Help with scope (1 Viewer)

[Carole Perry]

Hi Guys
Am looking to buy my first scope and after reading reviews, etc etc, am leaning towards Opticron GS665 from Infocus, but am not against buying second-hand.
Originally looked at GS815 but thought the weight could be a problem. Any suggestions?
Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Steve Jones]

Hi Carol,

I would shop around for a second hand scope. For the price of a new GS665 you could pick up a bargain, including a wealth of ED scopes with a pedigree, such as Kowa823's or TSN3's etc. Don't discount the smaller scopes either, of which there's been some real bargains on this forum recently including Leica 62's and Zeiss 65's which are very good small scopes (fit in a rucksack). It pays to be patient. Good scope's do become available as people upgrade.

 

[alan_rymer]

On ebay, item 150162441718.

Opticron ES80 GA ED Mark II with SDL zoom and SOC with a Reserve of £400.00, no bids yet. Apparently not been used in the field.
If no further bids, thats a good price!

 

[RoyCo]

As for all optical equipment (cameras, scopes, etc), I (amongst a lot of others) would recommend that you go for the best optics that you can afford. After a lot (!) of testing/comparing side-by-side with other manufacturer's and other models, I opted for the Opticron HR66 45R ED plus the HDF T zoom (40862) eyepiece (from In-Focus!) and have not regretted a minute of my decision. This is far brighter when not "zoomed" than the equivalent non-ED glass which is were I tend to use it. However, you might want to look at a wider fixed eyepiece such as the 32x wide-angled. It does depend what you want to do. I wanted an all-purpose scope for sea-watch, coastline views of waders and even a set-up to watch the garden birds. By the way, I did originally want an 80mm 'scope for the extra light-gathering under the less than brilliant conditions generally in England but after due consideration opted for the lighter and much more manageable (for me) 66mm. Also, remember to try carrying it with a tripod if you get the chance!
Good luck with what you decide.

 

[Carole Perry]

Scopes

Thanks guys for replying, I will try and be patient! Having just spoken to my local scope and binocs centre, they may be able to better the offer which Infocus have. So will wait and see. Am hoping to go to the NW Bird Fair at Martin Mere in a couple of weeks, so will look there.

Happy birding
Carole P

 

[NoSpringChicken]

If weight is a consideration, and you can find one on demonstration, it might be worth taking a look through the Nikon ED50 to see what you think. They are amazingly good for the size and quite reasonably priced. It's worth considering all the options before you commit yourself.

Ron

 

[Carole Perry]

Kowa scope

Hello again
Have been looking around and have come across a Kowa TSN821 c/w 32 w lens, stay on case, on ebay. At the moment the bids have reached just over £200. Is it worth putting in a bid and if so, what do you think the limit should be?
My local binoc store has given me an offer on GS665 Opticron with 27 lens around £315.