-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Which Nikon Fieldscope is this ? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Musoman
- Start date
henry link
Well-known member
That's the original Fieldscope from the 80's. Last year I almost bought an ED version of it which was optically very nice. The main disadvantage of that type is that it can only accept a few of the Fieldscope eyepieces because of the short distance between the eyepiece opening and the back of the prism. Neither of the zooms will work with it.
Musoman
PETE - Nikon/Sony Shooter
Thanks Henry
Is that what they call a Series 1 and if so, what size is the objective, if you know ?
I was reading about Series 1 somewhere ( maybe Nikon website ) and DS eyepieces not fitting Series 1 fieldscopes, so it wasnt clear which eyepieces fit this early fieldscope
Is that what they call a Series 1 and if so, what size is the objective, if you know ?
I was reading about Series 1 somewhere ( maybe Nikon website ) and DS eyepieces not fitting Series 1 fieldscopes, so it wasnt clear which eyepieces fit this early fieldscope
Last edited:
henry link
Well-known member
Yes, I see on the Nikon website it's now called Fieldscope I. The objective is 60mm.
Eyepieces 1,2 ad 3 in the link below are the ones that fit it.
http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/scopes/mc/index.htm
Eyepieces 1,2 ad 3 in the link below are the ones that fit it.
http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/scopes/mc/index.htm
Musoman
PETE - Nikon/Sony Shooter
Thanks again Henry
There's no reference on here about the Fieldscope 1 so no idea how good the glass is, or what the FL is, or the Aperture, weight etc. Google didnt throw up much
Do you know why on that Nikon site, that MC EP's are stated :
' For Observation ' ?
Are Nikon saying MC EP's are no good for Digiscoping, and if so, presumably the DS EP's would be better, as they state they're for Digiscoping
There's no reference on here about the Fieldscope 1 so no idea how good the glass is, or what the FL is, or the Aperture, weight etc. Google didnt throw up much
Do you know why on that Nikon site, that MC EP's are stated :
' For Observation ' ?
Are Nikon saying MC EP's are no good for Digiscoping, and if so, presumably the DS EP's would be better, as they state they're for Digiscoping
henry link
Well-known member
Here's some information about the scope from a 1985 Nikon brochure. The focal length is 420mm. Notice that in 1985 Nikon had not yet adopted the "Fieldscope" name for it. The scope in your photos is the non-ED version with an ordinary achromatic objective, so it wouldn't be the best scope for digiscoping.
I think the MC eyepieces are described as "for observation" mostly because of their more eye-friendly eyecup design. The 24xMC would probably be the best one for digiscoping with this scope. None of the DS eyepieces will fit it.
I think the MC eyepieces are described as "for observation" mostly because of their more eye-friendly eyecup design. The 24xMC would probably be the best one for digiscoping with this scope. None of the DS eyepieces will fit it.
Attachments
Last edited:
Musoman
PETE - Nikon/Sony Shooter
Cheers Henry - i was only half hearted about the scope. If it was cheap ( £50 + ) i may have bought it just for the hell of it just to see what digiscoping is about.
But i guess old kit can be a waste of money sometimes.
I think perhaps the minimum would be a 78ED, or one of the lll ED models, or even the ED50
But i guess old kit can be a waste of money sometimes.
I think perhaps the minimum would be a 78ED, or one of the lll ED models, or even the ED50
Paul Corfield
Well-known member
I started out with £20 scopes that I'd pick up off ebay. I'd rip off the eyepiece and glue on one of my decent astro ones and the scope could rival one costing quite a few hundred pounds. If you were just curious about digiscoping and didn't want to spend loads then I'd maybe try something like that.
Have a look in my gallery. This link should open up in page 12 and these are taken with my old modified spotting scope. Keep going back from page 12 to see more. Going forwards is all my SW photos from what I recall.
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/12/ppuser/19132
What point and shoot camera do you have for digiscoping with?
Paul.
Have a look in my gallery. This link should open up in page 12 and these are taken with my old modified spotting scope. Keep going back from page 12 to see more. Going forwards is all my SW photos from what I recall.
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/12/ppuser/19132
What point and shoot camera do you have for digiscoping with?
Paul.
Musoman
PETE - Nikon/Sony Shooter
Hi Paul - i'm more than curious, i think its time to have a proper shot at digiscoping, as the weight of the astro kit is starting to steer me away from this method.
Love those gallery shots - there as good as anything i've seen from expensive kit of late here, and you were doing this a while ago. Impressive
I dont think i want to start very cheap, but perhaps a bit further up the scale, which is why i was wondering about that Nikon 1, but Henry suggests the glass may not be good quality, and surely it doesnt matter how good the eyepiece is, if its going magnify poor IQ ?
I have no idea at this point about P&S cams, as i think its going to be down to which I scope i can get hold of first.
A lot will depend on selling my other gear, and whether i've priced it ok. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts, i'd appreciate it
Love those gallery shots - there as good as anything i've seen from expensive kit of late here, and you were doing this a while ago. Impressive
I dont think i want to start very cheap, but perhaps a bit further up the scale, which is why i was wondering about that Nikon 1, but Henry suggests the glass may not be good quality, and surely it doesnt matter how good the eyepiece is, if its going magnify poor IQ ?
I have no idea at this point about P&S cams, as i think its going to be down to which I scope i can get hold of first.
A lot will depend on selling my other gear, and whether i've priced it ok. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts, i'd appreciate it
Musoman
PETE - Nikon/Sony Shooter
Well, despite Henry warning me against the Nikon Scope, i now own it.
This is where the trouble starts
Going back 6 or 7 years of threads, there doesnt appear to be anyone with this same scope, ( i havent read all 20 pages ) so i'm a little concerned that answers are going to be thin on the ground.
Henry has already suggested the 24/30xW MC, and current prices of these appear to be pretty exortionate, and 3 times what the scope cost me. The scope actually comes with a 30x, but i guess its the original and therefore not a W.
I shall probably seek alternatives - Baader seems to have a good name, as does WO, but I dont know yet how they fit, thread sizes etc.
And there's all the other head scratching to come, with adaptors and cameras.
I think this could be the fun part
Already, there's another website stating that NONE of the MC EP's are to be used for the Fieldscope 1
http://www.bestspottingscopereviews.com/nikon-fieldscope-eyepieces.php
This is where the trouble starts
Going back 6 or 7 years of threads, there doesnt appear to be anyone with this same scope, ( i havent read all 20 pages ) so i'm a little concerned that answers are going to be thin on the ground.
Henry has already suggested the 24/30xW MC, and current prices of these appear to be pretty exortionate, and 3 times what the scope cost me. The scope actually comes with a 30x, but i guess its the original and therefore not a W.
I shall probably seek alternatives - Baader seems to have a good name, as does WO, but I dont know yet how they fit, thread sizes etc.
And there's all the other head scratching to come, with adaptors and cameras.
I think this could be the fun part
Already, there's another website stating that NONE of the MC EP's are to be used for the Fieldscope 1
http://www.bestspottingscopereviews.com/nikon-fieldscope-eyepieces.php
Last edited:
henry link
Well-known member
Musoman,
My "warning" about the optics was only in comparison to more expensive ED scopes. This should be a very nice scope at a low price with a good quality achromat, but inevitably that means some purple fringes in digiscoped photos.
Unfortunately the 30x eyepiece is a narrow field type with short eye relief. The website is incorrect about the 20x, 24x and 40x MC eyepieces, which will work fine in this scope, but only the 20x and 24x have wide fields and long enough eye relief for digiscoping (24x is better) if you can find one of those cheap enough. No other eyepieces can be used. The screw mount is too small for 1.25" eyepieces to be adapted and the eyepiece thread is unique to the Nikon Fieldscopes.
Henry
My "warning" about the optics was only in comparison to more expensive ED scopes. This should be a very nice scope at a low price with a good quality achromat, but inevitably that means some purple fringes in digiscoped photos.
Unfortunately the 30x eyepiece is a narrow field type with short eye relief. The website is incorrect about the 20x, 24x and 40x MC eyepieces, which will work fine in this scope, but only the 20x and 24x have wide fields and long enough eye relief for digiscoping (24x is better) if you can find one of those cheap enough. No other eyepieces can be used. The screw mount is too small for 1.25" eyepieces to be adapted and the eyepiece thread is unique to the Nikon Fieldscopes.
Henry
Musoman
PETE - Nikon/Sony Shooter
Thanks Henry - well i guess at the price, i can live with a bit of CA, and maybe i can avoid most of it by being careful with shots.
I can manipulate CA to a certain extent in PS CS4
When you say no other eyepieces can be used, i realise you mean Nikon, ( in the first link, No. 1, 2, and 3 EP's only ) as pointed out a post or 2 ago, but do you mean ALL 3rd party EP's too, so no chance of a Baader or W Optics ? Ouch
I'll keep an eye out for a cheap ? !! 24/30xW MC
I can manipulate CA to a certain extent in PS CS4
When you say no other eyepieces can be used, i realise you mean Nikon, ( in the first link, No. 1, 2, and 3 EP's only ) as pointed out a post or 2 ago, but do you mean ALL 3rd party EP's too, so no chance of a Baader or W Optics ? Ouch
I'll keep an eye out for a cheap ? !! 24/30xW MC
henry link
Well-known member
As far as I know no 3rd party eyepieces can be adapted to the Fieldscopes. I suppose some kind of homemade adapter might be made to work with a few eyepieces, but I haven't heard about anybody doing it.
Musoman
PETE - Nikon/Sony Shooter
I'll have to work round it.
Simply waiting for that one EP to turn up 2nd hand could be a long wait.
Though i suspect Murphy's Law will pop up, and some one will sell one here / ebay / some other forum just after i spend 6 months making an adapter :smoke:
Mind you, i do have access to a lathe and a mill. My engineer pal will make anything for some beer vouchers, as long as I can give him accurate measurements. So 6 months was a little dramatic :-O
Simply waiting for that one EP to turn up 2nd hand could be a long wait.
Though i suspect Murphy's Law will pop up, and some one will sell one here / ebay / some other forum just after i spend 6 months making an adapter :smoke:
Mind you, i do have access to a lathe and a mill. My engineer pal will make anything for some beer vouchers, as long as I can give him accurate measurements. So 6 months was a little dramatic :-O
Paul Corfield
Well-known member
I'll post a photo of my modified spotting scope in the morning. It might give you a starting point for yours if you choose to go that route. Mine will accept any 1.25" astro eyepiece and it was a very simple modification.
Paul.
Paul.
Musoman
PETE - Nikon/Sony Shooter
Look forward to that. I cant see me paying £250 just for the eyepiece, despite the fact its probably excellent IQ and right for the job.
Are there any ED astro EP's, or is that like putting Lester Piggot on a Donkey re. my post about trying to use a better quailty eyepiece on Non ED scope glass ?
Are there any ED astro EP's, or is that like putting Lester Piggot on a Donkey re. my post about trying to use a better quailty eyepiece on Non ED scope glass ?
Paul Corfield
Well-known member
There's lot's of ED eyepieces that use various types of exotic glass. Baader Hyperion's use low dispersion glass (another name for ED) for example. Celestron X-Cel uses ED and Vixen eyepieces use Lanthanum Glass. The bigger eyepieces with lots of elements in tend to be the ones with exotic glass in them.
Paul.
Paul.
henry link
Well-known member
I don't want to discourage you from experimenting, but the old Fieldscope has some particular problems for adapting eyepieces to it.
First the eyepiece opening is too small to accept 1.25" eyepiece tubes, so no 1.25" eyepiece can reach focus unless its eyepiece tube is removed. You can't just add a 1.25" sleeve to the back of the scope.
Second the prism is right up against the back of the scope so no eyepiece with a negative field group in front of the eyepiece focal plane can be inserted far enough to reach focus and that would include most of the complex modern wide field eyepieces, like the Baader Hyperions. All of the Nikon MC widefield eyepieces except the 24x have negative field groups, so they can't be inserted far enough. The 20x is an old fashioned Erfle with the focal plane in front of the field group.
ED glass is only useful in eyepieces with negative field groups, but it would do nothing to correct the longitudinal CA coming from the objective.
First the eyepiece opening is too small to accept 1.25" eyepiece tubes, so no 1.25" eyepiece can reach focus unless its eyepiece tube is removed. You can't just add a 1.25" sleeve to the back of the scope.
Second the prism is right up against the back of the scope so no eyepiece with a negative field group in front of the eyepiece focal plane can be inserted far enough to reach focus and that would include most of the complex modern wide field eyepieces, like the Baader Hyperions. All of the Nikon MC widefield eyepieces except the 24x have negative field groups, so they can't be inserted far enough. The 20x is an old fashioned Erfle with the focal plane in front of the field group.
ED glass is only useful in eyepieces with negative field groups, but it would do nothing to correct the longitudinal CA coming from the objective.
Paul Corfield
Well-known member
I presume the problem comes from it being a straight scope. I have a straight scope here that I also modified to take astro eyepieces but it indeed involved removing the 1.25" barrel so that the eyepiece glass could be mounted closer to the prisms. This limits you somewhat to the eyepiece that can be used. On my angled scope the 1.25" barrels can be left on the eyepiece, be it a Plossl or a Hyperion.
Agreed, the eyepiece can't be used to cancel out any CA from the objective, only a CA filter could do that but that's probably more trouble than it's worth, especially on this type of straight scope.
Paul.
Agreed, the eyepiece can't be used to cancel out any CA from the objective, only a CA filter could do that but that's probably more trouble than it's worth, especially on this type of straight scope.
Paul.
Similar threads
