Don't get me wrong. as you mention NOT ALL Chinese made scopes are bad. I have posted on other forums about the Primostar and my admiration for Amscopes higher end Stereoscopes. Most of teh Big 4 are now made in China but to different specifications than the cheaper copies.
For example Accuscope is often ignored but has a very good scope and objectives comparable to some modern Olympus objectives at a much lower price and can be found on E-bay for some really good prices.
My comments were in reference to buying a NEW chinese scope vs a good used Big 4. Why spend a $1000 for a Chinese scope that is poorly built and inferior in design to some older scopes like the Olympus BH-2 or the Reichert Diastars or AO scopes. I have NO loyalty to a specific brand. I own Amscope, Olympus, Zeiss, AO, B&L, Swift ( also a good scope) etc. I admire various models from each manufacturer.
However, All you need do is sit an Olympus BH-2 with Dplan objectives for about $500 next to a $1000 Chinese scope and my point is proven. By the way a new Accuscope goes for several thousand dollars. There was an Accuscope model 3025 that sold for less than $300 that was equipped with a trinocular head, Fluoro objectives etc...which sold new for about $4000. THAT is my point.
One point I would like to mention. Most of those "Big 4" individuals own several if not dozens of scopes and make their comments based on actual usage and observation not just anecdotal data.
With that said I am finished with this topic. It tends to get a bit heated!!
