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Pentax PF80 EDa and fixed eyepieces (1 Viewer)

PF-80a with Televue zoom

Hello All,

I've just gotten a PF-80 ed angled used for a very good price. The deal came with the Pentax 8-24mm zoom and the fitted bag. My other scope is a TV ranger with the TV 8-24mm zoom. I've had a chance to do some brief 4-way comparisons (2 scopes, 2 zooms). In resolution tests, the best combination was the Pentax/Pentax, followed very closely bythe Pentax body/TV zoom. The ranger body faired quite well given its smaller objective, but color correction was not nearly as good at 50-60x, with a considerable blue haze showing up. The fitted bag for the pentax works quite well, better than the Televue fitted bag.

In star testing, my pentax appears to be a good sample (thank goodness, b/c I got it used, sight unseen, though at a price that I wasn't worried about reselling if necessary).

To my surprise after reading the BVD reviews and other threads on zoom eyepieces, I found that my favorite combination was the Pentax body with the TV zoom. The Pentax eyepiece requires eye placement that is just-so. Moreover, the large diameter of the barrel causes me to frequently bump the eyepiece and jiggle the image with my nose-eyebrow. Kimmo's review was right on in the summary of this eyepiece-- for me it is a bit fatiguing. The TV zoom has a much more open comfortable view (I do wear thin glasses and both have adequate eye relief for me). Consequently, I think that many of the lukewarm reviews of this scope may more relevant to the zoom than the body (though the quality control issue does appear to be real). Kimmo, if you're still following this thread, have you had a chance to evaluate the pentax with zooms of other brands? Any thoughts?

At any rate, I'm planning to keep the pentax body - tv zoom combination and can hardily recommend this combo, especially for the price. I am toying with the idea of getting a zeiss zoom with astronomical adaptor (astronomics.com) instead for the increased FOV, though...

Cheers,
Chris C.
 
Art Thorn said:
I've just glanced at a few threads that are many months old that compare the Pentax 80 and zoom with other scopes and fixed eyepieces. I'm aboout to purchase an 80 because of the great price, and have several Televue eyepieces that I use with my 85 that I plan to share between the two scopes. Has anyone done any side by side comparison of 80 to 85 mm scopes, including the Pentax, with fixed eyepieces (Televue would be nice)?? :flyaway:

I have a Televue and the Pentax 80. I would have to give the nod to the Televue for superior performance, even though it is only 70mm objective diameter. However, the Televue is operating with some advantages/disadvantages. It has a right angle mirror setup rather than an erecting prism--so there are fewer optical elements and the contrast appears higher to my eye. I would say that the 85 mm Televue should provide a nice improvement over my Pentax. Having said that, the Pentax provides excellent images and I prefer taking it out on those days where I have to hike. It is much lighter than the Televue and while I am subtracting some optical performance it is minor. One has to have both scopes side by side and switch between them to say that one is better than the other. Also, the Pentax is water-proof and there is no chance of condensing water on the interior optics, unlike the Televue which is basically open. The Pentax zoom eyepiece is a high quality optic; but, you will get better performance with the fixed eyepieces. It annoys me that the apparent field of view of the zoom is smaller at the longer focal length and larger at the longer focal lengths.

Hope this helps.

Brian
 
Ready to buy my first scope

Moved to FL last year, and just finished a beginning bird watching class--so I'm ready to take the plunge. I've researched scopes until my eyes are blurry and have narrowed the choice down to the Pentax 65EDA or the 80EDA. Weight will be an issue as I'm mid-50s with lower back problems, so leaning toward the lighter 65. Will be able to attend birding festival later this week to try them out. Is there an obvious reason why I should/should not get 65 over 80? I don't know a lot about the techical details other posters mention about scopes, but I know I want to get as much quality as I can for this price (this is the top of my limit). From what I've read, I am going to get the Vixen 8-24 zoom eyepiece because it has a higher eye relief. Good choice? I didn't realize that I'd have to do nearly as much research on tripods! Your thoughts on Bogen Manfrotto 3221 with 3433 pro fluid head would be appreciated. I know my instructor said that was a good quality tripod and to get an audio head. My head is spinning right now. Hopefully, after the show I will have enough info to make an educated choice.
 

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i,m fortunate enough to have the pentax 80 ed & 65 ed.also a nikon fieldscope 60.& a TV pronto ,they are all fine but my preference is the 80 ed .if you can manage the extra wieght & size . i got the 80 first but it was to large for my motor cycle trunk. so i got the 65ed.then i was offered a new fieldscope at a price i couldnt refuse.i use a pentax zoom on the 80,fine ep but zoom ring is a bit stiff .i also have the XW 20 14 & THE XL 7 ep,s.they are great & cant be bettered by any euro s.I use a TV 8-24 & a pentax XF 7 on the 65 as they are less bulky.all of these are exellent choices .the swaros leicas & zeisse are all great glasses as well , but the pentax is definately as good at half the price .get the pentax for $900 [adorama]& spend the the $900 you save on some TV or pentax EP,s or decent binos . of course there is a wee bit of snob value in having the european gear.
brian


















4900
 
Thanks, Brian, for the recommendations. I will definately "weigh" the pros and cons of the 80 and 65 while at the show. There's nothing like hands-on comparison and I'm fortunate that the timing of the show coincides with my new interest in birding.
 
if you decide on the pentax 65 ed, i recommend the orion 8-24zoom .its the same as the televue ,but costs less.by the way you get a pretty decent cover [case] with the pentaxes. the covers for some of the others cost a small fortune.
brian.
 
i forgot to mention ,i use bogen 3011 tripod & a 3130 head ,cost about $150 for the pair . they work very well with the 80 pf .i use a cheap velbron df 60 with the 65 pf as it fits in my m/c trunk
brian
 
Hi all,
I have recently (Nov23) purchased the Pentax PF-80 EDa with two EyePieces: Pentax
SMC XW 14 mm fixed focal length (which gives x36 magnification) and Pentax SMC
XL Zoom 8-24 mm (magnification between x21 and x63)
Really great spotting scope with the fixed 14 mm EP. Highly recommended!!!
Awesome!!!
But, in my opinion it is not worth at all purchasing the Zoom XL eyepiece for several
reasons:
● More expensive (499€ compared to 328€, which is +52% more expensive!)
● Inferior optical quality
● Less real Field of View (FoV) (1,8º at x21 for the Zoom) compared to the real
FoV of the fixed (1,9º at x36) !. So, the only advantage in flexibility for the
Zoom is when using it between x36 and x63 which, in my opinion, is not
necessary 99% of the time, since the fixed eyepiece offers more resolution. I
prefer to have in my pocket a simple, cheap and light Plossl EP 8 or 7 mm
focal length to get x63 or x72 Mag. for those 1% of the occasions.
● 200 gr heavier
● Tunnel effect, due to the 38º apparent FoV at x21. With the fixed focal length
(70º) you really feel part of the scene.
 
sergilda,

If you have a good example of the PF80EDa (most brands of scopes have some variation in optical quality among different examples), you should find it to be VERY versatile. As you've discovered, the Pentax zoom does NOT give optimal views when used with this or other Pentax spotters. However, the Pentax XW series having 70˚ apparent field of view (AFOV) and the earlier Pentax XL series with 65˚ AFOV should all work very nicely with your scope. The XLs are discontinued (replaced by the XWs), but are often available used at considerably lower cost if you don't mind a 5˚ smaller field of view.

If you check back through years of previous posts on the Pentax spotters, you'll find numerous threads that may help in getting the most from your scope. Because of heated air near the ground on sunny days (wavy viewing like looking over a hot roof), most birders rarely use higher powers provided by short focal length Pentax eyepieces of 7 mm (74x) 5mm (104x) or especially 3.5 mm (148x!). If you occasionally want to try higher powers, you can use short FL astronomy eyepieces if you have those OR augment your fixed eyepieces with a low cost 2x "Shorty" Barlow lens. While most Barlows are too long to allow infinity focus in the PF80 because of the little screw head that protrudes into the eyepiece "well", you can modify the lens-holding-cell in a "Shorty" Barlow to slide past the protrusion and seat fully so it will focus nicely with a variety of eyepieces, including the XW14 you have. That low cost addition would give you the equivalent of a 7 mm eyepiece. Check older threads for a description and photos of how to do this.

To gain a wider, brighter field, you'll likely want to get a Pentax XW20 or similar. That would provide 26x with a 2.7˚ field. Used with the 2x Barlow, it would be like a 10 mm eyepiece, providing 52x. Another possibility, if you enjoy very wide fields and can do a little machining, is to replace your scope's eyepiece collet-tightening ring with a homemade replacement to hold certain modified 2" SWA eyepieces. The common 26 mm SWA used this way gives an often useful 20x with a pleasantly wide 3.5˚ true field. Again, check previous threads in this forum for options you may want to consider for your new scope.

Hope you enjoy your PF80EDa. - Bill
 
Last edited:
sergilda,

If you have a good example of the PF80EDa (most brands of scopes have some variation in optical quality among different examples), you should find it to be VERY versatile. As you've discovered, the Pentax zoom does NOT give optimal views when used with this or other Pentax spotters. However, the Pentax XW series having 70˚ apparent field of view (AFOV) and the earlier Pentax XL series with 65˚ AFOV should all work very nicely with your scope. The XLs are discontinued (replaced by the XWs), but are often available used at considerably lower cost if you don't mind a 5˚ smaller field of view.

If you check back through years of pervious posts on the Pentax spotters, you'll find numerous threads that may help in getting the most from your scope. Because of heated air near the ground on sunny days (wavy viewing like looking over a hot roof), most birders rarely use higher powers provided by short focal length Pentax eyepieces of 7 mm (74x) 5mm (104x) or especially 3.5 mm (148x!). If you occasionally want to try higher powers, you can use short FL astronomy eyepieces if you have those OR augment your fixed eyepieces with a low cost 2x "Shorty" Barlow lens. While most Barlows are too long to allow infinity focus in the PF80 because of the little screw head that protrudes into the eyepiece "well", you can modify the lens-holding-cell in a "Shorty" Barlow to slide past the protrusion and seat fully so it will focus nicely with a variety of eyepieces, including the XW14 you have. That low cost addition would give you the equivalent of a 7 mm eyepiece. Check older threads for a description and photos of how to do this.

To gain a wider, brighter field, you'll likely want to get a Pentax XW20 or similar. That would provide 26x with a 2.7˚ field. Used with the 2x Barlow, it would be like a 10 mm eyepiece, providing 52x. Another possibility, if you enjoy very wide fields and can do a little machining, is to replace your scope's eyepiece collet-tightening ring with a homemade replacement to hold certain modified 2" SWA eyepieces. The common 26 mm SWA used this way gives an often useful 20x with a pleasantly wide 3.5˚ true field. Again, check previous threads in this forum for options you may want to consider for your new scope.

Hope you enjoy your PF80EDa. - Bill
Many thanks Bill! I didn't know about the x2 barlow. I'll check previous threads as you suggest.
Thanks again!!!
 
sergilda,

The old shorty Barlow thread is here : Modifying a low cost Barlow lens for use with the Pentax PF-EDAII spotting scope

Be sure to read later posts in the thread, since I learned a better way to adapt the shorty Barlow AFTER making the first post. Posts 3 and 5 in that thread will give you the needed information. If you do not have machine tools, you can buy a file at the hardware store and do the work carefully by hand with not-too-much effort. As mentioned, few Barlows will allow eyepieces to focus at infinity in the Pentax PF scopes unless this modification to allow the Barlow to insert past the little screw head is done. Hope this helps. - Bill
 
sergilda,

The old shorty Barlow thread is here : Modifying a low cost Barlow lens for use with the Pentax PF-EDAII spotting scope

Be sure to read later posts in the thread, since I learned a better way to adapt the shorty Barlow AFTER making the first post. Posts 3 and 5 in that thread will give you the needed information. If you do not have machine tools, you can buy a file at the hardware store and do the work carefully by hand with not-too-much effort. As mentioned, few Barlows will allow eyepieces to focus at infinity in the Pentax PF scopes unless this modification to allow the Barlow to insert past the little screw head is done. Hope this helps. - Bill
Thanks again!
 
Pop in here with some received wisdom when I was considering similar options. A zoom is not about visual experience; it’s a tool to ID birds. Use the better view low magnification to search , then zoom in when you need to sort. Made sense to me.
 
Pop in here with some received wisdom when I was considering similar options. A zoom is not about visual experience; it’s a tool to ID birds. Use the better view low magnification to search , then zoom in when you need to sort. Made sense to me.
After using it some months, I absolutelly agree with your statement. In addition, I enjoy very much with the versatility in terms of exit pupil. Something that only zoom EPs can provide.
 

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