660 Series (1 Viewer)

Is anyone using one of the 660 series Kowa scopes?
If so what is your opinion of it in general terms?
Is it light enough to carry around?
What eyepieces do they take?

I'm asking as I keep considering buying one but can't find any real opinions from any users to date.

try www.alula.fi there is a review in the optics pages.

Hi Alf,

The Kowa website has lots of information about the scope and eyepieces.
http://www.kowascope.com/

There is a new range of eyepieces for the 660 range which have screw-out eyecups and improved optics.

I've tried the scope and I think optically the fixed mag eyepieces are very good and the focussing wheel is much easier to use than the Swarowski and Leica. Plus its a lot cheaper.

Rich.

Thanks guys.

After checking some reviews it seems that the jury's still out!!

Alf King said:

Thanks guys.

After checking some reviews it seems that the jury's still out!!

Click to expand...

Alf

I have been using a Kowa 663 for the last 12 months; this 663 replaced an old TSN-1. The 663 feels a lot lighter compared to the TSN-1 and is one of the reasons for replacing it. The optical quality is very good – bright and sharp, I did compare the 663 against a Leica 62 and could not find any notable difference, and I have yet to notice the yellow cast that has been mentioned in some reviews. Since purchasing the 663, I have exchanged the 20X and 30X eyepieces for the new design and have found an improvement in the image brightness and comfort from the adjustable twist eyecup. I have just ordered the new 20 – 60X zoom eyepiece, which I expect will be an improvement over the old 20-60X eyepiece.

Ray

Well Alf, I had a 662 for about 18 months and kick myself for selling it. I never realized what a convenience a hi-performance smaller scope was. I bought a PF-80ED after I read Steve Ingram's reivew, and he was right about it's performance...non-pariel. Now the weight of optics usually doesn't make much of a difference to me 'cause I'm pretty good sized and can carry a lot of stuff without much problem. What does make a difference, tho, is the size of the stuff....the Pentax is substantially bigger than the Kowa and won't fit in the hardside case I pack most of my optics in with an eyepiece attached. The Kowa would; with either the 20xWA or the 30x attached, fit nicely and left room for 2 binos, a field guide, small cleaning kit, the other eyepiece and a small portable radio, cell phone, or whatever. The Pentax scope, the 3 monster ep's and one bino is all that fits now. I also had to get a little more substantial tripod, which means more bulk. Now I get great views through the P....but at a cost. The little Kowa 66 was pretty close in terms of resolution and image quality, and I've found that rarely do I need (or can use) the 48x available from the 10.5 XL Pentax. Ingram was right....you really don't gain much by going to the big scopes unless the conditions are such that you can really crank up the magnification or operate in very dim light. And for a scope under 70mm, and especially at the Kowa's price, the 66 is about as good as it gets.....mi dos centavos on that