Opticron IS 60 ED WP kit (1 Viewer)

I might be after a travel scope - by which I mean I don't need one but my 80mm scope (Celestron Regal F-ED) is a little heavy for when I go on holiday. I don't mind carting about the local patch but taking it on holiday is maybe a bit much. Anyway, I am considering getting a smaller & lighter travel scope.

An advert on here turned my head towards the Opticron IS 60 ED WP scopes, which when bought as a kit with eyepiece and case offer savings of 30% according to the website. I was eyeing up the scope plus HR2 16-48x & case for £329.

I have a lightweight tripod I use when I travel - a Sirui that weighs under 1kg. I have the ball head I got with that and a Velbon PH-157Q panhead that I usually use with my (Opticron) hide clamp as much of my scoping is done from hides. So I am sorted for tripods & mounts I reckon.

When using my current scope I really appreciate the rotating tripod collar so there is a height difference between myself and the missus. Plus I find it hard to get & stay comfy on my hide benches so alternate between sitting and standing so the rotation really helps, avoiding the need to keep shifting the scope.

As I don't need the travel scope and it's more an impulse purchase I don't want to spend more than a few hundred quid really, especially as it would be my secondary scope rather than my main scope. For the sort of sum I talking about is there a better scope for the money? Or should I snap up this Opticron while the deal is on?

Personally, I have had that scope. It did serve me reasonably, but I switched to the mm3-50 with the HDF zoom and am really happy I did (both weight and optical improvement). However, the mm3 probably is a more expensive option, at least it is considerably newer design.

Niels

I did take a look at the MM3 but with the body at £400, the HDF zoom eyepiece another £200 and the case a further £60 that's double the kit price for the IS 60 scope. I can get that down to £578 as a kit from In Focus but it's still £250 more than the IS 60 scope kit price

US price: $685.00 + 95 for the case: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...EMw3M7xugzOg4szfATQSC7N_kyGuFCfn4WhoChpXw_wcB

Niels

Over $1000 including shipping and taxes, so roughly £650. Cheaper to buy from a UK stockist but still a couple of hundred more than the other Opticron scope

That's worth knowing and saves a few quid - thanks Brian :t:

I have given my opinion and do not think I can help you further.

Niels

njlarsen said:

I have given my opinion and do not think I can help you further.

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You have - and it was appreciated. Thanks Niels :t:

Pentax PF-65ED Straight 65mm ED-II £314 ( Microglobe ) plus Baader Hyperion 13mm EP £95 is a great combination.

LesR said:

Pentax PF-65ED Straight 65mm ED-II £314 ( Microglobe ) plus Baader Hyperion 13mm EP £95 is a great combination.

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Great little scope. And not just for travel. I used an angled one for years as my only scope, with fixed mag astro e/ps which give a fantastic choice of magnifications.

Is60

I have a Kowa TSN1 which I bought many years ago and has served me well but didnt want to take on a recent holiday ( Trinidad and Tobago ) due to weight. I bought a barely used Opticron IS60 ( not the ED ) with a 40818S eyepiece off a well known auction site for £145 including a lightweight Slik U8000 tripod.

I used it fairly extensively on the veranda at Asa Wright and a number of other locations and thought it was a cracking piece of kit, a lovely clear image and very easy weightwise and I'd buy the same model again if I dropped it off the roof of the car, at that price is the ED model going to be twice as good, I dont know, it'll certainly be a nice travel scope if you go ahead. A number of other birders commented on the quality as well.

The focussing wheel is in my opinion not in the best place, my Kowa is easier to access to focus but that is probably just familiarity and if you were looking through it for extended periods ( seawatching perhaps ) it may be a little tiring.

I'd thought that once I got back if it hadnt performed I'd bang it back up for sale, but I will certainly now keep it and probably in the car, the Kowa I will use for seawatching.

So the message is the Opticron range are great travel scopes where optical quality and weight is important and second hand you can get a real bargain.

Update - I bought the IS 60 ED WP kit and it had its first outing (London WWT) yesterday. And so far I am pretty impressed!

Pros
With it being a smaller lighter scope, with a decent stay-on case, I was able to pack the gear for the day into a normal 35L rucksack rather than carrying the scope in a dedicated scope bag (Lowe Pro Scope Porter) and having a second day sack with camera, bins, lunch etc in. This meant the missus wasn't carrying a bag, which made her happy.

While at the reserve, with much of the weight out the bag the missus was happy to carry that while I carried the scope using the strap supplied with the case. I left the scope attached to the hide clamp so that by carrying the scope at just above hip height the hide clamp was able to dangle down in line with my leg, which worked quite well. The bigger scope I tend to remove from the clamp and stow both scope & clamp away when moving around the reserve.

The view through the scope was good. I'm no optics expert so I don't know how good it was but it was good enough to allow me to pick out the Ring-Necked Duck from amongst the Tufted Ducks at a good distance (right across the grazing marsh and onto the reservoir lagoon from Peacock tower, for those that know the site). The image darkens as zoom is increased but that is to be expected.

The shorter length of the scope means it is further away from the windows. This seemed to mean it doesn't need to be as high to get over the bottom end of the frame (which is also a result of the smaller objective lens compared to my 80mm scope) which made the setup more stable (as did the reduced weight).

Cons
I found it harder to get the scope on to the right areas initially. This may be down to the case as I am used to using the sighting guide on the lens hood of my larger scope to get me in the right ballpark before looking through the eyepiece, an option that isn't open to me with the stay-on case on. But I managed, for the most part.

The stay-on case also limits the use of the rotating tripod collar but I can, of course, always remove the case.

The single focus wheel makes it slightly harder to get that last little bit of fine focus but this is a minor niggle

Overall
I'm very happy! This scope will get a much better trial next week when I go birding for a week around Arundel & West Sussex but the results of the first trial are very positive and I am happy I went for it.

Good for you!

Niels

This WP series is now discontinued and replaced with the IS R series; 60/60ED/70mm. 200grams heavier, more expensive, but about the same size. What's changed in optics?

Opticron says the prism has improved for better light transmission, rubber armour added and labour prices have gone up.

Hm, seems like the old version is not very different - I'd say point three is the most important - at least they state so clearly...

Joachim

Well, an improved prism is worth something...appearance is different so the rubber armour story won't be nonsense either...guess it's a combination of factors.

njlarsen said:

Personally, I have had that scope. It did serve me reasonably, but I switched to the mm3-50 with the HDF zoom and am really happy I did (both weight and optical improvement). However, the mm3 probably is a more expensive option, at least it is considerably newer design.

Niels

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Hi Niels,

Read many reviews and MM3 certainly very good. Have you had the opportunity to compare the relative sizes of the 50 and 60 versions vs the optical benefit? I have an old Habicht Swaro ATHD80 that has served me very well but is heavy. The optical quality through the MM3s seems to rival that of larger scopes evidenced by some of the very good digiscoped pictures that have been cropping up recently.

I have no experience with the 60mm version at all. To me, the weight saved for when I want to travel with a scope makes the 50 mm the clear choice; but additionally, I purchased before the 60 mm was announced.

Niels