Telvid APO 62 or Swaro 65 For Spotting. (1 Viewer)

John151 · Mar 13, 2006

Purchase of one or the other is imminent. I have owned the 77 for some time and being in my 75th year I find it too heavy. At 60x magnification (Zoom eye piece on the 77) it loses clarity. Does this happen at 48x magnification which is the maximum on the 62? If I went for the Swaro 65 would clarity be preserved? I have had a good look for local stores where I could have a look but I can't find any. In Focus at Rutland Water don't stock Leica.

dipped · Mar 13, 2006

John151 said:
Purchase of one or the other is imminent. I have owned the 77 for some time and being in my 75th year I find it too heavy. At 60x magnification (Zoom eye piece on the 77) it loses clarity. Does this happen at 48x magnification which is the maximum on the 62? If I went for the Swaro 65 would clarity be preserved? I have had a good look for local stores where I could have a look but I can't find any. In Focus at Rutland Water don't stock Leica.

Hi John,
I think you have a number of options open to you. I own the Swaro HD65 with zoom and at 60x the zoom is still sharp but it is does darken sonewhat. Still I would rather have the option of zooming to 60x than only 48x. In the smaller scopes I wonder if you have ruled out the Zeiss, zooms to 45x and the Kowa 660 series, zooms to 60x and if so why.

Regarding clarity on the Leica 77 with zoom if you look at the review on Alulu you will find Kimmo had the same "problem". It would be interesting to try your current scope against the Swaro 65HD both at 60x. You may also have an older Leica zoom, I think they were improved at some point, though whether they are in the Swaro/Zeiss class is debateable. Although I'm not quite sure what you mean specifically by clarity if you want the best image quality you would be better going for an 80mm scope eg the Swaro which is the lightest of the top makes, see the Alulu reviews which also make the case for larger scopes. I don't know what tripod you are using but you may be able to make weight savings here too. Alulu reviews here http://www.alula.fi/GB/index.htm

John151 · Mar 13, 2006

Hello Dipped,

Thank you for your comprehensie reply. I didn't make it clear in my post that I have now sold my APO77. I know the larger scopes are better but due to the weight and my lack of stamina I really must go to a lighter one. By lack of clarity I mean a loss of definition and a dimming of the image around the edges. I have read good reports on the Zeiss but the maximum zoom of 45x tends to put me off. Even so, I am sorely tempted to buy the Zeiss. I am still trying to locate a stockist who has Leica 62 Swaro 65 and Zeiss in stock so that I can compare. Thanks again.

John

dipped said:
Hi John,
I think you have a number of options open to you. I own the Swaro HD65 with zoom and at 60x the zoom is still sharp but it is does darken sonewhat. Still I would rather have the option of zooming to 60x than only 48x. In the smaller scopes I wonder if you have ruled out the Zeiss, zooms to 45x and the Kowa 660 series, zooms to 60x and if so why.

Regarding clarity on the Leica 77 with zoom if you look at the review on Alulu you will find Kimmo had the same "problem". It would be interesting to try your current scope against the Swaro 65HD both at 60x. You may also have an older Leica zoom, I think they were improved at some point, though whether they are in the Swaro/Zeiss class is debateable. Although I'm not quite sure what you mean specifically by clarity if you want the best image quality you would be better going for an 80mm scope eg the Swaro which is the lightest of the top makes, see the Alulu reviews which also make the case for larger scopes. I don't know what tripod you are using but you may be able to make weight savings here too. Alulu reviews here http://www.alula.fi/GB/index.htm

pduxon · Mar 13, 2006

Hi John

If you are hung up on 20-60 power then consider the Nikon EDIII as well. I think with zoom eyepiece the Swaro is better BUT not necessarily optically (i find the Leica, Swaro zooms easier to look through) and its a lot cheaper! Swaro - 1018, Nikon - 798

Essentially the difference beween the Leica/Zeiss v Nikon/Swaro is FOV over Power

There are days when I'd like that extra power then again there are times I'd miss the FOV. At 16x the FOV of the Leica is the same as a Swaro 30x lens and the Zeiss 15x is much wider - means finding birds easier

Again what Leica zoom were you using? There is a new lockable one

I bought the Leica but all four scopes are good so you have to make that compromise between FOV and Power.

John151 · Mar 13, 2006

Thank you for your helpful comments. I was using the zoom just prior to the lockable one.

John.

pduxon said:
Hi John

If you are hung up on 20-60 power then consider the Nikon EDIII as well. I think with zoom eyepiece the Swaro is better BUT not necessarily optically (i find the Leica, Swaro zooms easier to look through) and its a lot cheaper! Swaro - 1018, Nikon - 798

Essentially the difference beween the Leica/Zeiss v Nikon/Swaro is FOV over Power

There are days when I'd like that extra power then again there are times I'd miss the FOV. At 16x the FOV of the Leica is the same as a Swaro 30x lens and the Zeiss 15x is much wider - means finding birds easier

Again what Leica zoom were you using? There is a new lockable one

I bought the Leica but all four scopes are good so you have to make that compromise between FOV and Power.

dipped · Mar 13, 2006

Hi again
I take it Focus Optics nr. Coventry don't have all the scopes in stock you want to try.

John151 · Mar 13, 2006

dipped said:
Hi again
I take it Focus Optics nr. Coventry don't have all the scopes in stock you want to try.

Hello again. I rang infocus and got the message unable to take your call just now, please leave your number and we will ring back. they didn't. I then emailed them asking if they stocked Swaro and Leica. Their reply was we only stock Swaro. I was suprised because I was talking to someone who said they had bought a Nikon there! It's a long way to go on spec.

Best wishes,
John

postcardcv · Mar 13, 2006

Hi John

Makes sure you do try them all out before you buy. Personally in the smaller scopes I would probably go for the Swaro for the extra power, I used to have an APO62 and found that at times the 48x was not enough, this was especially a problem when seawatching. Personally I don't get on well with the Zeiss (though others love it) and have never been over impressed with the Nikon zoom (though their fixed eyepeices are excellent). The little Kowa is probably the lightest (and just about the cheapest) option and is very good optically.

That said if I could have any scope I'd go for the one you've just sold, I think that APO77 is a wonderful scope, and in my experience it performs as well as (if not better than) the others at the top of the zoom.

John151 · Mar 13, 2006

Thank you Postcardcv. Well its gone now. I had reached the stage where I was always leaving it at home because of the weight. You see I like to take my camera too.

Swissboy · Mar 14, 2006

John151 said:
Thank you Postcardcv. Well its gone now. I had reached the stage where I was always leaving it at home because of the weight. You see I like to take my camera too.

Have you considered the new Nikon ED50? That would be REALLY light-weight.

John151 · Mar 14, 2006

No I haven't, I'll look it up and thank you.
John

Swissboy said:
Have you considered the new Nikon ED50? That would be REALLY light-weight.

pduxon · Mar 14, 2006

John151 said:
No I haven't, I'll look it up and thank you.
John

John

for your info the lens for the EDIII work out as follows

EDIII 30ww - ED50 20ww
EDIII 40ww - ED50 27ww
EDIII 20-60zoom ED50 13-40 Zoom

its very impressive but obviously the 50mm objective limits overall quality. weighs 450g + lens cost £269 (off of w/express) + lens.

John151 · Mar 14, 2006

Thank you for your trouble.
John

pduxon said:
John

for your info the lens for the EDIII work out as follows

EDIII 30ww - ED50 20ww
EDIII 40ww - ED50 27ww
EDIII 20-60zoom ED50 13-40 Zoom

its very impressive but obviously the 50mm objective limits overall quality. weighs 450g + lens cost £269 (off of w/express) + lens.

medinabrit · Mar 14, 2006

Have you thought about the pentax 65pf Its light small ,very reasonably priced . believe me i have 8 scopes & it can compare with any of them .It may not have the snob appeal of some of the others ,BUT ,It works as well.You also have the choice of dozens of really great EP,S as it uses any of the 1.25 astro EP,S like TV PENTAXEs own BURGESS VIXENS & 100,S more The.scopes i own are pentax. nikon. takahashi vixen & televue.All good scopes but the 65pf is the best value out there.
Brian.

Xenospiza · Mar 14, 2006

I know a few people who have trouble with their Leica Apo 62's... coating coming loose etc. Not good news, I have one myself! I know at least one of them switched to Swarovski's AT 65.

Sc0tty · Mar 14, 2006

I would suggest trying Focus Optics near Coventry and the RSPB shop at Old Moor near Barnsley, but I would phone first before travelling. They will probably have the Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss and possibly the Nikon in stock and both have good viewing facilities.

John151 · Mar 15, 2006

Thank you
John

Richard Scott said:
I would suggest trying Focus Optics near Coventry and the RSPB shop at Old Moor near Barnsley, but I would phone first before travelling. They will probably have the Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss and possibly the Nikon in stock and both have good viewing facilities.

John151 · Mar 15, 2006

Interesting! Thank you this is quite important.
John

Xenospiza said:
I know a few people who have trouble with their Leica Apo 62's... coating coming loose etc. Not good news, I have one myself! I know at least one of them switched to Swarovski's AT 65.

John151 · Mar 16, 2006

Thank you all for your helpful replies. I have finally opted for the Swarovsky 65. £1020 + £8 postage. Price included 20-60x zoom + Ace case.

christineredgate · Mar 16, 2006

Good luck John and happy digiscoping.

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