iebirdie
Sunday 14th September 2003, 13:43
Hi,
I am agonizing over a scope purchase and need to decide in next few days. I sold my trusty Kowa 821 a while ago, and need a new scope. Looking for something similar in quality, perhaps a bit smaller. Budget is 500 pounds for scope and eyepiece. Ideally I would prefer a 60/66 not an 80. I am aware of all the advice about stretching to an ED/fluorite scope, and you get what you pay for etc. However reality bites. Really all I am looking for is a "good" scope for general birding for the price, and paying several hundred pounds extra for a few percent better quality will not add extra value for me.
The decision is proving surprisingly difficult. I have spoken with various specialist birding optics retailers but they all seem to have their biased favourites, presumably because of their supply chains. Also the recent Birdwatching magazine article on small scopes was confusing and low on detail. Initially I was going for a Kowa 661, but when I called various shops to get prices I was usually pushed away from it and encouraged to go a few hundred pounds more up the price list (usually to a Leica or Swarovski... or to another ED glass scope like the Fieldscope III ED).
I really liked the size of the Kowa 661, and having been happy with an 821, thought it would fit the bill. I cannot find any reviews of the 661 (as opposed to the 663 which is out of my budget). I would be interested to hear from anyone with a 661 as to what it is like optically.
In my budget, the possibles seem to be:
Kowa 661, Opticron HR66 (non ED), Nikon Fieldscope III (non ED)
(I would prefer a 60/66 for compactness, but see also in the 80s that there is also the choice of a Kowa 821M or Opticron ES80)
Surely at the 500 pounds price point my dilemma must be fairly common. I would be interested to hear if people have recently gone through the same process, and also if opinions on the above scopes could be provided.
I have of course read much of the same discussion on other threads, and apologies if this is a rehash. But much of those threads lead on to recommending higher spec models and a couple or few hundred pounds more. Most of us are not in that league, but are good birders and want a fairly good scope for the price. Is there a decent scope and eyepiece to be had around the 500 pounds pricepoint ?
Many thanks
Niall
I am agonizing over a scope purchase and need to decide in next few days. I sold my trusty Kowa 821 a while ago, and need a new scope. Looking for something similar in quality, perhaps a bit smaller. Budget is 500 pounds for scope and eyepiece. Ideally I would prefer a 60/66 not an 80. I am aware of all the advice about stretching to an ED/fluorite scope, and you get what you pay for etc. However reality bites. Really all I am looking for is a "good" scope for general birding for the price, and paying several hundred pounds extra for a few percent better quality will not add extra value for me.
The decision is proving surprisingly difficult. I have spoken with various specialist birding optics retailers but they all seem to have their biased favourites, presumably because of their supply chains. Also the recent Birdwatching magazine article on small scopes was confusing and low on detail. Initially I was going for a Kowa 661, but when I called various shops to get prices I was usually pushed away from it and encouraged to go a few hundred pounds more up the price list (usually to a Leica or Swarovski... or to another ED glass scope like the Fieldscope III ED).
I really liked the size of the Kowa 661, and having been happy with an 821, thought it would fit the bill. I cannot find any reviews of the 661 (as opposed to the 663 which is out of my budget). I would be interested to hear from anyone with a 661 as to what it is like optically.
In my budget, the possibles seem to be:
Kowa 661, Opticron HR66 (non ED), Nikon Fieldscope III (non ED)
(I would prefer a 60/66 for compactness, but see also in the 80s that there is also the choice of a Kowa 821M or Opticron ES80)
Surely at the 500 pounds price point my dilemma must be fairly common. I would be interested to hear if people have recently gone through the same process, and also if opinions on the above scopes could be provided.
I have of course read much of the same discussion on other threads, and apologies if this is a rehash. But much of those threads lead on to recommending higher spec models and a couple or few hundred pounds more. Most of us are not in that league, but are good birders and want a fairly good scope for the price. Is there a decent scope and eyepiece to be had around the 500 pounds pricepoint ?
Many thanks
Niall