RSPB hd scope (1 Viewer)

[baldingeagle]

Hi.

Rumour is that RSPB/Viking are releasing a scope with ED glass to replace the AG scope they sell at present.

Has anyone else heard this. has there been anything at the birdfair this year to back this rumour up.

It will be Interesting to compare this new scope to the Avian/Celeston scopes that have recently been tested in the bird press and received good reviews.

Richard

 

[dipped]

It's true. Just tried to find it on the Birdguides site where there was an ad. Found it - just says coming soon August BW fair.

My sources say it will come with a wide 25-50x zoom. Don't know any more.

 

[dipped]

So this was at the Birdfair.

Looks like a clone of the Zen Ray scope - though the Viking Rep insisted it wasn't from the same factory. Funny how it also had a swaro eyepiece mount till they modified it so the eyepiece wouldn't fit swaro scopes.

Looked OK on a brief look though it obviously isn't a swaro.

Will be £1200 with the 25-50x eyepiece.

 

[michael23]

I spent a few minutes with it. I asked a rep who made it and he said it was made by viking, and it's not quite finished yet, these were the first examples. I was quite impressed with the zoom on there. Very sharp, and neutral colours, and minimal darkening of the zoom, up close grass stems seemed very well rendered and the clarity I thought was very good indeed. I didn't notice the price, so seeing it is 1200 as mentioned by dipped, I think it will be good vfm.

 

[dipped]

Forgot to say there will be a 17x digiscoping eyepiece as well with a range of adapters.

 

[Robert L Jarvis]

I can think for a lot of people starting out bird atching this would represent good value when one thinks how much Swaro, Zeiss, Leica etc are these days. The Kowa eyepiece for the 800 series is over £500 rrp.

 

[vikingtim]

For those that didn't make the birdfair, Viking sponsored Birdfair TV again this year which contains a short feature on the new HD scope from RSPB.

Hope you enjoy it.

www.birdfair.tv

Tim

 

[dylan22]

Hello everybody
I have heard about an rspb hd scope and read about an ad in the rspb
Birds magazine

Dylan

 

[NoSpringChicken]

They had one of these scopes in the optics department at Titchwell yesterday. The woman in charge was promoting it quite heavily: "It is like these [the RSPB HD binoculars] but a scope" and "The other top of the range scopes are about £2000. This one is £1200". It will be interesting to see how well it sells. No, I didn't try one.

Ron

 

[pete_gamby]

[Takes off Opticron hat]

I think selling anything on a "its as good as this but cheaper" pitch is a little shaky. Why would anything be as good as something else but cheaper unless there was something different in the overall offering?

A Ford goes from A to B in the same way that a Jaguar does but you come to expect a certain differentiation in the way you get to the point that the journey takes place in terms of buying product features, the service offering, salesperson knowledge etc. and then when you're traveling you expect those promises to be delivered consistently, to your level of expectation and for the lifetime of the product.

No criticism of the product here - only that RSPB needs to make sure it's being pitched in the right way in order to succeed.

[Opticron hat back on]

Cheers, Pete

 

[dipped]

They had one of these scopes in the optics department at Titchwell yesterday. The woman in charge was promoting it quite heavily: "It is like these [the RSPB HD binoculars] but a scope" and "The other top of the range scopes are about £2000. This one is £1200". It will be interesting to see how well it sells. No, I didn't try one.

Ron

Hey - how come Titchwell has one when as of last Monday Minsmere hadn't? In fact I spoke to Viking yesterday and they said they haven't got them yet.
Uh oh I just remembered some Viking chap lives near Titchwell. It must be one of the 2 they had at the Birdfair.

 

[dipped]

[Takes off Opticron hat]

I think selling anything on a "its as good as this but cheaper" pitch is a little shaky. Why would anything be as good as something else but cheaper unless there was something different in the overall offering?...

... No criticism of the product here - only that RSPB needs to make sure it's being pitched in the right way in order to succeed.

[Opticron hat back on]

Cheers, Pete

Huh? Where did Ron say the woman promoting it said "its as good as this but cheaper" . I guess you're paraphrasing but why put it in quotes?

It is the top of the range RSPB scope @ £1200 other totr scopes are £2000(+).

Maybe it's time, as an aside Opticron jumped on to the 25-50x zoom trend?

 

[baldingeagle]

First impression

I had a look at the RSPB Hd scope at the birdfair and it was good. However i found the eye pieces and quality of the Celestron scopes suited my eye better.

Then there is the price issue. At Bf i could have got the the newish Celestron 100 Scope for £700 but not enough cash in the pot for it, and this was very good and excellent and would be my choice. Yes it was a big beast but the image quality would make it worth while carrying it.

Richard

 

[pete_gamby]

I guess you're paraphrasing but why put it in quotes?

...

Maybe it's time, as an aside Opticron jumped on to the 25-50x zoom trend?

@Dipped - Apologies - I should have used single quotes for my paraphrase.

Regarding 20-50x (or 2x), I personally think the 'bandwagon' is actually for wide angle regardless of whether it's 2x or 3x zoom. To accommodate a significant improvement in viewing angle i.e. not just single digit percentages and at the same retaining eyepiece compatibility across the Opticron range needs serious consideration.

We still have people adopting the new version of the SDL eyepiece thanks to a 10% improvement in FOV and better brightness and sharpness over the original SDL. And this is combined with a desire by many to have the extra "reach" that a 3x eyepiece provides.

Cheers, Pete

 

[dipped]

Had a chance to try this out up against the Swaro competition yesterday. Initially I tried the Rspb scope on its own and was fairly impressed with the wide bright views. If I hadn't had the Swaro brought out to compare it with I would have been satisfied at spending £1200 on it.

When I compared it to the Swaro a veil was lifted and I could see what I had been missing. More contrast and apparent clarity. I was not able to star test either of the scope so I don't know what samples I had but for me I would save for the Swaro.

The adapter on hand for the Nikon P300 worked on the Swaro eyepiece as well as the RSPD scope it is intended for.

Neither eyepiece could be successfully swapped and lock. Both were loose wobbly fits on swapping.

 

[NoSpringChicken]

I see that the RSPB HD 82 spotting scope has finally made it onto the RSPB website with a price tag of £1298.

http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/p/Binoculars/RSPB_HD_82_spotting_scope.htm

I see that there is now an 8x50 version of the HD binoculars too.

Ron

 

[mckivitt]

Apologies for dragging up an old thread, but it seems to be the right place to ask this question - someone from this thread may have purchased the scope in question...

A friend of mine is getting an RSPB 82HD scope and just went ahead and ordered "bits" for attaching a camera to it. Then she realised that she might have made a mistake and asked Viking for the size of the eyepiece - the response she got was 5.5cm...which is either completely wrong or the measurement of something else.

So does anyone know for definite the size of the eyepiece fitting for this scope?

 

[dipped]

Sounds right to me for the diameter of the eyepiece which is what you need to know for a universal type digiscoping adapter.