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Nikon RAIII WP A 65mm Spotting Scope (1 Viewer)

W

willie45

Well-known member
Hi Everyone,

I am new to the forum and to birding in general. Having visited a few reserves recently, I am looking to buy a scope for my wife to get her started but am not sure which one to go for.

I have a budget of under £400 all in. I considered the above one which seemed to tick all the boxes being portable and waterproof with anti- fog technology, and generally having a good spec, from a reliable manufacturer.

Is this a good choice or could I do better? Also should I go for a straight scope or an angled one?

Thanks for your help
 
Hi this is my scope and i am delighted with it. I use it with the 30x wide fixed eyepiece and find it very bright and light enough to carry around all day and i have also got some great video clips digiscoping but this requires extra kit. I had an ed fieldscope for a while but couldnt see much much difference when i compared the two so sold the fieldscope and pocketed the difference. Please note i am just an enthusiast and not looking for rings on legs etc so this is more than enough for my needs.
 
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I occasionally get confused with some of the different names that Nikon chooses to utilize in different areas of the globe. Is the model in question one of the Nikon Fieldscopes or the Earth and Sky model? At first I thought the latter because I have seen it referenced with the "RA" designation a few times but the Earth and Sky is a 60 mm and not a 65.
 
Hi Frank, RAIII WP is the slightly new Prostaff that came out a few years ago. The Nikon spotter that looks like it is sidewise. My brother-in-law has one and it is a nice light wt. scope. RAIII is what they call it across the Atlantic.
Regards,Steve
 

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Hello again folks and thanks for the replies. Sorry not to have responded sooner but I lost the address of the site and only found email notification in my spam mail this morning.

Anyway this looks like a good scope for me to purchase. i'm not an expert and so won't be spending an aboslute fortune just looking for value and a reasonable degree of functionality

Thanks again


Ooops! Forgot to ask if there are recommendations between angled and straight versions? I am under the impression that angled is easier to use especiallly if from a car because you can view it more easily. Is this correct?

Willie
 
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Willie, I forgot to welcome you to BirdForum. The scope you are looking at RAIII doesn't look like you could rotate the mount to make it easier to look through in a vehicle. You would be better off with the straight version. The Nikon angled Fieldscope will rotate and could be used in a vehicle, there are other makes of spotting scopes that the angled version will rotate as well.
Regards,Steve
 
Thanks for the welcome, Steve. I will probably use the scope in the car quite a bit so I will have to consider my options carefully here. The main models in the US seem to be different from those in the UK so making comparisons a bit more tricky.

Willie
 
Hi again folks. I have widened my research a bit and come up with the Nikon ED50 which seems to be a truly light and high quality optic. Do you know if the angled version of this rotate to allow ease of viewing in a car or would I still be better off going with the straight version?

Thanks again

W
 
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Thanks Steve.

I am wondering if the Nikon 50mm would be a bit limiting to have as my only scope, although I might never want a more powerful one. However, I am now wondering if I should consider some other sized scopes such as the 65mm or even 80mm? I don't really want to buy more than one.

I am looking, also, at Opticron scopes, and particularly their ES 80 GA ED scope with a 20-60 zoom lens, which is a fair bit cheaper than the Nikon ED scopes of similar size. Alternatively the Opticron Mighty Midget, might be a contender. This is also cheaper than the equivalent Nikon ED 50 I believe. Most of the places near to me are estuaries and the birds seem a long way off hence my considering a larger scope. Alternatively if smaller scopes would still be the better bet how would the Mighty Midget measure up compared with the Nikon ED 50?

I might post this again so it doesn't get lost in the "Nikon" heading.

Thanks again.

Willie
 
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Hi Steve, and thanks for the link. He seems very impressed. I keep swaying from the ED to the 80mm or even 66mm opticrons. I am inclined to believe the ED50 might just do the job for me though. I have however read that the Nikon scopes can be a problem for people with spectacles, do you know if this is true? I don't wear them all the time and can manage without them for the time being but I'm supposed too |=)| and I might end up having to keep them on fairly soon so it is a consideration.

Willie
 
Hi Willie, The Nikon Zooms are noted for low eye relief. I have the 20x45 zoom in my 60mm Fieldscope and while I don't usually wear my glasses when using binoculars and spotters I tried wearing them with this scope. From 20 to about 30X the ER was ok and after that I had to press my eye tighter to the eyepiece to see the whole view. I have sort of flat face and it would be different with deep set eyes I would think. The straight power eyepieces I have heard are very good for ER.
Regards,Steve
 
Thanks again Steve. I finally bit the bullet and after looking and trying out a few scopes at In Focus ( they were very helpful ) I bought the Opticron ES 80 GA ED. They let you bring it back if you're not happy within 14 days but I was really impressed with the optics of this scope. Also the chap reckoned it was more versatile for digiscoping which I am quite interested in trying, than the Nikon.

Anyway I will check it out in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks very much indeed for your help


Willie
 
Hi Steve

I have had the scope out and about now and I am very pleased with it. It seems to me to be optically very good indeed. I couldn't believe the clarity of the view through it and the amazing power of the 20-60 zoom. I have no regrets about buying it at all. I just need to find a compact camera and attachment system which will work well with it for digiscoping now.

Willie
 
Hi Steve

I haven't tried it with the specs yet. I rarely wear them but my fear is with the passage of time I will have to at some point in the near future. The rubber cup on the eyepiece extends quite a bit suggesting to me that there should not be a problem.

I will give it a go this week to check


Willie
 
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