Best eyepiece for use with Grippa case for hand-holding a Nikon ED50 (1 Viewer)

Dear all

I have a straight Nikon ED50 scope body and have sent for a x27 wide angle DS as my main eyepiece for the scope. I opted for the DS version rather than the MC version as [a] I am a spectacles wearer (short sighted) and I might want to try digiscoping.

I have also just sent for a Grippa case for hand-holding the scope when I don't want to carry a tripod.

Do people think that the x27 eyepiece is too powerful for hand-holding in the Grippa Case? Or is it manageable?

I'm thinking that I might need to buy another eyepiece of lower power for when I hand-hold the scope in the Grippa Case. If I did get another eyepiece for this purpose -which one? I was thinking about the x20 MC wide. My feeling with the x16 eyepiece is that it would not provide enough power (I will have my x10 bins with me). Another option I was considering was the 13-40 MC II zoom; the lower power end would do for hand-holding in the Grippa Case AND as a bonus, I could make use of the x40 end when using on a tripod to give me more power than my x27 eyepiece.

(I am aware that the zoom eyepiece gives a narrower field of view and am also aware that some spectacle-wearers seem to have trouble getting on with the zoom eyepiece).

Any advice welcome.

cheers,
Nick

There's been a fair bit of discussion on the Nikon forum about ED50 eyepieces, so I won't go to great lengths..

I believe the consensus reached is that 27x is the best for a tripod and 20x for hand-holding [though if you have very steady hands 27x is doable, and if you don't 16x is better]. Opinion is split over using the zoom hand-held. You may find using something like a pistol grip or a shoulder-pod useful.

Personally, I think the 20x and 27x are a bit too close to make it worth having both - unless you have / plan to have say the ED82, of course...

I use the 20x as a live-on eyepiece on my ED50; either in the Grippa case and stuck in my rucksack when walking, or on a Cullman shoulderpod for when a tripod is too unwieldy - its great for things like Wood Warblers and LSWs.