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Nikon Zoom (1 Viewer)

Neil Hagley

Neil Hagley

Well-known member
I have been testing scopes over the last few weeks and although I think the latest Kowa 77mm with its new zoom is the best, I am still leaning towards the ED 82 for performance and value (2/3 the cost of a Kowa). I hasten to add that my choice is based on fixed EP's not the zoom. It seems to me that in the ED 82 Nikon has a body as good as anything else but the zoom is very much in the lower leagues. Does anyone know if Nikon is planning to release a third generation 'wide' zoom to compete with Kowa, Swaro etc? Alternatively can any other new generation zoom be fitted in any way?
thanks.
 
Last edited:
nexstarneil said:
the zoom is very much in the lower leagues.

Hiya,

The zoom is only "in the lower leagues" in terms of eye relief & field of view, in terms of optical quality it's definately in the top league. The ED82 is as good as anything out there with the possible exception of the new Kowa 88. Even then the difference ain't worth an extra £700! Get the Nikon, at the price it's a bargain compared to the other high end scopes & spend the difference on a birding holiday.

Cheers,

John.
Click to expand...
 
I´d back up John there. I have the zoom and it´s optically excellent, and very usable to well over 60x in most conditions. A tad narrower in FOV than a Swaro zoom I used to have, but the extra oomph more than compensates. BTW, have you thought about a 50xw fixed ep instead of the zoom?
 
I,ll second John on the nikon .The x38 is the way to go with fixed EP,s.
you will love the 82 with the x38 .
If you want another choice in exellent value scopes take a look at the pentax 80pf ed.With the 14 or 20 XW EP its a great value for the money scope.
Brian.
 
Many thanks for all your comments. I had four of the top scopes lined up side by side so I was able to move up and down the line at will allowing the best kind of direct comparison. I accept the views about the Nikon zoom but IMHO the fov and er are the very reasons why it is very much a 2nd generation EP compared to the 3rd generation Swaro, Zeiss and especially the new Kowa which is close to perfect.
 
nexstarneil said:
Many thanks for all your comments. I had four of the top scopes lined up side by side so I was able to move up and down the line at will allowing the best kind of direct comparison. I accept the views about the Nikon zoom but IMHO the fov and er are the very reasons why it is very much a 2nd generation EP compared to the 3rd generation Swaro, Zeiss and especially the new Kowa which is close to perfect.
Click to expand...
Kimmo Absetz did a review of the new Kowa in "Alula" some months ago...I can´t find my copy, must have dumped it. I don´t want to misquote the review, but I think he was well impressed and rated it as tops. Check the Alula website, the review might be there.
 
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