First time using a monocular... was buying the Gosky 10x42 Roof Prism Binoculars for a stargazing trip and decided to also pick up this Gosky Titan 12x50 Prism Monocular to see if it might be more portable and easier to use and mount on my Philips PJ44254 tripod. Glad I got this monocular! It has a metal 1/4"-20 thread to connect to my tripod. Feels sturdy enough and well built. I liked the stronger magnification compared to the binoculars. Picture was clear. Took a bit to try to figure out how to use the phone adapter to connect my Samsung Galaxy S8 phone... (pro-tip: connect and position your phone camera with the the open hole first, before connecting to the eyepiece of the monocular). If you are using the phone adapter, you will need to use a tripod to keep it stationary. Its moderate weight makes it harder to keep hands from shaking for a stable photograph.I went birdwatching the next day and chose to take the monocular over the binoculars since it was more compact and could fit in the webbing on top of my tactical fanny pack. Was able to spot a woodpecker!I wish the smaller rubber cover for the eyepiece that you look through had a circular band similar to the bigger rubber cover for the external lens... that way it can remain attached to the monocular even when you take it off... I'm afraid of losing it once I take it off or while I am carrying it around while not using it.