[tektite5]

I am thinking of purchasing the nikon ED82A but heard that it is not eyeglass friendly! Anyone have any real life experience with this situation? Also want to use the scope for digiscoping.

Gary

[Alexis Powell]

There are other posts on this topic, but the short answer is that it all depends on how you want to use the scope. In general, the Nikon zoom eyepieces do not offer as much eye-relief as the zooms available from Swarovski, Kowa, Zeiss, and Leica; however, some glasses wearers find the Nikon works OK for them. The Nikon fixed-power wide angle eyepieces offer plenty of eye-relief for most glasses wearers. Here are some links w/specs:

http://nikon.com/products/sportoptic...m/ds/index.htm
http://nikon.com/products/sportoptic...s/mc/index.htm

--AP

[tektite5]

Thanks for your help Alexis. I'm still worried by the narrow view. Scope Quest 2008 gave the Nikons a very negative review due to this problem. Like to check viewing myself but do not know anyone with this scope.

Thanks again,
Gary

[Alexis Powell]

Originally Posted by tektite5

Thanks for your help Alexis. I'm still worried by the narrow view. Scope Quest 2008 gave the Nikons a very negative review due to this problem.

The zoom on the 82ED has 25x as its lowest power and the FOV is indeed more narrow than competing zooms at their 20x minimum. The Nikon fixed WA eyepieces are as wide or wider than their competitors.

--AP

[Pileatus]

Originally Posted by tektite5

I am thinking of purchasing the nikon ED82A but heard that it is not eyeglass friendly! Anyone have any real life experience with this situation? Also want to use the scope for digiscoping.

Gary

Gary,
The ED82A with the 30X DS eyepiece is as good as it gets.
John

[tektite5]

Thanks Alexis and John. Maybe I will give the Nikon a try. I need the 30X DS for digiscoping any way.
Any one try using the ED82A with a Nikon DSLR?
Thanks,
Gary

[Jaeger70]

Gary,

I'm an eyeglass wearer who owned a Nikon 82 ED for several years. Despite being a very good optical instrument, I decided to sell it to fund the purchase of a Zeiss 85mm. Why? I grew tired of the overall performance of the 25x-75x zoom eyepiece. It is much smaller and less user-friendly than other high-end zoom eyepieces, and as others have pointed out, certainly does not have as wide a field-of-view and level of eye relief that the Zeiss offers. It is sharp and relatively brright, however.

My method of dealing with the narrow field and poor eye relief was to simply remove my glasses while scoping; while this often was an effective means of dealing with the short eye relief, over time I felt this was unacceptable because I had 'lost' some birds because I had to occassionally fumble for my glasses. The Zeiss ocular is big, so it offers a much more comfortable view (for me). I would pester Nikon on occasion to update the zoom eyepiece, but Nikon reps would just tell me a new zoom wasn't in the works. I sometimes felt underwhelmed by the zoom even while wearing contact lenses, as the Nikon ocular seemed so tiny. Also, I much prefer the dual-focus mechanism of the Zeiss (and Leica) rather than the barrel-mounted focus mechanism of the Nikon and Swarovski. I realize this is a very personal preference, however.

I had an opportunity to view the scope with the 30x wide-angle eyepiece. I was impressed, but I prefer to have the convenience (and reach) of a zoom eyepiece.

Despite my gripes, I feel the Nikon 82ED is a solid scope and a bargain compared to Euro glass (and the new big Kowas). The Nikon offers a comparable viewing experience and can often be found for much less (especially used), but they are much more difficult to find on the used market. If you have the opportunity to purchase one via the used market, go for it. I bought mine on eBay from a seller who apparently used it only twice and I was able to purchase it for $500 less than retail. If you purchase a new kit, be sure to buy from a reputable dealer that has a solid return policy should you decide the Nikon isn't for you.

Good luck!

[Jaeger70]

Gary,

I'm an eyeglass wearer who owned a Nikon 82 ED for several years. Despite being a very good optical instrument, I decided to sell it to fund the purchase of a Zeiss 85mm. Why? I grew tired of the overall performance of the 25x-75x zoom eyepiece. It is much smaller and less user-friendly than other high-end zoom eyepieces, and, as others have indicated, certainly does not have as wide field-of-view and level of eye relief that other high-end eyepieces offer. The zoom is sharp and bright, however.

My method of dealing with the narrow field and poor eye relief was to simply remove my glasses while scoping; this was often an effective means of dealing with the short eye relief, I found this unacceptable over time because I had 'lost' some birds because I had to fumble for my glasses. The Zeiss ocular is big, so it offers a much more comfortable view (for me). I would on occasion pester Nikon to update the zoom, but Nikon reps repeatedly indicated that a new zoom isn't in the works.

Also, I much prefer the dual-focus mechanism of the Zeiss (and Leica) rather than the barrel-mounted focus mechanism of the Nikon and Swarovski. I realize this is a very personal preference, however.

I had an opportunity to view the scope with the 30x eyepiece. I was impressed, but I prefer to have the convenience (and reach) of a zoom eyepiece.

The upshot of the Nikon is the price. They can often be found for much less than the top Euro glass (and the new, big Kowas), but they offer a comparable viewing experience. If you have the opportunity to purchase one via the used market, go for it. I bought mine on eBay from a seller who apparently used it only twice, but I paid $500 less than retail. If you purchase a new kit be sure to do so via a reputable dealer who offers a solid return policy should you find the Nikon not up to snuff.