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Pushed the button (1 Viewer)

keeny

Active member
Hi all, today i pushed the button on a Kowa 883,25x60 eye piece and case.
The eye piece was half price must be a Kowa promotion.

Should be here tomorrow but as usual here in the UK especially Wales its raining cats and dogs.

Cheers Chris.
 
Hi,

congratulations to a top scope. You'll not want to upgrade from this anytime soon so you might have taken the cheapest way...

For now I haven''t seen one side by side with my old Kowa... my wallet really hopes it stays that way...

Joachim
 
Hi all, today i pushed the button on a Kowa 883,25x60 eye piece and case.
The eye piece was half price must be a Kowa promotion.

Should be here tomorrow but as usual here in the UK especially Wales its raining cats and dogs.

Cheers Chris.

You've made a good choice, Chris. We love our Kowa 883. We were very unsure between this and a Swarovski one but after many trials and testing them against each other we settled on this - and we don't regret it one bit.
But spending that sort of money, you have to be sure it's the one for you, haven't you?

Sandra
 
Nice scope, I tried one for a couple of weeks. What scope do you have at the moment?

Ron

Ron this will be my first scope, i looked through a few from the RSPB one being their top scope but decided on getting the Kowa after glowing reports from forum members.
Hope i made the right decision as its not cheap,
 
The problem is, like you say, the weather in the UK. Everything you look at, looks looks dull, grey and lifeless at the moment. It not really been daylight today In Lancahire, not looking much better for the rest of the week either. The brief spell of sunshine we might get will probably be while you at work.
Let us know what you think of it though when you've had a play with it.
 
You've made a good choice, Chris. We love our Kowa 883. We were very unsure between this and a Swarovski one but after many trials and testing them against each other we settled on this - and we don't regret it one bit.
But spending that sort of money, you have to be sure it's the one for you, haven't you?

Sandra

oooooh a lot of money Sandra ,my wife would kill me if she new how much....in fact she probably wouldn't believe me .
 
Hi Chris

I wish you all the best with your new scope but just a word of warning - ensure you give the lens a full field test. There are a number of 25-60 lens in circulation that are faulty - Kowa are aware of this but as far as I am aware they have done bugger all to recall them etc. I am awaiting my 3rd lens replacement..........

Issue I have had (I am UK based), and a Birder I have been communicating with in the USA (so its a world wide issue) is that once you get to around 50x, black marks appear on the lens I have thus far been sent. Look at the sky through your scope and slowly go up the zoom to see if you get any marks.

Sorry to put a downer on this, I was as excited as you when I purchased mine in November, but I am livid with how I have been treated, so I want to make sure others are aware of this issue just in case. Currently awaiting a response from Kowa in relation to my complaint.

All the best and fingers crossed for you.

John
 
Hi Chris

I wish you all the best with your new scope but just a word of warning - ensure you give the lens a full field test. There are a number of 25-60 lens in circulation that are faulty - Kowa are aware of this but as far as I am aware they have done bugger all to recall them etc. I am awaiting my 3rd lens replacement..........

Issue I have had (I am UK based), and a Birder I have been communicating with in the USA (so its a world wide issue) is that once you get to around 50x, black marks appear on the lens I have thus far been sent. Look at the sky through your scope and slowly go up the zoom to see if you get any marks.

Sorry to put a downer on this, I was as excited as you when I purchased mine in November, but I am livid with how I have been treated, so I want to make sure others are aware of this issue just in case. Currently awaiting a response from Kowa in relation to my complaint.

All the best and fingers crossed for you.

John

Thanks John, i did read about your problem prior to ordering mine, however i decided it was worth the risk and hopefully all will be well, if not back it goes which will be a pain i know.
I'm i little worried now that you have had 2 lens that showed dust internally.
What other test's should i do to check all is fine ?

Cheers Chris.
 
Hi,

point the ocular at an overcast sky (or a well lit piece of paper) and look through the objective. You should see a uniform grey or white circle with no spots or other stuff - check all magnifications. Also do the reverse as John described. Watch some birds - you should still see them fine even in this light - just don't expect to view bright sunshine through the scope ;-)
Try a backlit tree against overcast sky to check for CA - there should be none visible over the whole field of view - even my 20 year old TSN-3 shows none center field and barely noticeable at the very edge.
Check close focus vs the advertised value and infinity if you have some real far object in view or of course moon or stars if visible - ok, ok one can still hope... edge of the moon shows CA nicely too. Stars should be pointlike over the whole field.
Point it at the sky so the moon is just out of the field of view - if no reflexes are visible it's fine. Bright stars or lamps far away in center field can show bright spikes if the optics uses a non-ideal roof prism for image erection.

Joachim
 
The only recommendation I can give Chris (and it's nothing to do with your superb scope) is that if you plan on testing it at Goldcliff, wear wellies:-O

Rich
 
Congratulations on your new scope! This is almost my dream scope - I would prefer the 884! When I tried out the 883 it was with the older eyepiece but was simply superb. I believe that the newer eyepiece is better so you should be able to see what the birds are thinking. Tee Hee!
Anyway enjoy your (very nice) new toy!
 
Hi all, today i pushed the button on a Kowa 883,25x60 eye piece and case.
The eye piece was half price must be a Kowa promotion.

Should be here tomorrow but as usual here in the UK especially Wales its raining cats and dogs.

Cheers Chris.

Hi Chris,
If you're still solvent after purchasing your 'scope, complement it with the 1.6 extender.Costs around £250 and increases your mag up to 96x with very little loss of light.I'm highly delighted with mine.

Chris. T.:t:
 
Im very close to purchasing the Kowa TSN 883, + the TE-11WZ 25x60 eye piece and case. But wonder if the 884 model would be a better option for digiscoping with my new Nikon D7200 dslr. But what puts me off is the chance of dust getting inside the camera. So its looking like the 883.
 
I had an angled scope for years and never really thought anything about it, I now have a straight scope and I wouldn't go back. If you use your scope mostly in a hide then a straight scope is much better. And unless your looking up and fairly short distance's I still prefer a straight scope.

Ron
 
I had an angled scope for years and never really thought anything about it, I now have a straight scope and I wouldn't go back. If you use your scope mostly in a hide then a straight scope is much better. And unless your looking up and fairly short distance's I still prefer a straight scope.

Ron

Thanks for your thoughts Ron.

I can see exactly where you're coming from, with the benefits of a straight scope in a hide. I may have to reconsider and get the 884 instead, ;)
 
Thanks for your thoughts Ron.

I can see exactly where you're coming from, with the benefits of a straight scope in a hide. I may have to reconsider and get the 884 instead, ;)

I use mine 95% of the time in a hide and found it hard work, so much so that I started to use the scope without a mount . If you do this an angled is better.
It's surprising how steady you can hold the scope this way though by resting it.

Ron
 
I use mine 95% of the time in a hide and found it hard work, so much so that I started to use the scope without a mount . If you do this an angled is better.
It's surprising how steady you can hold the scope this way though by resting it.

Ron

Have you ever been to Martin Mere wetlands nature reserve Ron..?
 
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