For birding, nature study, hunting, or scenic viewing, an Orion spotting scope will provide years of enjoyment. Spotting scopes are designed for distance viewing in daylight.

They are most commonly refractor designs, with internal prisms to provide a correctly oriented image and a thread-on eyepiece of fixed or variable (zoom) magnification. Other spotting scopes sport Maksutov optics and interchangeable eyepieces.

Spotting scopes can achieve higher magnifications than most binoculars, but they do require a tripod for support. Many spotting scopes allow attachment of a camera for taking impressive through-the-scope photographs.