Poor Quality Control Or Bad Luck?
I purchased the angled PF80ED with the 20x60 zoom, the Bogen 701RC2/190V tripod, window pod, large universal digiscoping adapter and use a Pentax WR43 camera. These scopes looked brand new and in factory sealed cartons. The first problem was a spot on the inside lens of the scope just left of center. It could be dirt or a chip in the glass, I don't know. It may not cause any photographic problem but it would have bugged me anyway. The second problem was the zoom lens was stuck at the 20x position. I had to mount it to force it free, it was never very smooth after that. So I ordered another one, it had a nice smooth zoom but the scope looked out of focus on the left side about 15-20% at any power, not near as much on the right side if any. I tried rotating the eyepiece but no change. I used an optical chart set at 40 feet and did some work in the field to make my tests. For some reason there was much more laterial chromatic aberations (blue/purple fringing) using the camera with the second scope than any other. Could be the scope, camera or the way the camera fit the eyepiece? I also noticed on both scopes that the rubber housing at the bottom rear did not fit snugly to the metal body and felt loose. I found it neutral in color, dark viewing at 60x (even on a very sunny day), overstated eye relief (especially in the middle range), very hard to bring to focus at 60X, and it blacked out often when trying to look through it with glasses. It does have a very huge, heavy, high quality eyepiece, smooth focusing wheel and a nice bag. Of course I returned these items and am now reconsidering the whole digiscoping thing. I may just buy a 500mm Sigma lens with a 2x adapter and a Pentax K100D SLR body along with a 65mm scope just for viewing?? I do own a Panasonic FZ10 which I think is one of the best camera series out there for most birding and have taken many great photos with it. Pentax customer support is one of the best I have seen, I have called them at least 10 times and always had a good experience.
I purchased the angled PF80ED with the 20x60 zoom, the Bogen 701RC2/190V tripod, window pod, large universal digiscoping adapter and use a Pentax WR43 camera. These scopes looked brand new and in factory sealed cartons. The first problem was a spot on the inside lens of the scope just left of center. It could be dirt or a chip in the glass, I don't know. It may not cause any photographic problem but it would have bugged me anyway. The second problem was the zoom lens was stuck at the 20x position. I had to mount it to force it free, it was never very smooth after that. So I ordered another one, it had a nice smooth zoom but the scope looked out of focus on the left side about 15-20% at any power, not near as much on the right side if any. I tried rotating the eyepiece but no change. I used an optical chart set at 40 feet and did some work in the field to make my tests. For some reason there was much more laterial chromatic aberations (blue/purple fringing) using the camera with the second scope than any other. Could be the scope, camera or the way the camera fit the eyepiece? I also noticed on both scopes that the rubber housing at the bottom rear did not fit snugly to the metal body and felt loose. I found it neutral in color, dark viewing at 60x (even on a very sunny day), overstated eye relief (especially in the middle range), very hard to bring to focus at 60X, and it blacked out often when trying to look through it with glasses. It does have a very huge, heavy, high quality eyepiece, smooth focusing wheel and a nice bag. Of course I returned these items and am now reconsidering the whole digiscoping thing. I may just buy a 500mm Sigma lens with a 2x adapter and a Pentax K100D SLR body along with a 65mm scope just for viewing?? I do own a Panasonic FZ10 which I think is one of the best camera series out there for most birding and have taken many great photos with it. Pentax customer support is one of the best I have seen, I have called them at least 10 times and always had a good experience.
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