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New Opticron 50mm Class Scope At Birdfair (1 Viewer)

pete_gamby

pete_gamby

Birds? What Birds?!
Just in case any of you happen to be in Rutland in August, we will be showing (and hopefully selling) the new GS 52 ED spotting scope.

It's an ugly little sucker but according to those that know more about these things than I do, it's optics are more than fair. It's based around a "full size" prism housing, hence the odd looks.

Pics are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/opticron/3703224507/in/set-72157620453374508/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/opticron/3703224597/in/set-72157620453374508/

It will be priced at £249 body only.

Punt up your questions and I'll do what I can to answer.

Cheers, Pete
 
Yes, very interesting indeed. I assume it will be compatible with all of the opticron eyepieces? Will it be waterproof?
 
It seems to use the same prism housing as the larger scopes,only changing aperture and Focal lenght..The large prism should make for a Bright image and the coatings look VERY good!!!..I dont think the scope is ugly!..very attractive indeed!..Doble speed focuser,rubber armored..I assume the scope is waterproof and fully compatible with Opticron lines of eyepieces..Is this Scope Japanese?..Any idea of the Weight?..Does the tripod collar rotate?...Thanks
 
Eyepieces - check the listing for the MM2 (see link below) and, excluding the MM2-specific parts (40902, 40903, 40909), the others are all compatible and will have the same magnifications. FOV numbers below.

http://www.opticron.co.uk/Pages/mm2_scope.htm

SDL zoom - 3.1º to 1.8º, 54 to 28m

HDF zoom - 3.5º to 1.6º, 61 to 28m
HDF 13xWW - 4.3º, 75m
HDF 18xWW - 3.8º, 66m
HDF 24xWW - 2.75º, 48m
HDF 28xWA - 2.3º, 40m
HDF 45xWA - 1.6º, 28m
HDF 57x - 1º, 17.5m

HR zoom - 3.1º to 1.6º, 54 to 31.5m
HR 15xWA - 4.25º, 74m
HR 20xWA - 3.4º, 59m
HR 28x - 1.4º, 24.5m

Waterproof - yes

Manufacture - Japan

Weight - about 750 grammes

Close focus - down to about 2.5 metres (although a couple of the early samples have performed better than this specification)

Tripod collar does rotate.
 
Certainly the centre of gravity is way behind the tripod mount but that hasn't been raised as a concern in the early testing.

The angled version actually sits quite well for hand-held use as the weight is distributed that way (although it's really a bit too heavy for any extended hand-held use).
 
It's a funny looking beast... it will be very interesting to see how it compares optically to the Nikon ED50, it would be nice if that finally got some real competition. Interesting to see the spec, it's clearly a bit heavier than the ED50 (that weighs ~650g with an eyepeice), but from the photos the balance does look nore of an issue.
 
Another tasty bit of kit from Opticron!!

I could imagine this being very useful with a 20x eyepiece and a mono pod on long walks or cycle rides etc where a full 80mm scope and tripod would be too heavy and cumbersome, would weight next to nothing packed into a daysack or slung around the shoulder by it's carrycase.....if there is one?

Love the flickr site btw!!!

Matt
 
There is a stay-on case with shoulder strap available.

I have had one of these out on extended test over the last four months or so and used it with several eyepieces. What has struck my birding friends is despite the centre of gravity issue it really does work as a hand held scope, certainly on the low mag values. As more and more birders carry camera gear often there is a hesitancy to carry a large scope, this will go into your coat pocket.

As for the ED50 I have tested this against an ED50 last weekend and to me the GS52 GA ED was brighter, sharper and with a wider field of view
 
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Send me a Demo to the states!!..I own an Opticron Imagic ED(vixen Geoma ED 80),and some eyepieces....!..I'd love to try it!
 
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Chris Galvin said:
As for the ED50 I have tested this against an ED50 last weekend and to me the GS52 GA ED was brighter, sharper and with a wider field of view
Click to expand...

That sounds promising, I look forward to testing one out. I dare say there will be a lot of independant reviews done comparing the two scopes.
 
hi everyone, i did take a look at this, and what a stunning little setup its, at the wide end of its zoom it was very bright and sharp, contrast appeared very good, image did darken a little towards its full zoom but it still retained its sharpness, but i was looking into shade at the time,
Any of you wanting this scope, in my opinion should be looking at this scope, i dont think you will be dissapointed
 
Birdfair Feedback

Over the three days of Birdfair everyone who looked this scope agreed that it produced an extremely bright and sharp image and at no time was there any mention of the looks of the scope but stacks of comments about how it can be used as a handheld scope.

For those that have wanted an independant review of the GS52 ED should look at the present copy (issue 207 Sept 2009) of Birdwatch where it has been reviewed by Mike Alibone
 
Cool!

pete_gamby said:
Just in case any of you happen to be in Rutland in August, we will be showing (and hopefully selling) the new GS 52 ED spotting scope.

It's an ugly little sucker but according to those that know more about these things than I do, it's optics are more than fair. It's based around a "full size" prism housing, hence the odd looks.

Pics are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/opticron/3703224507/in/set-72157620453374508/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/opticron/3703224597/in/set-72157620453374508/

It will be priced at £249 body only.

Punt up your questions and I'll do what I can to answer.

Cheers, Pete
Click to expand...

Found this new scope on your website last night while looking for a travelscope to take to Alaska.

I used to use a GS665ED. I thought it excellent but felt the need to trade up to something bigger. Now I'm planning Alaska, I feel the need for something even smaller. This looks just the thing.

It looks brilliant. Can't wait to try it out in a shop as soon as I can. When is it available?

Great idea on Opticrons part. Nice one.

Martin.
 
If it is as good as it sounds Opticron should be onto a real winner with this little scope. All it needs now is a light, neat grip for handholding. I can't wait to try one.

Ron
 
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