Big Uncle

First a disclaimer: I am absolutely no expert, and frankly neither are 99.999% of the self proclaimed expert internet gurus.

Large objective lens spotters usually seem a bit brighter to my eyes but they are a huge pain to carry around. I use a large lens (80*) for spotting from a camp or vehicle and a smaller 60mm if I want to throw it in my pack.

Straight or angled is really dependent upon intended use. Glassing from a vehicle or a full size tripod the straight works best for me and it is much easier to get pointed in the right direction. The angled eyepiece is nice for looking upward, like spotting from the bottom of the valley to the mountain side.

Less expensive spotters are almost useless at the higher powers and even the best ones have limited use at 60x. I have some premium spotters and it is rare that I turn one higher than about 45 or so.

With spotting scopes you definately get what you pay for. The super budget spotters are dim, fuzzy, and a waste of money, but luckily the quality has gone up and the price has gone down on the medium priced glass.

Many guys do not realize how important a good tripod is. Get a good tripod! A scope that vibrates and shakes on the top of a cheap tripod will always give a fuzzy view.