• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

spotting scopes (1 Viewer)

I thought you must be in Hampshire USA not UK as I didn't think we had Olivon scopes over here - but then I saw "quid" so guess they must be here somewhere.

They are not a scope I have ever heard of until I read your post. With a budget of £3-400 I'd be looking at well known makes such as Opticron or - if a compact lightweight scope appeals - the brilliant but tiny Nikon ED50 which is a litle over the top of your budget with its zoom lens. I was using one this afternoon and, well, considering how dismal and dull it was this tiny and lightweight scope performed admirably with a wide, bright and very sharp image. The new Nikon RAIII with 30xW would probably also be a good choice although I have no experience of it.

An alternative that is a very good scope indeed is the Nikon Fieldscope III 60mm with a 30xW or 20-60xW. It's only available in straight through design (from Warehouse Express) but if that is no problem (i.e. you are not too tall!) then you have a very fine scope for the cash - again just over your budget.
 
Opticron GS 665 with HR eyepiece or perhaps a Kowa TSN 601 or 602 ? Both would fall within your price range, leaving a little money for a stay on case - I used a Kowa 601 for years, it was my first scope and in all honesty I was perfectly happy with it.


As Steve mentions the Nikon ED50 is a lovely scope, surprisingly bright for it's size.

 
If you don't mind being different you could consider the Pentax pf65ed £329 straight or £369 angled (microglobe.co.uk), and then an astronomical eyepiece. Fixed eyepieces can be had quite cheaply - look at the Pentax forum.
Or a more traditional route would be a Kowa 821/822 £359 and a secondhand eyepiece from ebay. This would just about be in your price range.
 
Take a look at the In Focus website, they currently have a offer on the Opticron ES80 SD with HR27x eyepiece, stay-on-case and Velbon 686 tripod for £399.

It's a big scope to lug around but nice and bright, it looks like a good deal overall - Although the tripod isn't all that great, but then you can always upgrade that at a later date. Overall it's still a better deal Warehouse Express.


http://www.at-infocus.co.uk/index.html
 
Warning! This thread is more than 17 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top