I purchased this scope with the 20-60x zoom. I found the optical quality excellent at teh lower ranges, but above 40x it drops off and becomes virtually useless in overcast conditions. I bought the 20xW wide angle eyeppiece and this is ecelletn, offering a full wide field of view comparable to the 20xW eyepieces offered by Swarovski or Leica. The view is very bright using the 20xW.
In very good lighting conditions, you can use the zoom on 60x, but the image is quite dull and very shaky, so you need a good stable tripod.
I find the best eyepiece to be the fixed 20xW, though I haven't tried the 30xW. I expect it would be good too, though for this scope's size, I think 20xW is the optimal eyepiece to show off what the scope is capable of.
The scope is a lightweight product and fits easily into a small daysack.
The stay-on case is available as an accessory from Kowa; it is good, though with an attached filter it is quite difficult to fit the objective cover.
As regards focusing, this is via a smooth 1.5 finger wide know, which I find pleasing to use. The eyepieces are bayonet fit, and though there is no locking pin, they do not come undone very easily, especially not the fixed eyepieces, since in use you have no reason to touch the eyepiece apart from adjusting the rubber eyecup.
The rubber eyecups are click stopped in about 4 places, so the view should suit all users, including spectacle wearers. It is a bit hard on the eye in prolonged use.
Overall I am happy with this scope. An initial disappointment with the zoom eyepiece was fully healed when I saw the fixed 20xW eyepiece's performance, meaning that now, that Leica APO Televid 82 is not so badly needed, for now at least! I think, for a compact spotting scope, you can do a lot worse than this one from Kowa, and with the limited optical performance possible with this 60-66mm format, you don't really need to spend any more.
In very good lighting conditions, you can use the zoom on 60x, but the image is quite dull and very shaky, so you need a good stable tripod.
I find the best eyepiece to be the fixed 20xW, though I haven't tried the 30xW. I expect it would be good too, though for this scope's size, I think 20xW is the optimal eyepiece to show off what the scope is capable of.
The scope is a lightweight product and fits easily into a small daysack.
The stay-on case is available as an accessory from Kowa; it is good, though with an attached filter it is quite difficult to fit the objective cover.
As regards focusing, this is via a smooth 1.5 finger wide know, which I find pleasing to use. The eyepieces are bayonet fit, and though there is no locking pin, they do not come undone very easily, especially not the fixed eyepieces, since in use you have no reason to touch the eyepiece apart from adjusting the rubber eyecup.
The rubber eyecups are click stopped in about 4 places, so the view should suit all users, including spectacle wearers. It is a bit hard on the eye in prolonged use.
Overall I am happy with this scope. An initial disappointment with the zoom eyepiece was fully healed when I saw the fixed 20xW eyepiece's performance, meaning that now, that Leica APO Televid 82 is not so badly needed, for now at least! I think, for a compact spotting scope, you can do a lot worse than this one from Kowa, and with the limited optical performance possible with this 60-66mm format, you don't really need to spend any more.
