Variable Power Range, 1-20X50

[NealC]

I tried finding information on the web regarding the variable power range and was unsuccessful. Why can't manufacturers make a scope variable range from lets say, 1-20X50 instead of only 5-20x50? I am sure there is a technical reason and would like to know why it can't be done.

 

[ronemus]

They could make a very wide zoom range, but the optical quality would suffer and the price would be very high. I have camera lenses with 14:1 zoom ranges, and 15:1 ranges are available, but camera lenses are much larger, heavier, and don't have to stand up to recoil; the internal mechanisms are very complex, with several groups of moving lenses. A rifle scope has a 30 or 34 mm main tube, and must incorporate an intermediate focal plane for the reticle as well as the windage and elevation adjustment mechanisms. A camera lens is 2" or more in diameter, has a single focus, and doesn't have a reticle oand associated adjustments. A wide zoom range for a scope would probably be at least 2" in diameter, 30" long, weigh several pounds, and cost over $10,000!