New scope - help!

[Peter James]

My birdwatching is mainly on the River Camel in Cornwall and in the immediate coastal areas.
I have been bird watching for two years now, and I need a scope.
Can anyone tell me what I need to look for. I am confused by the numerous scopes available, and don't necessarilly trust the "sale speak" offered to me in the local outlets.
I know this is the equivalent of asking "how long is a piece of string....?" But I would appreciate any help. Many thanks.

[Jules Sykes]

Hi Peter
Buy one of the leading bird magazines and find out where and when there is an optics fair in your area. Go to it and trial a few that are within your price range. Alternately when your out birding ask for a look through other peoples and what their opinion is. A word of advice though, i wouldn't get a zoom lens with your new scope unless it is one of the 'top-of-the-range' models, i think a couple of fixed mag lens' are better (i use a 20x & 45x). Plus what ever scope you buy ensure you invest in a good sturdy tripod, it is essential when out in windy conditions. The most expensive scope won't be able to combat a shaky tripod.

[birdman]

Hi Peter,

On behalf of the Admin Staff and Moderating Team, let me wish you a warm WELCOME to BirdForum.

As I do not own a particularly good scope myself I cannot help you out here, but if I might suggest you look in the rest of this forum, you will find plenty of information.

Also, keep coming back to this thread, as I am sure help will appear!

In the meantime, why not go to Say Hello, and introduce yourself "formally".

Most of all, have a great time on here.

:t:

[ivewalmer]

Good article on scopes in Birdwatch magazine this month.

[alan_rymer]

I suppose you've got to ask yourself a few questions first!.

1. Whats the distance you'll be from the birds you want to see?.
2. Whats the weather conditions like when you're out?. Do you need a waterproof scope, or are you a "fair weather" birder.
3. Whats the light like?. 66mm or greater objective?.
4. Do you want to use it for digiscoping, or should I say, any likelyhood in the future?
5. Is weight an issue!. A scope and all the paraphenalia can end up being quite heavy.
6. Whats the maximum you can spend ( remember, you need Scope body, one eyepiece,and as Jules said, a sturdy rigid tripod and maybe a stay on case for the scope ).
Most of the new scopes will take a high definition zoom eyepiece and they are good. I don't think you lose very much light and only a little field of view compared to a fixed mag eyepiece.
From what I have read, South West Optics who are in your area are a reliable outlet.
Hope that helps, although I appreciate I skipped recommending any manufacturers and models.

[Colin]

Peter,
Welcome to Bird Forum. In addition to the good advice others have posted in this thread, here is what I posted in a very old thread in 2002.

Colin

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Here are a few points to consider before buying. You may know of these but here they are for what they are worth.

Don't go to a high street shop in the first instance - they do not have the viewing facilities - you will have to escorted outside with an assistant and one scope and by the time another is set up you will have forgotten what the first was like. Go to a specialist shop first but don't necessarily buy from there.

Decide if you want an angled scope or a straight.

Decide if you want a fixed magnification or a zoom. 32x is a middle of the road fixed. For general watching a fixed is OK but if you want to do things like reading plastics rings etc, a zoom is needed.

Decide if you can afford the more expensive florite glass - give a brighter image especially on dull days. (Try to choose a dull day for viewing - the dullness of the day sorts the men from the boys so to speak).

When you have decided what you want seach the magazines and even the internet for a good price. Beware of 'grey' imports. These are NOT fakes but have been imported by dealers who are not official dealers of that particular make. The problem comes when things go wrong (unlikely with a scope unless you drop it but more likely with, say, cameras with lots of electonics etc.) Then, the dealer will have to send it off, often overseas and you may be without it for weeks whereas with an official dealer, the problem may be fixed on the spot or maybe have to be sent only to a local repairer.

The bottom line is have a look through as many as you can. I endorse what others have said - you will find one which suits your eyes. I have a Kowa 824, now superceded. I found this better to my eyes than more expensive scopes which although very good I considered to be awful in terms of value for money but that was just my eyes.

One final tip. Once you have got your scope try to keep the eye, that you are not using to look through it, open. If you close your other eye and spend lots of time observing, you will find that you will get an ache from the muscles around that eye and for a while you may even find this eye twitching a bit.
Hope this helps