Thursday, November 15, 2007
Scope..which to buy ?
Having been enthused about birds again by meeting members of this forum whilst moffing, I have now decided to go the whole hog and buy a scope again after many years without one. I wonder if I could ask advice from members of this forum before looking through the plethora of scopes advertised. At the moment I cannot afford a top of the range scope, but don't want a cheapo one either. Is there a consensus on a decent scope that wont break the bank ? I can manage for the time being with my bug watching bins which though small have decent optics, but I remember from my past bird watching days a scope makes a big difference to the range at which one can safely ID birds.
6 comments:
I'm a bit out of touch with what's available these days, I have my Zeiss Diascope 65mm and really like it (although it was a bit pricey). I used to have a Kowa scope and really liked that too, in fact the only reason I traded it in was to get a more compact scope for travelling with. Other mid priced models you often see are those made by Opticron, I've never actually looked through one (that I can recall) but you certainly see plenty about so they can't be bad? One option of course is to buy second hand and get a better quality scope for your money. Nowadays a lot of birders seem to upgrade their scopes quite regularly so they have the latest models, this leads to quite a number of very good scopes available second hand. Try companies like Focal Point or In Focus but please also look at Pennine Optics in Rochdale as they have always given local birders a good service and also help sponsor our report. There is also Warehouse Express which I think deal in grey imports (?) Remember if you get a scope you will definitely also need a tripod, trying to use one without is a non starter in my opinion.
In summary top makes are Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski, Nikon, Optolyth. Mid range are Kowa, Opticron. Lower end things like Hawke, Avian. There will be lots of advice on the web also. Would be interested to hear what others think.
for a quality scope you cannot go wrong with opticron,i had a es80 for 7 years,fantastic scope for the money,until i got a swarovski hd80.
as for shops pennine is the best for price but viewing is a bit poor,focal point(in cheshire)have better viewing over open fields,but are pricey,but they have a good range of secondhand scopes,which maybe a option?
as for infocus very poor on the stock front only a few models in.
warehouse express(not grey imports) are good value and service on the internet front.
for the best reviews 'birdforum' on the web have a section for reviews written by the users
good luck
darrell
Hi Nick & Darrell
Thanks for the info on types, makes and costs involved. Nick Dawtry also phoned me and offered advice. After looking on the web today at the literally hundreds on offer I think I need to try a few out first at a shop.
One thing that has surprised me is just how expensive scopes have now become. Most other optics such as cameras and astronomy scopes seem to have fallen dramatically in price whilst improving in quality,whereas bird scopes have gone way over what they used to be in real terms. I suspect its the same as with expensive walking gear, they know that people will pay so they charge what they like.
You're probably right Paul but even that has a limit, I remember Nikon charging something like £1500 for a pair of state of the art (science?) bins but no -one bought them, now they've been brought down to less than £1000. Still damned expensive though!
I've recently bought a Kowa 663 complete with a 20 - 60X zoom eyepiece and I'm very pleased with both. I've generally used Kowas over the years so stuck with the make and haven't been disappointed.Like Nick I went for a 66mm as I travel abroad frequently and these are more portable.
It is best to try out as many as possible and one thing is to look out for any of the retailers holding viewing days at Blacktoft, Martin Mere etc where you can get a much better idea of what you like.If you had sufficient patience you could wait for the Birdfair at Rutland Water, which is an excellent venue for trying out optics, but it is 9 months away!
In Focus at Denby Dale have good viewing facilities but they only hold a limited range of makes and will always point you towards Opticron, which is their "specialist" range. these scopes are vey popular and seem to be good value for money so they seem to be getting something right.
As well as the other retailers that have been cited I have used Ace Optics of Bath who gave excellent service including replacing one of their own brand stay-on cases with a Kowa one foc. Their prices are also very competitive.
I've recently opted for the Nikon 60 IIIED very impressed with it on the 30xwide angle but not so much on a recently purchased 20x60 zoom.
Good value for money though and voted best in recent Birdwatching Magazine survey. Would recommend unless you are keen to have a 20x60 eyepiece. As for others Sean Johnstone has a Zeiss 80mm (not sure of model but quality is out of this world.
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