If I were in the market for a new spotting scope I would seriously check out the Pentax PF65ED. It is ED glass and has a great picture. It is fairly light and if you shop around you can sometimes pick it up for around $599. I would check with Doug at cameraland to see if maybe he has any demos or when he might get some in. Here is the site:

www.cameralandny.com

He is great to deal with and he will tell you straight up what he thinks.