeded my expectations in every way. This monocular has become an indispensable companion for my outdoor adventures.What I Love:High-Power Magnification: The 12x magnification brings distant objects up close with stunning clarity, making it perfect for bird watching, hiking, and sightseeing.​Superior Optics: Equipped with an 18mm BAK-4 prism and fully multi-coated (FMC) lens, the light transmission is excellent, resulting in bright and clear images even in low-light conditions.​Amazon+4Stargazing+4YouTube+4Robust Construction: The monocular is built to withstand the elements. Its waterproof, fog-proof, dust-proof, and shockproof design ensures durability during various outdoor activities.​TakealotSmartphone Compatibility: The included smartphone adapter is a fantastic addition, allowing me to capture high-definition images effortlessly.​StargazingComfortable Viewing: The long eye-relief and twist-up eyecup provide a comfortable viewing experience, even during extended periods of use.​StargazingFinal Thoughts:The Gosky 12x55 HD Monocular Telescope offers exceptional performance and durability, making it a valuable tool for anyone passionate about exploring the outdoors.​Highly recommend for nature enthusiasts, travelers, and anyone seeking a high-quality monocular!

I’ve been an avid amateur photographer most of my life, owning expensive well-known equipment as well as taking a flier on not so well known equipment, including a fair number of monoculars and binoculars. I was intrigued by the specs on this 12x55 Gosky monocular and for the price thought it well worth ordering. I was surprised and quite pleased when it arrived. It’s essentially the right weight, size, brightness, ease of focus and accuracy of focus. It’s well-made and easy to hold while using the same hand to operate the top focus wheel, which is continuous, very smooth and does not rush through the places you may wish to stop the focus for the picture you want. I use Amazon’s return policy and send things back that I don’t like, and in my opinion, this is a keeper.The holder that comes with it for taking a picture with your smartphone through the monocular looked a little daunting, but when I got to the point of actually setting up my smartphone in it -- when you’ve done it once it’s quite simple, and after you’ve tightened the unit at the right place so its center hole is properly over your phone’s camera lens (easy to do because you’re looking at your phone screen while positioning it), then the next time you want to take pictures, you put the phone in the holder, slip the entire unit over the rear lens and it’s in the right position for pictures. Then while it’s on the monocular, you’re always looking at your phone screen to see where the monocular is pointing and the way the monocular focus wheel is adjusting, as well as being able to manipulate your phone’s zoom, or any other photo/video feature on your phone to your liking in connection with the picture you’re about to take. You can of course do that either hand-held or with the monocular on your tripod.In my view, the monocular alone is definitely worth the price and the five stars. In addition to Gosky’s smartphone attachment, I’ve added two things to their package which I think enhance its use. They’re both purchasable on Amazon. The first addition is to remedy what may be an issue for some (including me). The rear lens cap is completely removed from the monocular when it’s in use. (The front lens cap stays attached and drops down out of the way.) The issue is of course is what to do with the removed rear lens cap when using the monocular. For me, sooner or later, I’ll be distracted trying to get a picture, and when I’m done, I won’t have the slightest idea what I did with the cap. So I bought on Amazon a small package of Altura Lens Cap Holder Keepers which consist of an elastic circular strap that can be slipped around the front of the monocular and a nylon tether that reaches to the back lens cap and sticks to it with a small circular adhesive tab. Thus, you can just pull the cap off and let it hang from the monocular, or pull off the elastic strap with tethered cap and, for instance, put the elastic around your wrist. Altura Lens Cap Holder Keeper .The second addition is a three-item package from CamKix, consisting of: (1) a small hand-held button (Bluetooth paired to your smartphone, iPhone or android) attached to a wrist strap, that will activate the shutter for photo/video so you don’t have to press anything on your smart phone when it’s attached to the monocular (reducing any person-made vibration); (2) a 7 ½ inch hand-held monopole that screws into the monocular for convenience, plus it can also be opened into a (surprisingly sturdy) table-tripod which can be used for a smartphone by (3) using the included screw-on holder for your smart phone (group pictures of friends, etc.), further, the smartphone can also be used that way on the monopole just by shutting the tripod. CamKix Camera Shutter & Tripod.

I mainly bought this for taking on hiking trips. To view wildlife and such. I compared the optical performance to my Pentax 12x 50mm binoculars. The resolution is very close in quality, if not equal. The magnification is as advertised. My binoculars cost about 3 times as much! Very pleased with this part.The phone attachment is a bit cumbersome to use and takes a bit too much time for my tastes. Once on works fine. But as others have noted you need a tripod or a monopod to take decent pictures. I used a monopod and was able to finally get clear focused images. With a remote shutter I was able to get even better-quality shots.So in summary. Excellent for viewing. Very good optics. Excellent value and quality. Decent for phone photos. But I am DSLR user and so I do not expect it be that good in quality.4.5 out of 5

I rarely post reviews on Amazon and the reason I wanted to write a few words about Gosky's monocular is because it's a great product and you really can't find anything better within this price category. Used it a bit for looking into the distance in the daytime at birds, scanning the trees on the forest line, etc.It's great to watch the sky at night - you can see a crisp view of craters and striations on the moon, brightening and additional detail of starry areas and the haze of the Milky Way. I would recommend that you use a tripod, especially at night for steadying the view.Scope is super simple to use. One-handed, nice and compact, great optics. Attaching a phone for added digital magnification is an easy process, but can be a bit troublesome to keep in place while manipulating the positioning of the monocular. I think that's largely due to my phone being so bog and having there camera lenses... Overall, this is a great product and Gosky's customer service is the best. If you register with them, they send you their promotional items. Alan from Gosky is just great! Thank you again!