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Scope Comparison help needed (1 Viewer)

C

Crazyjoe

Well-known member
So I’m about to upgrade from my bins to a first scope. I can only really afford mid range, especially as I want to get a decent tripod and iPhone digiscoping adapter. The three I’m looking at in order of preference are

1. Celestron Regal M2 80
2. Hawke Endurance ED20 85
3. Vanguard Endeavour HD 82A.

Tripod I’m looking at is Vanguard Alta Pro 263AT.

I could potentially go a bit more expensive but I’d really rather not.

Does anyone have experience with these scopes? I’m not an optics expert so please do dumb down technical speak ;)
 
Hi,

welcome to BF first of all!

Regarding scopes, midrange is often so so. The one I would try myself if only those three were an option, would be the Celestron. Its zoom EP is quite ok and there is a lot of choice of astro EPs for fixed mag.

On the other hand I would try to fit some used alpha glass inside the budget. Having a look at the classifieds (local and in this forum) would help, Infocus also posts an up to date used optics list in the vendor section...

Joachim, who is very content with his TSN-3 and SDLv2 zoom...
 
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Hi CrazyJo and welcome to BirdForum. I've got the Hawke and have been very happy with it paired up to a Slik D3. Joachim makes a very good point though. Your pound goes further with used equipment. If a used ed82 had come up within budget when I was looking i might have been tempted to go down that route.

Rich
 
Going to show my ignorance here. Alpha glass?

I’ve been keeping an eye on used but not seen much and not sure if I’m looking in the right place to be honest.

I have come across a used Opticron HR80 GA ED at £700 no idea If this is good value but for the level of birding I do seems excessive.
 
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Crazyjoe said:
Going to show my ignorance here. Alpha glass?

I’ve been keeping an eye on used but not seen much and not sure if I’m looking in the right place to be honest.

I have come across a used Opticron HR80 GA ED at £700 no idea If this is good value but for the level of birding I do seems excessive.
Click to expand...

"Alpha glass" is a term used as shorthand the most expensive and prestigious manufacturers of optical equipment such as Swarovski, Zeiss & Leica.
 
I would recommend that you spend as much as you can afford, if not more than you can truly afford, on a good spotting scope.

In my humble opinion, many mid-range binoculars approach the level of the alpha binoculars. The point of diminishing returns is real.

IMHO, that is not true in spotting scopes. There are very real qualitative improvements in the more expensive scopes.

Without diving into physics and optical theory, just know that magnification, 25x-60x, will also magnify all optical defects, and the exit pupil will get smaller and smaller as the magnification increases.

Spend as much as you can now, you will save money in the long run.

Consider 2nd hand scopes and look at brands such as Kowa, Meopta, and the older Swarovski scopes. I kept my 2002 Swarovski AT80 HD until 2014 because it was that good optically.

Jay
 
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Jay Gamble said:
I would recommend that you spend as much as you can afford, if not more than you can truly afford, on a good spotting scope.

In my humble opinion, many mid-range binoculars approach the level of the alpha binoculars. The point of diminishing returns is real.

IMHO, that is not true in spotting scopes. There are very real qualitative improvements in the more expensive scopes.

Without diving into physics and optical theory, just know that magnification, 25x-60x, will also magnify all optical defects, and the exit pupil will get smaller and smaller as the magnification increases.

Spend as much as you can now, you will save money in the long run.

Consider 2nd hand scopes and look at brands such as Kowa, Meopta, and the older Swarovski scopes. I kept my 2002 Swarovski AT80 HD until 2014 because it was that good optically.

Jay
Click to expand...

Wise words IMO. When the sky is overcast and the distance to some of the best birds you've seen all year is far, you'll probably wish for more scope. Been there, done that.
 
I was just here and settled on a Pentax pf80ed. I was also looking for a used Nikon 78 or 82, but didn't find a good deal. With the right eyepiece, the Pentax is amazing in my opinion. A side benefit is that it uses telescope standard 1.25" eyepieces. I have a 9mm Nagler (57.5x) and a 14mm Pentax (37x) eyepiece and they are both great in their own way. If I was buying only one, it would probably be the Pentax 10mm.

I have heard the zoom is not as good but have not tried it.

By the way, I am kicking myself because Eagle Optics is going out of business and has a demo version of their Pentax for sale at a fantastic price.
 
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PeteQuad said:
By the way, I am kicking myself because Eagle Optics is going out of business and has a demo version of their Pentax for sale at a fantastic price.
Click to expand...

Yes, I took the opportunity to get a Meopta Meostar S2 82 HD with 30-60x WA eyepiece for a sweet price. The view through the constant-angle eyepiece is stunning.

Optics Planet often has 12% of more discounts, you should subscribe to the "Binocular Bargains" thread on the Binoculars forum, although your wallet won't thank you.
 
PeteQuad said:
I was just here and settled on a Pentax pf80ed. I was also looking for a used Nikon 78 or 82, but didn't find a good deal. With the right eyepiece, the Pentax is amazing in my opinion. A side benefit is that it uses telescope standard 1.25" eyepieces. I have a 9mm Nagler (57.5x) and a 14mm Pentax (37x) eyepiece and they are both great in their own way. If I was buying only one, it would probably be the Pentax 10mm.

I have heard the zoom is not as good but have not tried it.

By the way, I am kicking myself because Eagle Optics is going out of business and has a demo version of their Pentax for sale at a fantastic price.
Click to expand...

I had the Pentax zoom and sold it. The new Baader zoom would be a better option, but it's not weatherproof. The 14mm Pentax should give you some stunning views in the right light.
 
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