Can I ask all you Nikon aficionados a Q please. How much is my 1999 Fieldscope 60mm ED III worth now? It’s well used but optically perfect. I’ve seen them on the web for sale at above £700 new but I’ve no real idea as to how well they hold their value in the 2nd hand market and I can’t find any for sale for comparison.
Thanks in advance,
Andy.
Hi Andy
No one seems to be rushing in to answer this, so here's my two penn'orth.
I've researched this scope for some time now, and as you say, the going rate new (body only) seems to be about £800 for the IIIa, somewhat less for the straight version.
On eBay, good second hand IIIa's seem to be in the region of £400 - maybe £500 with eyepiece. Again, the straight scope seems a little less desirable. All in all the second hand price seems to be about half that of a new outfit.
I'm very happy with mine, but it was a rocky road. I paid £530 on eBay, but there was damage to the objective lens. I negotiated £150 reduction with the seller, but spent £300 with Nikon to repair it. I needn't really have done this, as the damage wasn't visible when viewing through it. However, having spent the money, I'm glad I did. All in all I spent £680 - somewhat over the odds, but I've something that looks and feels new and has been serviced and repaired by Nikon technicians.
Optically, it's truly amazing and I think you'd have to spend a great deal of money to better it - i.e. something from one of the 'big three'. Ergonomically and aesthetically it's lovely - I love the big central focusing mechanism and the lovely view with the 30x WA eyepiece.
If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't sell it unless I really had to.
HTH
John
