Poor Quality Control, Pentax Scopes (1 Viewer)

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.

"The first problem was a spot on the inside lens of the scope just left of center."

When doing research before buying my spotting scope i have read the story of someone with that same problem with a PF80ED. I sadly can't remember where it was posted. I also read about other (little) problems and concluded there is much variation with Pentax. There will always be some variation between identical scopes but it seems Pentax sometimes delivers "bad" scopes.

But a "normal" PF80ED is very good en in the U.S. very cheap. If the Pentax service is ok than you could consider it something wich sometimes comes with the low price.

In Europe the price is about equal to a Nikon ED82A, my final choice.

dirt within zoom eyepiece

I am sorry to hear that you had problems with your Pentax spotting scope. In my case, I ordered a scope and noted that its zoom eyepiece had a small spot in its interior. It looked like a small drop of grease had fallen out of the threads and onto the glass element. It was tempting to see if I could open the eyepiece up and clean it--but a call to Pentax in Colorado, USA convinced me to ship it there and have it cleaned. Once cleaned, the eyepiece performed well and everything was fine. I had one of the higher end Kowa spotting scopes and thought that the view through the Pentax was very slightly better. This may have been due to using their fixed mag eyepieces--comparing a variable focal length eyepiece to one of fixed focal length is not fair. However, I thought I could use my astronomical eyepieces on scope--the Pentax takes the 1.25 inch eyepiece tube and while my zoom eyepiece was out for repairs, I had some backup eyepieces. Fortunately, the main object lens was fine and I enjoyed my scope while the eyepiece was being repaired (under warranty).

I found the service department to be very helpful and having a lifetime warranty is a benefit.





Brian

Hi PCC
Dont worry about it!
My friend has purchased a swarovski 80HD spotting scope and after few months he has noticed that the scope has soaked through!!! In our country this scope costs 3200 $!!! Neither swarovski, neither pentax etc... are better than others!
Such is life! alack...