Opticron Piccolo Scope (1 Viewer)

boyinthebush · Sep 15, 2004

Opticron Piccolo Scope 60mm, 20-45mm... £149 at Warehouse Express... seems like a good deal to the extremely budget concious (read skinnt) but are they any good... compared to any other scope you could spend £149 on that is? I know that's VERY little money for a scope but opinions welcome.

Cheers.

desgreene · Sep 15, 2004

Hi boyinthebush,
I'm on the lookout for a cheap travel scope so I was also interested in this offer. I'd paticularly like to know if this zoom will work with later Opticron scopes (I have an ES80).
I'm sure loads of BF members will have used a Piccolo over the years so hopefully someone can sing its praises or dish the dirt.

Des.

pduxon · Sep 15, 2004

desgreene said:
Hi boyinthebush,
I'm on the lookout for a cheap travel scope so I was also interested in this offer. I'd paticularly like to know if this zoom will work with later Opticron scopes (I have an ES80).
I'm sure loads of BF members will have used a Piccolo over the years so hopefully someone can sing its praises or dish the dirt.

Des.

I'd have though that Opticron users would be better off buying the MM2 body and using their current Opticron eye piece. Alan Rymer does that.

Not sure about the Picolo. Cheap scopes under £190 are the Opticron IS50 156 at 20x and 170 with zoom. The MM2 184 with 25x eye piece. Kowa and Viking do small 50mm scopes for under 150.

desgreene · Sep 15, 2004

Hi Pete,
I did like the MM2 when I looked at it. But with a zoom and case it would be about £100 more than the Piccolo offer. One of my thoughts on a travel scope is to keep it as cheap as possible in case anything happens to it.

Des.

Richard D · Sep 15, 2004

I'm looking for my first scope and would also be interested to hear any views on this scope. I'm looking for a compact scope that I'll actually lug around, which won't frighten the bank manager (or wife) and ideally be just about useable for digiscoping. Looking at Warehouse Express the Piccolo, the MM2, the Kowa 500's or the Nikon RAII seem to be the best options. Any views appreciated.

adw73uk · Jan 25, 2006

Richard D said:
I'm looking for my first scope and would also be interested to hear any views on this scope. I'm looking for a compact scope that I'll actually lug around, which won't frighten the bank manager (or wife) and ideally be just about useable for digiscoping. Looking at Warehouse Express the Piccolo, the MM2, the Kowa 500's or the Nikon RAII seem to be the best options. Any views appreciated.

Hi,

I know this thread was a long time ago but I am now having the same dilemma and looking at the same scopes. Did you come to a decision? What are your experiences?

Cheers!

Pie Face · Jan 25, 2006

This is not the Piccolo Scope of old, but actually a re-badged Spacemaster (the dog's bollocks in its day). I had an original Piccolo some 20 years ago (ouch) a great scope and exactly the same optics, back then, as the Spacemaster. You could actually fit Spacemaster or Kowa eyepieces to it - which suggested at the time that they were all the same manufacturer.

Mark

Geoff Brown · Jan 25, 2006

Mark, I also had an original Piccolo and as far as I can recall, like most Opticron equipment, it was good value for the money. As far as I am concerned the present MM2 plus a decent eyepiece today makes an ideal small travelscope.

adw73uk · Jan 26, 2006

Geoff Brown said:
Mark, I also had an original Piccolo and as far as I can recall, like most Opticron equipment, it was good value for the money. As far as I am concerned the present MM2 plus a decent eyepiece today makes an ideal small travelscope.

Have you used the MM2? It's on my list to look at - light, portable, affordable) but I was concerned about the small lens size (50mm I think). This would be my only scope so would get used at dawn and dusk, any experience of this?

Andrew

Chris Oates · Jan 26, 2006

adw73uk said:
Have you used the MM2? It's on my list to look at - light, portable, affordable) but I was concerned about the small lens size (50mm I think). This would be my only scope so would get used at dawn and dusk, any experience of this?

Andrew

I bought an MMII for travelling around whilst pillion on a bike during the summer - I was also going to buy a larger scope for the local estuary but after finding that I can see everything the big boys can I haven't bothered yet.
I've watched Bitterns after sunset and used it extensively during the dark winter days.
I got the 'grippa' case for it - gives a hand grip like on a camcorder when you haven't got a tripod with you, also got the Opticron 2.5 doubler which gives approx 100x mag - useful for long range ID but unsurpisingly image quality isn't that great.
I use the scope far more than my bins now and am very happy with it.

Geoff Brown · Jan 26, 2006

Andrew my MM2 gets used most days as it is so easy to carry around. I have the dedicated MM2 zoom eyepiece but find that an HDF eyepiece which also fits gives first class results. I don't think you will be very disappointed if you buy an MM2.

desgreene · Jan 27, 2006

I ended up going for the MM2 in the end. I've had it for over a year and am really pleased with it. I tend to use it on holidays (with the HDF zoom) so not sure of its low light performance. The fact that it fits in my camera case is a real plus though.

Des.

adw73uk · Jan 28, 2006

Des, Geoff,

The MM2 is looking like a promising choice. How does the HDF zoom compare to the standard zoom? I was considering the standard as it is quite bit cheaper and has a greater zoom range, but bottom line, is the clarity and resolution there? Is there a great difference between the two?

I do intend to try both out, if available at a field day but it would be useful to get the opinions of someone who has used them in anger in the field.

Andrew

Geoff Brown · Jan 28, 2006

Andrew, No comparison really! the HDF is better - but then it should be as it is more money. The only time I have anger in the field is when I have a bird in my scope but cannot recall what it is, although the name is on the tip of my tongue. Old age creeping up again!! :C

adw73uk · Jan 28, 2006

Geoff Brown said:
Andrew, No comparison really! the HDF is better - but then it should be as it is more money. The only time I have anger in the field is when I have a bird in my scope but cannot recall what it is, although the name is on the tip of my tongue. Old age creeping up again!! :C

Thanks - I'll make sure I give both lenses a go.

Andrew

desgreene · Jan 30, 2006

Hi Andrew,
I compared the HDF and non-HDF lenses at In-Focus before I bought. The difference in brightnes and clarity is remarkable, so in my view the HDF is easily worth the extra cash if you can stretch to it.

Des.

adw73uk · Jan 30, 2006

desgreene said:
Hi Andrew,
I compared the HDF and non-HDF lenses at In-Focus before I bought. The difference in brightnes and clarity is remarkable, so in my view the HDF is easily worth the extra cash if you can stretch to it.

Des.

Thanks for the reply Des,

I'll let you know how I get on.

Andrew

adw73uk · Jan 30, 2006

Oh....... while I'm here - has anyone any thoughts on the straight vs angled debate.

I know alot of it depends on the type if birdwatching you go for, your height etc... However, I'm very new to this and so am still in the 'general' category, doing a little bit of everything. If I have any preference, it is for wandering around rather than sat in one spot or in a hide, watching birds of prey and finches, thrushes, sparrows (farmland birds I guess) and I quite like the idea of using a monopod.

Thanks again

Chris Oates · Jan 30, 2006

adw73uk said:
Oh....... while I'm here - has anyone any thoughts on the straight vs angled debate......and I quite like the idea of using a monopod.

Thanks again

I have a straight scope as I do a lot of sea & estuary watching which is mostly downwards - I've noticed quite a few others are straight users too.
Angled is much more common though and if you intend to view in woods or do any star gazing angled is the way to go - peering at the top of a tree isn't too bad if you can sit down whilst using a straight scope but standing up your tripod might not go high enough for you to get under the eyepiece.

Monopods make good walking sticks - I bought one to use with my camera and tried it with the scope - waste of time and multiply that by ten if you use an angled scope that you can't aim by sighting, I always carry a tripod and sometimes just use two of the legs.

Using a monopod is like owning a tripod but being punished by having two legs taken away.

Opticron Piccolo Scope (1 Viewer)

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