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Recent content by kabsetz

  1. K

    Swarovski ATX Objective Module 85/95

    It seems that unnecessary confusion arose from the slip the original poster had. I see two questions here. What are the differences between ATX 85 & 95, and how does the ATX system differ from ATS, but unfortunately with 85 ATS instead of 80 ATS in the second sentence. Jason has been responding...
  2. K

    SFL 50mm Second Look - does first impressions really last?

    HenRun, Thank you for your very well written, informative and also humorous postings! I would very much hope that you don't give up on BF, but rather just learn to ignore the one member whose posts richly deserve to be ignored. I really don't understand why the moderation policy of this forum...
  3. K

    "Dot" in eyepiece when looking through

    Juhani is correct, this unfortunately does happen once in a while with the Kowa eyepieces. It should be covered by warranty. Whether or not these dots are visible can depend on the prescription of one's eye, so it is not a given that another person will see a dot you see, and if you can...
  4. K

    Kowa tsn664 or tsn 824

    It might be too late, but at your age and with the kind of use you have, the Kowa 55A would be just about perfect. You could get a lighter weight tripod and video head, and a truly compact and easy-to-carry scope with superb image quality. The downside would be magnifications topping at 40x, and...
  5. K

    Nikon Travelite II 7x20

    Jinac, I have a travelite III 7x, and used it quite a bit in the 1990s at a time I didn't have a good and compact full size bino. I solved (sort of) the loose hinge problem by gluing with super-glue a tiny bit of rubber on top between the hinges to act as a stopper for my correct interpupillary...
  6. K

    Fluid/panning head that "stays in place" when I let go

    Birders who don't often follow flying birds with their scopes usually contend that video heads are not necessary, while those who do find a fluid head far superior. I have used fluid heads from my second telescope onwards, and would never go back to a non-damped head.
  7. K

    Angled spotting scope prism design

    And just to clarify, the explanation Henry offers is actually how it is in that particular scope family.
  8. K

    Recommend video head for Nikon Monarch 82?

    The Sirui VA5 is a bit small for the Nikon, VA10 would work better.
  9. K

    Kowa TSN-664ED vs Nikon Monarch Fieldscope 78ED

    Alexis is right. The Fieldscope 82 ED and Monarch 82 are equally good, and all three are better and also more durable than the Kowa 664.
  10. K

    Well I'll be the Son of a Gun, it's Little and Large Canons

    Pat, Glad you like your new Canon. Back when I owned the 15x50 Canon, I always used it with eyecups folded even though I didn't wear glasses back then (still don't while wiewing). It was much easier to get good eye positioning that way, and I would rest the top of the eyecups against my brow...
  11. K

    Swarovski ats 65 hd vs other scopes

    Barrel focus (helical) or knobs above the body both work well, and people tend to prefer whichever they are more accustomed to. I've used both quite extensively and would not base my choice of scope on the type of focus but on the optical characteristics of the scope, very much including the...
  12. K

    Safari (and general birding) binocular?

    Of the ones you list, for a safari I would pick the 8x42 NL for lighter weight, wider field of view than the Noctivid and better depth of field than the 10x models. You are likely to use the binoculars a lot, and your hands will tire whatever you use but less with lighter binoculars. Myself, I...
  13. K

    Optics Recommendations (Monocular or Binocular) for One-Handed Birding Beginner

    Among reverse porroprism models, Pentax Papilios have a tripod mounting thread under the body. This allows threading a lightweight selfie-stick to the binocular which would make holding it much less tiring. This might be the best budget option. Added bonus is the super-close focusing which is...
  14. K

    Optics Recommendations (Monocular or Binocular) for One-Handed Birding Beginner

    I strongly second Hermann's recommendation of an image stabilised binocular, even as it costs a fair bit more than you thought you'd spend. With one hand, image shake is going to be worse than with two, both because two hands partially cancel the shake from the other hand and because one hand...
  15. K

    Monarch 82ED, a Perfect Ten

    I recently helped an old friend acquire his first scope, and was able to check out three samples of the Monarch 82 ED A. There was both glitter points serving as artificial stars and a USAF glass slide target. First sample was excellent, with very little SA, almost no astigmatism, and very, very...
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