Nikon ED50 (1 Viewer)

Swissboy · Feb 8, 2006

For some reason, probably because of still very limited availability, there is no thread yet for the new ultra-compact Nikon ED50 scope. However, there has been a little bit of discussion elsewhere. So here is at least one link:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=50915

Start with post 15.

Swissboy · Feb 8, 2006

scampo said:
Sidetracked... oh dear. A quick one. I received my Cullman shoulder pod today and with a "spongee" strap and the new ED50 + "30x" it was brilliant in woodland, brilliant. I think I shall be trying it with the 38x soon!

It is about half the size and weight of your EDIII, Robert, I think.

Steve,

what is a "spongee" strap, could that be one of those famous OpTech ones, which I also use?

Is there only one model of shoulder pods made by Cullman?

Your "30x" essentially gives you a 16x50, so that should be even brighter than a 20x60 on the EDIII. No wonder you say it's brilliant!

Chris Oates · Feb 8, 2006

There's certainly a market for these small scopes - some people just need to be pursuaded it's what they need.
At Hayle estuary viewing distances are often huge and many watchers arrive with 7 or 8x bins and are dissapointed when they don't find anything and don't bother to come back. Hayle is rich with birds but you do need a scope, talking to bins birders one problem they have is the scope itself - looking at birds through a moderate sized drainpipe makes you (a) a twitcher (b) de-facto an expert on all winged creatures - this makes modest bins people cringe.
I felt like this and stayed with bins to the detriment of my birding until I could take it no more - bought an Opticron pocket scope with a decent eyepiece, felt a bit geeky for a while, had to endlessly apologise to people for not being able to identify birds for them.
I still carry bins but mostly use them for taking in the view - the scope transformed by days out - I can now sit with the elders and take in the subtleties of Gull ID, really appreciate the beauty of remote timid waders - fantastic.
I bought a small pocket type scope because I don't have transport and when I do it's on the back of a bike, I also take the scope to work for sea watching at lunchtime.

dipped · Feb 8, 2006

Swissboy said:
For some reason, probably because of still very limited availability, there is no thread yet for the new ultra-compact Nikon ED50 scope. However, there has been a little bit of discussion elsewhere. So here is at least one link:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=50915

Start with post 15.

Yes there is, it's here http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=39449&highlight=travelscope

Cheers-Nev

medinabrit · Feb 9, 2006

dipped said:
Yes there is, it's here http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=39449&highlight=travelscope

Cheers-Nev

Will this scope [nikon 50mm] become available in the USA sometime soon? none of the dealers here know of it.
Brian.

medinabrit · Feb 9, 2006

Can anyone give me info on shoulder pod,s & where to get one please .I,ve never seen one .
Brian

Swissboy · Feb 9, 2006

dipped said:
Yes there is, it's here http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=39449&highlight=travelscope

Cheers-Nev

Thanks for bringing this up again. I had been searching for it and could not find it because I only searched the Nikon subforum looking for "ED50". But I did not use the search function. Anyway, I think it makes sense to have a specific ED50 thread in the Nikon area. Any comparisons with other "travelscopes" can still be discussed in the general "travelscope" thread.

Swissboy · Feb 9, 2006

medinabrit said:
Can anyone give me info on shoulder pod,s & where to get one please .I,ve never seen one .
Brian

Brian, I assume this is what Steve/Scampo got. He should be able to tell us more about his experiences soon.

http://www.cullmann-foto.de/en/products/tripods/travelpods/0080.htm

medinabrit · Feb 10, 2006

Swissboy said:
Brian, I assume this is what Steve/Scampo got. He should be able to tell us more about his experiences soon.

http://www.cullmann-foto.de/en/products/tripods/travelpods/0080.htm

Found one at eagle optics ,Its called the BUSH HAWK SHOULDER MOUNT , thanks for the info tho .
Brian.

streatham · Feb 10, 2006

medinabrit said:
Can anyone give me info on shoulder pod,s & where to get one please .I,ve never seen one .
Brian

I'm interested in this scope too as it sounds perfect for that most of my open country birding - I don't generally need or like to lump round a huge scope and tripod but would like a little extra reach every now and then just to gain more enjoyable looks at a sparrow on a far fencepost or the like. I did a search on Froogle and found a few US retailers selling it (with the 13-30 zoom) for $700.00.

Luke

medinabrit · Feb 10, 2006

nikon 50

streatham said:
I'm interested in this scope too as it sounds perfect for that most of my open country birding - I don't generally need or like to lump round a huge scope and tripod but would like a little extra reach every now and then just to gain more enjoyable looks at a sparrow on a far fencepost or the like. I did a search on Froogle and found a few US retailers selling it (with the 13-30 zoom) for $700.00.

Luke

It costs about $500 for the body in the UK usually things are a bit cheaper here [no vat tax].so $700 with EP seems a bit high .Which dealers did you find them at?
Brian.

4

streatham · Feb 10, 2006

medinabrit said:
It costs about $500 for the body in the UK usually things are a bit cheaper here [no vat tax].so $700 with EP seems a bit high .Which dealers did you find them at?
Brian.4

Hi Brian that was my impression as well - at that price I don't think I will be bothering. It doesn't seem as if anyone is selling just the body at the momenet either. www.binoculars.com is one of the vendors

Luke

Swissboy · Feb 10, 2006

streatham said:
Hi Brian that was my impression as well - at that price I don't think I will be bothering. It doesn't seem as if anyone is selling just the body at the momenet either. www.binoculars.com is one of the vendors

Luke

Actually they DO advertise the body only at $499.95. But for all their ED50s they say "not in stock".

scampo · Feb 10, 2006

Swissboy said:
Steve,

what is a "spongee" strap, could that be one of those famous OpTech ones, which I also use?

Is there only one model of shoulder pods made by Cullman?

Your "30x" essentially gives you a 16x50, so that should be even brighter than a 20x60 on the EDIII. No wonder you say it's brilliant!

Yes - I meant it was one of the sponge type comfort straps (not that this little baby needs one to be comfortable - I just like the non slip properties that stop the whole lot sliding from the shoulder onto the floor!).

It seems more than 16x - it is certainly useful in woodland. Even at a local reservoir it proved its worth. It's so well made, too - a delight to own.

scampo · Feb 10, 2006

medinabrit said:
Found one at eagle optics ,Its called the BUSH HAWK SHOULDER MOUNT , thanks for the info tho .
Brian.

I bought the Cullman shoulder pord for £20-00 from the excellent Kay Optical - what rapid and friendly service they offer:

http://www.kayoptical.co.uk/

I can't but recommend them to you all.

It's genuinely easy to hold the scope still and it weighs so very little. I think Jane Turner here also uses this device with her Nikon EDIII. In fact, if I recall, she doesn't use a tripod at all.

The ED50, I think, will come into its own in woodland birding.

Swissboy · Feb 11, 2006

scampo said:
I bought the Cullman shoulder pord for £20-00 from the excellent Kay Optical - what rapid and friendly service they offer:

http://www.kayoptical.co.uk/

Steve,
I only find a shoulder pod there for £35, and it does not say which manufacturer. No luck for a search for Cullmann products either. Was yours a used one, maybe?

scampo · Feb 11, 2006

Swissboy said:
Steve,
I only find a shoulder pod there for £35, and it does not say which manufacturer. No luck for a search for Cullmann products either. Was yours a used one, maybe?

Sorry - I forgot to say that mine was second hand - but in perfect order. Quite a useful saving. I think many places charge £39-95 looking at other websites. It would work well with your EDIII, Robert.

Swissboy · Feb 12, 2006

scampo said:
... It would work well with your EDIII, Robert.

That's why I am looking into this now. I am always eager to cut down on weight to carry around.
But the BUSH HAWK model available from EO seems even lighter. Is there anyone who has experience with both types of shoulder pods?

Andrew Whitehouse · Feb 12, 2006

The Cullman shoulder pod can also be bought for £35 from Ace Cameras:

http://www.acecameras.co.uk/asp/web/ph/cat/prodtype/1428/prodtype.asp

I've used this with the ED50 (see the original thread) at 16x and it works quite nicely.

scampo · Feb 12, 2006

Andrew Whitehouse said:
The Cullman shoulder pod can also be bought for £35 from Ace Cameras:

http://www.acecameras.co.uk/asp/web/ph/cat/prodtype/1428/prodtype.asp

I've used this with the ED50 (see the original thread) at 16x and it works quite nicely.

I had occasion to use the ED50 this morning with the ~16x eyepiece. It gave a splendid view of a red necked grebe and a 1w drake scaup. It showed itself to be a very useful piece of kit, for sure.

I would like to try to 38x eyepiece sometime as this would give around 20x, I think, which should be easy to handhold similarly. Using the Nikon zoom last week proved quite easy, but the very wide field of the fixed eyepiece makes it more of a delight to use.

It was interesting that, despite the distance of the scaup, it was perfectly easy to identify it with the tiny Nikon and, comparing it with another birder's Swaro + 30x, certainly showed just how useful it is.

Sadly, we missed what we went to see... a great grey shrike (at Walton on Trent)!

Nikon ED50 (1 Viewer)

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