Worth upgrading to an ~80mm(+) objective? (1 Viewer)

For many years, I've used an old rubber armoured Opticron HR60 ED telescope which takes an old 20x HDF eyepiece, and the new SDL zoom eyepiece. Some distant viewing problems have made me wonder whether it might be worth upgrading to a wider aperture telescope, and what's currently recommended. In the larger apertures, is Opticron still worth considering or is this the preserve of Zeiss and Swarovski?

I expect that I'd visit one of the Infocus shops to try out any recommendations - what should I look out for?

Thanks for your help and expertise.

Hi Malcolm,

Opticron are def worth considering for an upgrade to an 80mm scope.
The most popular upgrade is the ES80 ED. This is an excellent scope for the price, recently upgraded with a new body and Opticron 'F' type multi coating, this coating really does improve contrast and overall resolution. Most popular eyepieces are the HDF 32x, HDF zoom and SDL zoom. There are lots of deals around and the two best places that i've found are South West Optics and Sherwoods for price and service. Having said that you are already running a decent scope, although the ES will be brighter with more of a colder colour cast...ie less yellow and more blue. Try one out next to your HR ED before buying. The New HR80 ED is better than the ES80 ED, but a LOT more money.

Steve

You won't believe this but....I've got an ES80 ED with both HDF & SDL zoom eyepiece.
Also have a Mighty Midget II ED (again with both eyepieces) - I much prefer the view from the MM II, at min zoom the view is much wider than from the 80mm - the ES80 is weird, it's like looking through a 10p coin in the bottom of a milk bottle - there's a lot missing until you zoom in.

I find the use of high power scopes rather problematic, they get dim, the view deteriorates and if someone shouts 'storm petrel by the lighthouse'...but the lighthouse is 3 miles away OR twenty feet in front of you...you cannot line up a scope with a narrow field of view on a moving target - bins are better.
Sitting Ducks/geese/sleepy seagulls are better targets for a scope.

Generally I use my MMII as it's just so easy to find things with - starting again I probably would not buy an 80mm scope (unless it was very light)

Same way with cameras - I have the full Nikon DSLR kit up to 500mm but never use it for birdwatching - far too heavy & complicated - I use a Fuji compact digital hyperzoom.

Thanks to both for your replies.

Chris Oates said:

... the ES80 is weird, it's like looking through a 10p coin in the bottom of a milk bottle - there's a lot missing until you zoom in.

I find the use of high power scopes rather problematic, they get dim, the view deteriorates...

Click to expand...

My reason for asking for advice stems from a viewing experience at Martin Mere where a small hawk (hobby?) had been spotted and a powerful scope trained on it. It was a long way off, and I doubt whether the bird could have been identified from the view that I saw. Right on, or beyond, the limits. Normally I'm quite comfortable with my HR60 ED, but I was able to compare it with a wider aperture scope a few weeks ago, and the view was definitely better, but I forgot to find out which model it was.

Using the eye-relief collar on my SDL eyepiece, I find that I can optimise the viewpoint to suit me, and the magnification I'm using. I normally adjust it so that I'm getting a full wide-angle view.

Hi Malcome
I use a mm2 with sdl zoom on and it is fantastic i recently looked through an
ES ED80 MM but did not see a lot of difference .As i was thinking of upgrading but i will keep what i have at present as the MM2 is a good scope.especially with the SDL eyepiece
Harold