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SOC for ye olde Nikon ED78A (1 Viewer)

Crake Dude

Crake Dude

Well-known member
Just acquired an ED78 with 30xW DS eyepiece(is this the best ep for it?) and was wondering if ever Nikon, Skua or anyone else made a stay-on-case for it and, if so, whether the case is still available anywhere, please? A used one would even suffice.

Have tried the Hen's Teeth Dept. on planet Mars, but no luck...

Thankyou.

Steve
 
Steve:

Check with Nikon Service Center in your location. Sometimes they have parts like this,
and it is worth a try.

Jerry
 
That scope is from the "EDII" era and those scopes came with a padded but rectangular case, not stay on. If you want stay on, then an aftermarket or comparable from another manuf is probably the way to go.
 
Matt_RTH said:
That scope is from the "EDII" era and those scopes came with a padded but rectangular case, not stay on. If you want stay on, then an aftermarket or comparable from another manuf is probably the way to go.
Click to expand...

The 78ED didn't come with a stay-on case, but Nikon offered one later as an optional accessory. Haven't seen one on a long, long time, and I don't know how well designed it was.

Although I use a 78ED, I've never been a fan of SOCs, so I unfortunately have no specific advice on good aftermarket options.

--AP
 
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Thankyou very much Jerry, Matt and Alexis for your replies.

I have since been told, as Alexis said, that Nikon did release their SOC for the ED78 some years after the scope's introduction, but it might have been issued mainly for the US market.

Also, someone reckons that Skua did one for it as well.

There is a soft case which comes with my scope, but it doesn't look like it could be modified.

Surely there must be some SOCs for it still left out there somewhere. Looks like my old Barbour jacket is just about to lose one sleeve!

Steve
 
Just to prove that Nikon did actually make a stay-on-case for the ED78, here is an old posting from 2004 showing one somebody obtained from the USA:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread...et/showthread.php?t=23695&highlight=ED78+case


Perhaps there are some still in existence over yon if someone could hunt one out for me, please....

Nikon-europe told me they never even existed! I've given up the coat-sleeve idea, though I have a tatty old Skua SOC for a Kowa TSN3 which fits quite snugly, just needs holes cutting for the helical focus wheel....but would prefer a genuine Nikon case.

Would the SOC for the ED82 fit, I wonder?

Thanks.

Steve
 
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Crake Dude said:
Would the SOC for the ED82 fit, I wonder?
Click to expand...

The tripod attachment base on the 78ED is in a very different place than the 82ED, so I'd be surprised if the case for it would be a good match.

As for finding the case for the 78 in the USA, by the time it was available there were lots of competing scopes from the other companies so I doubt many were sold (and the 78ED never was as popular with birders as the previous generation of Kowa and Swarovski scopes, those being the only contemporaneous competition--the Leica and Zeiss offerings came out a bit later).

The Nikon SOC design for the 78ED isn't what I'd be looking for. It seems to have lots of zippers, and to provide little weather proofing. I'd be looking for something to effectively waterproof the scope in use (the 78ED water resistance apparently varies from unit to unit--mine does not withstand use in the rain)--perhaps a design like or a modification of the sort of covers used by photographers with big tele lenses, like a tent with a rain-shedding top and a partly open bottom, so one can reach up from below to grab the focusing collar.

--AP
 
I agree with all you say, Alexis.

Yes, I worried about the position of the tripod foot on ED82 compared to that on the ED78, the latter's being behind the barrel focus wheel, so perhaps the SOC for the ED82 would be a non-starter. The prism-housing on the ED78 also looks chunkier than that on the ED82, could be another problem.

Those zips for the helical focus do look a bit clunky and, one would think, a compromise to the case's waterproofness. Then again, that system seemed to work on the older Swarovski scopes, I believe. Also, because of all access points needed on SOCs, their water resistance must be weakened to some extent, so they're just for general protection really, I suppose.

I reckon in the absence of a dedicated Nikon SOC, I'll just have to get that needle and thread out, and scissors, on ye olde Skua case....less cost too!

Thankyou.

Steve
 
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The website says they can special order it. That probably means that availability is contingent upon whether the Nikon accessory parts dept of Nikon USA has it in an old bin (and I don't know the answer to that).

--AP
 
I have had an ED78 for 6 years and use the Opticron ES80 case-don't know if it's still around. Works OK though access to the focussing ring is not ideal
 
Many thanks to Alexis, Kevin and Mark.

I had a look at that Facebook link, would like to try it but I'm a bit wary of joining just to try contact....will have a think. Yes, Alexis, I'd worrying seen that special order tag on the Enerdyne site, perhaps I ought to try Nikon USA myself.

Yes, I've read on previous threads that the Opticron ES80 case seemed OK apart from that focus-wheel access annoyance. Also been told that the case for the Opticron GS815 fits quite well, too.

In the meantime, I'm halfway through attempting that 'Heath Robinson' attack on my old Kowa TSN3 Skua case....sacrilege, really.

I still have my trusty TSN3(in another, but newer, Skua case!) which has the current superb 45xWide eyepiece(cost me over £300 just for that). Think I will have to sell it now to pay for getting the ED78.

Steve
 
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