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New Opticron MM4 spotting scopes (1 Viewer)

Hi,

it depends if 32x will be sufficient for your use - it's not so much more than 23x...

If you can look through a fellow birders scope some time and check if 30 times mag is enough for your gulls, a 30 wide EP is going to be brighter than a zoom at the same mag due to less lenses (provided the coatings are comparable) and is also going to be wider than a zoom at 32x (zooms with a 3 times zoom range are usually fairly narrow at the lower end).

Btw. is there currently a 30 wide EP available from Opticron - I don't see one on the MM4 page?

The zoom on the other hand allows you to get even closer if necessary - at the price of a narrower field of view especially at the low mag end.
Btw. the SDLv2 is kinda expensive but also very good and with the MM4 it would give a fully waterproof kit - unlike the HDF zoom (and fixed), which aren't waterproof.

Joachim, who loves his SDLv2 dearly - usually on an old TSN-3
 
I thought about the 40858, wide angle. Indeed it is now listed in the archive...
I had not thought about the waterproof aspect, thanks.
From 23x to 32x is not so much, but from what I read the brightness and sharpness would quickly decrease with higher magnification.

Also wonder if a Baader adapter can be properly fixed on the sdl v2 zoom: on the eyecup?
 
Hi,

well how brightness and quality of the image fare with higher magnifications depends on the eyepiece and instrument used.

My TSN-3 with the SDLv2 is mostly used at max magnification of 53x - it is very sharp there (and below too, of course), has a beautifully wide afov (at high magnifcation only, though) and during daylight the brightness is quite sufficient. At dusk, I sometimes zoom down a bit for more light... my Kowa 30 wide is used rarely.
Searching birds is done with bins - I remember the position and aim the scope with Kimmos cable tie aid.

I can't comment on how sharp the MM4 60 will be at 45x as I don't know it - I would hope it to be quite sharp too...

What do you mean with Baader adapter - a T mount adapter to get a camera body on there for afocal photography? Opticron has an adapter type 41114 which fits over the eyecup of the SDLv2 and is secured with a locking screw - this ends in a T mount thread from which you can adapt either to you cam body with a T2 or sometimes to the filter thread of a short tele if you can find the right adapter...

Joachim
 
the 23x should be a great digiscoping eyepiece..in any case to complement the one you already have the Zoom would probably be the best..and they work well for digiscoping..I use a Baader zoom adapted to my Kowa 823 and really does not give a single degree compared with wide angle eyepieces,except at the very low power,where optical qualities are somehow compromised anyway..passed 24mm the view is as wide as 60degrees ,wide enough for me and opens to a large 72degrees,i think at 8mm..and is as sharp as any eyepiece too..but as Joachim points wide fixed eyepieces are a little brighter at same magnification..this might not be evident in bright conditions but is a fact..that and maybe a little eye relief,mostly giving advantage to the fixed at diigiscoping use..Baader just released a new ,mark IV zoom,optimized for spotting scopes,and probably easily adaptable to the opticron
What type of mount does the MM4 features?..external thread?,internal thread...,bayonet?
 
Thank you all for your replies.
By Baader adapter was meant digiscoping adapter, in fact:
https://www.tringastro.co.uk/microstage-ii--baader-digiscoping-adapter-1588-p.asp

Together with a (Canon s110) compact camera. With the 15-45x zoom it looks like this adapter should be attached to the eyecup, and this would not be very stable. Not as with the smartphone adapter that Frank is using, where size and vibrations are reduced.
May be a good enough reason to avoid the zoom (?).

@Frank: This looks sharp enough at 45x. I also use the camera optical zoom (x3-x4) to get more magnification, and the result might also be different between the fixed 32x and the 15-45x zoom. Best would be to try out.

Anyway, I currently favor the 32x (if still available, Opticron CH) and could later post feedback about my experience.
 
Hi,

I think the Baader Microstage should be fastened further down on the eyepiece for a stable fit on the SDLv2. You won't be able to use the zoom then easily but since you still have the camera zoom, that's ok.

PS: Opticron themselves still offer the 40858 EP on amazon.uk - so it won't hurt asking them... or just order it - I have done so for quite a few things.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Telescop...8-HDFT-Eyepiece-MM2-MM3-Telescopes/B005XXZJIC

Joachim
 
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Although the Amazon listing for the 40858 is still live and showing a delivery lead time, the eyepiece is no longer availalble so please don't order it as we don't have stock!

Joachim - Just FYI that listing is not an Opticron offer, it is Amazon's offer. Unfortunately, there is no way for us to actively discontinue products on Amazon. We have to wait for them to order something that is out of stock and at that point we can tell them it's gone. And then they order again and we tell them. And again. And again... You get the picture.

The only fixed mag eyepieces available now are 40810 (17x), 40831 (23x) and 40861 (72x).

Cheers, Pete
 
Hi,

ok that's an unfortunate situation... do you plan to introduce more fixed mag wide EPs - currently the choice is a bit uneven with two very low mag offers and one very high one... the 30 wide is quite popular for a reason...

Joachim
 
I can ask the powers that be but what I can tell you is that sales of our 40809 eyepiece fell from several hundred a year in the early 2000s to a couple of dozen a year by 2015. That makes it very hard to put together an economically viable replacement when we'd need to place an order with the supplying factory for several hundred at a time.

Cheers, Pete
 
I have an early version of the 40810 and a 40809 which I use with my Pentax scope. Both excellent ep,s. and easily modified to the Astro fitting. Maybe with an adapter thrown in you might have sold more? Just a thought.
 
Looking into the mm3 or mm4 still can't decide but swinging toward the mm4 (mm4 at the top end of my budget but mm3 seems to only come in 50 in most of the shops I looked at online and I think i am going to need 60 as I plan on doing some seawatching and other reasonable long distances uses) so likely going to try at my local infocus to get an ideal but wondering what the differences between the HDF 15-45 ZOOM and the SDL.

Also wondering if there will be times when I can get with using its on a monopod or would you suggest the SHERPA 200R TRIPOD which is the ones it seems to come with. Trying to get enough information before I go and try them out
 
Thanks for the review. I had the chance to try this scope today(MM4 60ED) at Focus, Rutland water, talk about bang for your buck(£). At the extreme long end of the zoom range there was a drop in optical quality, but I've seen this happen in the best most expensive scopes too. This offering from Opticron has to be seen as excellent value for money!
cheers
 
a j Steele,

To answer your questions, the HDF zoom is not waterproof while the SDL V2 is plus the SDL V2 is also advertised as being a hair sharper. The benefit to the HDF is that its size compliments the MM3 and MM4 scopes more so than the SDL V2.

You can get away with using a monopod with either scope...in fact I have taken it a step further and often put the 50 mm on a shoulder stock for real portability.
 
Well after trying out in the shops bought the 60 version of the mm4 with the zoom which infocus recomonded due to be designed for the scope at the weekend. Today had a few hours in gloomy conditions and worked really nice and a step up from my last scope, next week it will be getting a full runout but so far really happy with it.
 
On a few occasions, yes, I have. The 60 mm MM4 is a notable step up obviously because of the larger diameter objective lens but also because of the more up to date coatings. Also keep in mind the larger variety of current eyepieces available for the MM4 series....including two zooms and a few fixed magnification/wide angle eyepieces.
 
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