hello all,
I'm quite late to the show but after hearing all of the hype about the Nikon ED50, I've secretly (or not-so-secretly) lusted after it for years. My 25th birdday is just around the corner and I've finally built up enough money that I'm thinking of going for the plunge. The problem is that it seems like Nikon has made it well-nigh impossible to purchase any fieldscopes or their assorted accessories (esp. eyepieces).
FWIW, I do fieldwork in the (sub-)tropics of SW China and SE Asia, so I'd like a scope that's super portable but doesn't compromise on optical quality. I don't plan on using it for hardcore wader watching per se--in that event, I'd probably eventually save up for an 70-80mm scope.
I'm planning to get the angled model in pearlescent green. I know that folks have mentioned that the angled model has a bit of distortion or tends to waver a few degrees to the side of your target, but I'm sure there are ways of dealing with that (this seemed like a super useful resource). And the advantage of the angled body is that it's better for a range of heights (myself being quite short and my bf a bit taller)--right?
My main concern is that it seems incredibly difficult now to find the 27x eyepiece (which I am assuming is #5 on the attachment here: http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/scopes/mc/index.htm). It looks like the digiscoping version is available in Amazon Japan (is this actually the correct product though?), and I saw that previous birdforum members used something called "Tenso" to ship their products abroad (how does that work?). On the other hand, a few US retailers have other eyepieces that other members have mentioned (MCII 13-40x zoom and the 16x eyepiece -- though the mag on that seems to be so low as to be pointless?). In my limited understanding, however, it seemed like the wide-view 27x eyepiece was the best overall though.
Given the fact that it looks like Nikon is discontinuing all support for its fieldscope line, would that affect warranties/repairs? Would I be better served looking into a new product such as the Vortex Razor HD compact scope (no reviews yet that I could find though)?
Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you.
cheers
charlotte
I'm quite late to the show but after hearing all of the hype about the Nikon ED50, I've secretly (or not-so-secretly) lusted after it for years. My 25th birdday is just around the corner and I've finally built up enough money that I'm thinking of going for the plunge. The problem is that it seems like Nikon has made it well-nigh impossible to purchase any fieldscopes or their assorted accessories (esp. eyepieces).
FWIW, I do fieldwork in the (sub-)tropics of SW China and SE Asia, so I'd like a scope that's super portable but doesn't compromise on optical quality. I don't plan on using it for hardcore wader watching per se--in that event, I'd probably eventually save up for an 70-80mm scope.
I'm planning to get the angled model in pearlescent green. I know that folks have mentioned that the angled model has a bit of distortion or tends to waver a few degrees to the side of your target, but I'm sure there are ways of dealing with that (this seemed like a super useful resource). And the advantage of the angled body is that it's better for a range of heights (myself being quite short and my bf a bit taller)--right?
My main concern is that it seems incredibly difficult now to find the 27x eyepiece (which I am assuming is #5 on the attachment here: http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/scopes/mc/index.htm). It looks like the digiscoping version is available in Amazon Japan (is this actually the correct product though?), and I saw that previous birdforum members used something called "Tenso" to ship their products abroad (how does that work?). On the other hand, a few US retailers have other eyepieces that other members have mentioned (MCII 13-40x zoom and the 16x eyepiece -- though the mag on that seems to be so low as to be pointless?). In my limited understanding, however, it seemed like the wide-view 27x eyepiece was the best overall though.
Given the fact that it looks like Nikon is discontinuing all support for its fieldscope line, would that affect warranties/repairs? Would I be better served looking into a new product such as the Vortex Razor HD compact scope (no reviews yet that I could find though)?
Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you.
cheers
charlotte