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pentax pf-65 vs. nikon fieldscopeIII (non-Ed) (1 Viewer)

Dmartin25

Member
Hi,
First of all, this is my first post, and I must say I really enjoy your forum. I am sorry if I am too long winded.

The problem I have is I cannot decide between the pentax pf-65 ED scope and the nikon fieldscope WITHOUT ED glass. I have looked throught the nikon scope at local dealers, but I don't have anything to compare it to as they don't carry anything else. I am leaning towards the pentax scope as it has ED glass; I think ED glass along with the 65mm objective would give it a noticeable edge in performance. I also like the idea of having such a large selction of eyepieces. I have checked all the spec.s and the nikon is multi-coated, whereas the pentax says it is fully multi-coated. The nikon can be had for $700 (US) and the pentax for $640 (US) so the pentax is slightly cheaper. The pentax has not been on the market for very long and I cannot find much on the nikon. Most of the reviews I see for the nikon is for the ED version and I'm afraid thats a little out of my budget ($700 MAX!!!). I am not convinced that the nikon is the best scope, but I am also having trouble convincing myself that I should buy the pentax without looking thru it and comparing it to the nikon. I would like to hear from users who have used either scope, or have used both.

By the way, I am not really a birder, I am more of just a general wildlife observer. Mostly, I watch deer, bobcats, beaver, people and just about anything that looks unusual or interesting. My fiancee (height 5'4'') and myself (height 5'11") will be the primary users of the scope so any thoughts on angled vs. straight would be appreciated.

Thank you for your patience and a very informative forum.
David


wi
 
hi david im fortunate enough to have both of these scopes .they are both very good & i cant tell the difference beteen them. my nikon is the straight one . pentax angled . you had better get the angled as you are of different hts.i do prefer the pentax ,mainly because there are so many choices of eye piece.& of course you can get other brands of e p,s much much cheaper than the nikon or pentax ones . i think you will be very satisfied with either one .by the way i,m pretty much like yourself . just like looking at all kinds of wildlife & ships etc
brian
 
Dmartin25 said:
Hi,
First of all, this is my first post, and I must say I really enjoy your forum. I am sorry if I am too long winded.

The problem I have is I cannot decide between the pentax pf-65 ED scope and the nikon fieldscope WITHOUT ED glass. I have looked throught the nikon scope at local dealers, but I don't have anything to compare it to as they don't carry anything else. I am leaning towards the pentax scope as it has ED glass; I think ED glass along with the 65mm objective would give it a noticeable edge in performance. I also like the idea of having such a large selction of eyepieces. I have checked all the spec.s and the nikon is multi-coated, whereas the pentax says it is fully multi-coated. The nikon can be had for $700 (US) and the pentax for $640 (US) so the pentax is slightly cheaper. The pentax has not been on the market for very long and I cannot find much on the nikon. Most of the reviews I see for the nikon is for the ED version and I'm afraid thats a little out of my budget ($700 MAX!!!). I am not convinced that the nikon is the best scope, but I am also having trouble convincing myself that I should buy the pentax without looking thru it and comparing it to the nikon. I would like to hear from users who have used either scope, or have used both.

By the way, I am not really a birder, I am more of just a general wildlife observer. Mostly, I watch deer, bobcats, beaver, people and just about anything that looks unusual or interesting. My fiancee (height 5'4'') and myself (height 5'11") will be the primary users of the scope so any thoughts on angled vs. straight would be appreciated.

Thank you for your patience and a very informative forum.
David


wi

Hi David,

I have viewed birds and wildlife through the Nikon Fieldscope 60 and can't really tell much difference between that and my own pf-65ED AN.

I too was on the same horns of dilema before I bought the 65ED.

ED glass does not guarantee a better image. Most optics are compromises and ED glass can make for a more compact instrument and/or reduce chromatic aberation. What clinched it for me was the ability to use standard astonomical (including pentaxes astronomicaly priced) eye pieces. Also, if I recall correctly, the price was the same for the angled as the straight models.

My recommendation is to get the Pentax pf-65ED AN so that you and your future bride can each view comfortably without re-setting the scope height.
Spend the money you save on the scope on a better tripod and head. A scope is only as good as its mount.

I have a Celestron 30 mm Ultima eyepiece for about 16x for using the scope on a shoulder pod. Good for pelagic trips for wales on Albatros. You can also get CCD sensors that fit in the eyepiece mount. I am waiting for a night vision sensor which would be awsome. I also have a $39.95 20 mm eyepiece that provides spectacular wide views.

Hope this helps.

Jim
 
Angled is definitely better if your sharing the scope while on the same outing.

Regarding the Pentax. I would stick with the XW (fixed) or WP (Zoom) eyepieces. The XF 20-60x zoom has only 11-15mm eyerelief. The WP zoom is 16-48x on the 65mm, but the eyerelief is greater. I found the eyerelief of the WP to barely be acceptable on my 80mm while wearing glasses.

The WP zoom on the 80mm was the first one I ever used where I didn't hesitate to crank it all the way up to 60x.
 
Hi,
Thanks for your input guys, it is comforting to know that the two scopes are so close in performance.

Humboldt Jim said:
ED glass does not guarantee a better image.
Jim

I understand your point Jim, as with most optics, quality comes from precise execution. I am definitely going Pentax Angled version. I have a pair of Pentax 10x42 DCF binoculars and for the $220 I paid for them I am extremely impressed with Pentax quality. |:D|

In regards to the eye relief, I don't think the XF zoom will be unusable. Neither I or my fiancee wears glasses so thats not an issue . The Nikon that I tried out had a zoom eyepiece, and the eye relief was comfortable for me.
B&H Photo spec.s for the Nikon zoom eyepiece is 13mm. However, I am going to start shopping for good fixed eyepieces.

I already have a Manfrotto 3221 tripod which I feel should be more than enough to hold the scope steady. Maybe a little to much, but I don't mind the weight. The head that I have is an older Manfrotto 3030. What types of heads or tripod setups do you guys use for lighter scopes?

Thanks
David
 
comparison results???

sandokan said:
I have found a good comparision site:

Hi Sandokan,
What exactly do these charts represent? If I understand correctly, these are pictures of charts, taken through the individual scopes?

Thanks,
David
 
I found a small sporting goods dealer online with a Pentax pf-65 angled with the zoom eyepiece, NIB for $580 plus shipping. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me, now I gotta research the seller. Also can anyone tell me anything about Knight Owl eyepieces? They may be under another name, I can't seem to find much info. I see a lot of their eyepieces on Ebay fairly reasonably priced.

David
 
DMartin25,
I don't know more than you about this photos, but I think you are correct.
BTW, I will go for ED65, body only (I just bought two LT Vixen eyepieces for it).
Regards
 
David,
I am also thinkng about getting the Pentax PF-65ED (DEFINITELY the angled version, IMHO). If you do some searching on this forum for the Pentax scope, you will find that quite a few folks recommend just getting the Pentax body and adding a Vixen 8-24mm eyepiece, which has much better eye relief than the bundled Pentax zoom eyepiece. And it saves you a little money too! You can get a pretty good deal on both at Adorama.
 
sandokan said:
DMartin25,
I don't know more than you about this photos, but I think you are correct.
BTW, I will go for ED65, body only (I just bought two LT Vixen eyepieces for it).
Regards

I find myself in the middle of similar decisions. If I go with Pentax, where should I be shopping for alternatives to the Pentax WP eyepieces? I do wear glasses and ER is a definite factor.

Thanks, Bradley
 
Eye Relief and Scope update!!

Bradley B said:
I find myself in the middle of similar decisions. If I go with Pentax, where should I be shopping for alternatives to the Pentax WP eyepieces? I do wear glasses and ER is a definite factor.

Thanks, Bradley
Hi Bradley,
There are several makers of quality eyepieces. Of course there is the issue of how much $$$$ do you want to invest in eyepieces. Here are a few names for you to look into: pentax, televue, owl services, vixen. I do not have any experience with the previous listed eyepieces. I just ordered my pentax pf-65 scope the other day. I will let you guys know what I think of the XF-6.5-19.5mm zoom. The pentax and televue eyepieces are a little pricey, but judging from reviews on astronomy sites they are considered the best. The owl and vixen eyepieces seem to be a very good compromise between cost and performance. There may be other eyepieces out there that perform well.
Just remember that if you get plossls the eye relief is 3/4 of the eyepieces focal length.

David
 
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