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Author
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tonyc4793
TC
Registered: March 2009
Location: Manchester, Britain
Posts: 11
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Review Date: Tue October 13, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $480.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Image quality and clarity, performance, weigh, portability.
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Cons:
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Nikon don't do a stay on case but good one's can now be purchased elsewhere from Cley Spy and Infocus on line.
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Bought this scope about six months ago as I already have the Nikon ED82 which uses most of the same eye pieces. Now I tend to use it more than the larger scope for magnification up to 27x. The twist up eyepiece zoom does go up th 40x but I prefer the wide eyepieces and also the images become less bright at 40x magnification.
The 20x wide eyepiece gives an excellent wide angle view and good brightness and is may favourite. If I had to choose only one eyepiece it would be the 20x wide. The 13-30 zoom with the rubber eye relief is both comfortable and practical to use and very bright at 13x magnification. It performes well up to it's highest magnification of 30x, which is practically the limit of this 50mm scope. Of the two zoom eyepieces available, I much prefer the 13-30x with rubber eye relief to the 13-40x with twist up relief.
When rating this scope I am comparing it to other 50mm scopes in the same league as no 50mm scope will compete on performance at high magnification with a large scope. For a 50mm light weight travel scope, this is the best I have come across and although it works better at lower magnifications, it cannot compete with an ED82mm scope at higher magnifications. The ED50 is quality in a very light weight and small travel sized scope.
Cley Spy and Infocus both make stay on cases for this scope and although not cheap, the Cley Spy cover is of good quality and fits both straight and angled scopes. I have not seen the Infocus cover close up and I believe it only fits the angled scope.
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dandihen
Registered User
Registered: March 2009
Location: south wales uk
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Fri November 13, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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light to carrry and easy to use with a monopod
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Cons:
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no fine controle knob
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I have one and use it to digiscope. It is compact and light. With a light weight monopod it is very transportable. I just bought an Optricon G52 ED and although it is a little heavier and bulkier than the Nikon I prefer it. I also use the Optircon with the CMOS telecam so have not tried digiscoping with it.
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cassowary
Registered User
Registered: December 2005
Location: uk
Posts: 280
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Review Date: Wed January 27, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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quality optics, light weight, waterproof, compact
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Cons:
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no good padded view-through case available
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Truly a teriffic travel scope. The setup I use is Velbon head (245g) with the Slik Pro 614 CF legs (860g) Nikon ED50 Angled (470g) 27xWD eyepiece (165g). Total weight: 1740g. Also the Cley Spy view-through case.
Possibly the best travel scope available.
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Good luck and Good Birding
Mike
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Blackgold
Registered User
Registered: February 2010
Location: Houston
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Wed February 3, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Clarity of image and light weight
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Cons:
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Would like higher magnification
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I bought the Nikon ED 50 a month ago, with the zoom to 30x and a 40x Wide eyepiece, and a Velbon carbon fiber tripod. I have loved the scope so far and it has gotten a lot of attention - being so small, and portable. I am considering purchasing a 27X Wide eyepiece. Used it to scope the first seen Bare-throated Tiger Heron seen in the US.
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Davidblake
Registered User
Registered: February 2010
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 5
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Review Date: Wed March 3, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Lightweight waterproof Ideal for my safari trips
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Cons:
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it is not a Swarovski but hey!
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I needed a scope that i could pack or carry with limited space. The 50ED is a great comromise between size weight and cost with very good quality. Rather than attach my Cannon EOS SLR to it and to give me flexibility I want to purchase a small digi camera for team shots around the braai etc and for digiscoping. Any suggestions out there ??????
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optiman
Registered User
Registered: January 2010
Location: dublin
Posts: 129
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Review Date: Fri May 13, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Supreme Optics, Lightweight & Simplicity.
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Cons:
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Too Light maybe
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I have to agree with many, many BF reviewers about this particular scope: Nikon ED50. The clarity and sharpness from a 'simple' scope is frightfully breathtaking!. Nikon pulled out all the stops here - this scope is NOT your ordinary scope..believe me! It's a revelation and i KNOW it's a 'stayer'. This 'mini scope' will stand the test of time. Enough said. Do yourself a favour: BUY ONE!
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John Cantelo
Registered User
Registered: August 2003
Location: Canterbury, UK
Posts: 4215
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Review Date: Fri June 24, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Light weight & good optics
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Cons:
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Given the constraints of a 50mm OG, none that I'm aware of
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Everything you've heard about this mini-marvel is true. Excellent optics - far better than any other 50mm scope I've seen. The zoom is less sharp than the x30 on my 62mm Leica scope, but there's little in it. I rarely take out my larger 'scope as this one is so convenient. Only problem has been finding a suitable lightweight tripod so both can be stowed in hand luggage.
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John
Please support Andalucia Bird Society www.andalusiabirdsociety.org Visit my website & blog on birding in SW Spain at http://birdingcadizprovince.weebly.com/
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Average birder
Observer.
Registered: August 2008
Location: Rep.of Ireland
Posts: 10
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Review Date: Fri April 13, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Light. Small. Simple.
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Cons:
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None
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Must agree with almost everyone above. Quite simply this scope is brilliant.
I use it with the 27X wide angle eyepiece and cannot fault this combination.
I was considering a second (40X wide angle) eyepiece and would appreciate any comments from anyone using this particular combination.
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Don't worry about the winning side, just be on the right side.
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lestat
Registered User
Registered: September 2004
Location: Utrecht, Netherlands
Posts: 13
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Review Date: Wed September 19, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $500.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Light, small fits inside a regular photobag with room to spare
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Cons:
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eyepieces are hard to obtain as of mid-2012
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Agreed with the people above me. It's a very nice travel scope which wont leave my camera bag soon. It's an ideal piece to bring along instead of binoculars if you're out taking pictures anyway, however on most trips I bring all 3 (cam, bin and scope) it's THAT light
Since this review wont allow me to choose my currency: I paid €400 for both the scope and the eyepiece. A real bargain, but it was a last one in stock ex-demo.
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Jane Turner
Registered User
Registered: October 2003
Location: Hoylake, Merseyside
Posts: 19605
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Review Date: Sun October 21, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Weight, clairty of image, field of view, depth of field and close focus.
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Cons:
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Fiddly focusing (though compensated for by depth of field)
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This weighs less than my binoculars and is as easy to hand hold. I use mine on a shoulder pod and take it out every time I go birding. Its made my big scope redundant. I even find myself using it for sea watching. Its so easy to use, I get less judder when scanning my big scope, which I now have pointed at a fixed point and go "casting" with the ED50.
I use the 27x WA lens on it and would strongly recommend this over any zoom.
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If I'm not online I'm probably here!
Last Cheshire Lesser Scaup (301) last Red Rocks Grey Partridge (250), last Garden Avocet (202), last Self-found Great White Egret (293)
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