Need advice for 60mm scope and oculars (1 Viewer)

[Ratal]

The Kowa 553 is grossly overpriced, and pretty heavy for what you get. Also, the tripod mount is fixed, which, if you are mobile and want to shift the angle slightly? You cannot.

I compared a 553 in the field to my cherry MM4 50 ED, and it is simply not a performance / price leap that is in any way justifiable. Was a hard no from me. For the money asked for? A Monarch 60 ED scope can be had. Now that IS a scope I'd buy immediately IF I wanted a bigger scope again.

 

[Grando]

TSN553 has Fluorite glass.

But I wouldn't recommend any of them, eye pieces are a bit tunnel-like and not wide-angle.

Kowa 773 and 883 are better and have modern wide angle zoom eye pieces. But more expensive.

I would heartily recommend the 663 – it's fantastic with Kowa's fixed 30x eyepiece. And, certainly this summer, with all the heat haze, I haven't been able to zoom above 30x satisfactorily anyway.

 

[Vespobuteo]

I would heartily recommend the 663 – it's fantastic with Kowa's fixed 30x eyepiece. And, certainly this summer, with all the heat haze, I haven't been able to zoom above 30x satisfactorily anyway.

Glad you like it!

Fixed EP:s are nice and comfy, but people do birding under different conditions.

I used a fixed 30x for several years (on 60mm), it was fine in most cases, but the 25-50x zoom is more flexible and I really prefer a zoom, (if it's a good WA one).

On the 663, a 66mm scope, a 30x would be a bit more suitable than on a 60mm, but still the EP is only 2.2mm which might be on the low side. (you get to 2.6mm with 25x on a 65mm scope which is a reasonable value in daylight).

I guess OP haven't had a scope before, so what will fit is difficult to say.

But I would not rule out the Kowa 663 if a fixed 30x EP is sufficient.

The 663 is quite lightweight as well (but more expensive than the Opticron).

 

[WRL]

The Kowa 553 is grossly overpriced, and pretty heavy for what you get.

The Kowa 553 weighs 810 g (acc. spec.). Which "quality" scope in the 50-65 mm range is lighter (EP included)?
Examples:

• MM4/50+HDFT EP: 817 g (spec)
• MM4/60-HDFT EP: 931 g (spec)
• Swaro ATS 65+EP: ca. 1400 g (Swaro's website)

And regarding the statement "grossly overpriced" I am wondering whether there are factual arguments or is it just a personal feeling/perception (which is ok, however doesn't much help others for their own decisions).

 

[Ratal]

I took one into the field for a week. I was happy to get rid of it. Grossly overpriced for what you get - with so many drawbacks (fixed foot, gritty grindy eye piece, uneven feel to the focus...) its really shocking it was a Kowa scope and not some Chinese back street clone. As for the view? I certainly wouldn't say that it was priced fair - especially when the Meopta S2 is near same price and gets the view nailed in tight even when artificially stopped down to compare.

 

[Hermann]

The Kowa 553 weighs 810 g (acc. spec.). Which "quality" scope in the 50-65 mm range is lighter (EP included)?

Nikon ED50.

Hermann

 

[WRL]

Nikon ED50.

Hermann

True. Absolut lightweight (around 600 g?). But as often in life, you can't have it all. In this case it obviously comes with the price of some intrinsic structural weakness (reported cases of split bodies).

 

[WRL]

[...] Grossly overpriced for what you get - with so many drawbacks (fixed foot, gritty grindy eye piece, uneven feel to the focus...) its really shocking it was a Kowa scope and not some Chinese back street clone. [...]

Couldn't find the word "grindy" in the dictionary. If you meant the rotary action of the zoom EP felt like something was grinding I assume that to be a defect (or, in this context "grindy" means something else, not connectect to a technical property? what?). Mine (554) doesn't do that. The zoom torque in my copy is also not specifically high ("gritty" means hard to turn or it pertains just the hard metallic surface?).
Additionally, "uneven feel to the focus" means the focus wheel(s) do not turn even? Same as above. Should be a defect. The wheels on my scopes (554 and 883) both turn very pleasantly and evenly.
It is a bit unfortunate that your verdict seems to be biased by an assumed partly defective (not to spec) specimen.

 

[Hermann]

True. Absolut lightweight (around 600 g?). But as often in life, you can't have it all. In this case it obviously comes with the price of some intrinsic structural weakness (reported cases of split bodies).

470 gr + eyepiece. And you're right, of course, the ED50 isn't a tough scope. Not really, even though I didn't have any problems with mine yet. Put a couple of layers of tape ("Panzerband" ... 😀) on the body. And I got myself a spare body at below 300 € ...

BTW, there's of course also that cheap little Kowa, the 501. Might be a scope to permanently leave in the car, if the optics are halfway decent. Probably no comparison to the ED50 and most certainly not to the 553, but possibly a nice addition.

Hermann