I thought this might be of some interest to some here about the Pentax PR 65 that was released back in 2013 in Europe but as yet to be sold here in the states. Last month before I decided to find a dealer in Europe that would sell/ship one to me here in the states, I called RICOH Imaging America. The person who finally took my call had no knowledge of the new release. When I called back a second time, the same person then acknowledged the newer version of the Pentax PF ED but said it was not available to be purchased here in the states. I asked the same person if they were ever going to be available here in the U.S.? the same person at RICOH Imaging America did not know. Well I have one now, shipped from Germany....... It arrived in a much larger box then my original Pentax 65 PF . Also the packaging in the box that protected the scope was a lot better because it came snugged in a rigid foam base/with a foam top similar to the way the Celestron Regal/M2 were packaged. As far as the scopes body, it looks like a Pentax PF series on Steroids. I do not have the Pentax PF EDAII any longer, so I can not put them side by side but my first reaction was man someone really over fed this scope. I say this in a positive way, the Pentax PR is built like a Tank. Even the Black Rubber Armouring has been improved giving a nicer look with a much tougher feel. Besides the new look one other obvious change is the newer upgraded dual focusing wheel, providing a smooth turning action unlike what I have experienced with the Celestron Regal/M2 spotting scopes. Also the spec's now say Argon-purged. I have posted a picture with a ruler. It looks a little bigger in the photo but actually with out the heavy duty rubber objective cap on it measures about 11 inches in length with the objective cap on bringing it to 11-1/8th. This specimen is clean(spotless), inside tube well darkened with nice lens coating's with the spec' stating FBMC( fully balanced multicoated) with 5 pieces for the Objective - 2 pieces being ED. The ocular port along with the mounting foot also seem to be a little beafyer made. One other note, no where on the scope body itself is it stated where it is made though it does have what appears to be a serial number on the under side of the body. Also on the box it says RICOH IMAGING EUROPE S.A.S FRANCE . The original PF ED had made in Japan. The only eyepieces I have on hand now are my Nikon eyepieces but I will have a Pentax XW20 available to try with this scope at the end of the week. I will comment back later about how this scope performs. I have always thought the Pentax XW20 eyepiece used in combination with the original Pentax PF ED series brought the Pentax 65 to another level. Assuming I did not get a defective scope, I know the XW20 eyepiece will show if this scope is a Winner or a Dud.
Attachments
Last edited: