Nikon ED50 Mini Review (2 Viewers)

postcardcv said:

For me it's the ideal thing to taken out when doing photography as I can't be bothered lugging abig scope out, the ED50 fits nicely in the camera bag.

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Welcome to the club postcardcv!
One of the great bonuses of the ED50 (I find) is that it works great with heads that are used for photography. One tripod/head does double-duty for the camera and the scope, and does it well. I have an angled scope though and a straight scope does usually require greater height, especially if you're looking "up". The straight ED50 eases the burden here a bit also however because of it's short length it doesn't put the eyepiece as far down when the scope is pointed up.
I use mine with a medium sized ballhead on a very lighweight carbon tripod and it's ideal really. If you don't have one already, try an Arca-Swiss compatible clamp/plate mounting system for your camera and the scope.
Sure makes life easier!

I've noticed a few people walking about and using the ED50 handheld with the Grippa case. Has anybody had any experience of this combination?

Ron

I for one, am no where near good enough to handhold any spotting scope even with the 16X EP. I don't even care for 10X binos.
The ED50 with the 16X or 20XW might work OK on a monopod, but then again why not just take a light tripod?

Hi All, nice thread.

I also struggle to hand-hold my 10x bins, and my ED50 (angled version). Lately however, I find myself leaving my tripod in the car more frequently. I usually carry both bins and scope, and other essentials/nonessentials. I find that if I hold a folded jacket (or towel, cloth, etc.) in the open palm of my hand, then rest the scope on it...I then have reduced the shaking to a barely acceptabe level. Sort of works like a shock absorber, much like the beanbags used for photography. This method works well for me for short viewing periods. I will use the tripod for longer viewing periods (viewing shorebirds).

Reducing shake when hand-holding the 10x bins has proven to be an ongoing challenge for me. There is another thread on BF that describes using the bill of a baseball cap (or hat) to reduce shake. I have used this method for years to some level of success. I have also adopted my own method of stabilizing the bins, after much trial and error:
With the palm open, I place tip of the thumb of my left hand against the front of my chin. I then fold my middle and ring fingers and rest the left barrel of the bins on them. My index finger & "pinkie" are still vertical, and rest on the left side of the bins. My right hand grasps and holds the right barrel of the bins (in the "normal way"), and the right thumb rests against my cheek (or chin). On my good days, this works rather well for me...on my bad days, again the shake has been reduced to a barely acceptable level.

My ED50 subjective (nontechnical) review/opinion:
I use the 16x & 27x (both wide angle) eyepieces. I am absolutely thrilled with the performance of the scope. I have let other people try it out and they have all mentioned how crisp and clear the view is. There are many times when the straight version would have been easier for me to use, such as when viewing through the car window (takes a lot of body twisting, and scope turning). However, there are many more times when I am glad that I have the angled version (viewing birds in trees or birds in flight). There is certainly a learning curve as to "aimimg" the scope, but I am improving each time I use it. I am quite sure that, had I purchased the straight version, then I would be quite pleased with it...but would have found times when the angled version would have been easier to use. Each has pros & cons.
My overall opinion of the ED50 (straight or angled): AWESOME!

Best to all.
Ron Davidson

I am new to scoping and find this most interesting. I have an Opticron GS815 GA with 20-60mm eyepiece, which is a bit of a lump to carry around. I would like to know what the disadvantages would be (if any) if I changed to the Nikon ED50?

markbirder said:

I am new to scoping and find this most interesting. I have an Opticron GS815 GA with 20-60mm eyepiece, which is a bit of a lump to carry around. I would like to know what the disadvantages would be (if any) if I changed to the Nikon ED50?

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not sure of the pros and cons. you'd lose some light gathering powers.

of course you could get an Opticron MM2 or IS50WP not as good but would work with your eye piece (assume its an HDF eyepiece.)

markbirder said:

I would like to know what the disadvantages would be (if any) if I changed to the Nikon ED50?

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I'd say none....but you're kind of asking ED50 proselytisers on this thread, Mark!. Seriously, I find no major disadvantage except I prefer my ED82 when viewing long-distance from a fairly stationary position, e.g. seawatching. Nowadays, if there's any walking involved at all, I prefer the ED50. The ED50 obviously has a narrower FOV for all eyepieces, it is not as bright as a good 80mm scope (but extremely bright nonetheless - Ive never found fault with it in any situation regarding brightness), and it's resolution is not quite as crisp as the ED82 (but again, it's a superb performer, and you could I.D. anything with it in most situations). Search the threads for negative assessments of the ED50 just to get both sides of the story before spending your hard-earned, though.

Sancho said:

I'd say none....but you're kind of asking ED50 proselytisers on this thread, Mark!. Seriously, I find no major disadvantage except I prefer my ED82 when viewing long-distance from a fairly stationary position, e.g. seawatching. Nowadays, if there's any walking involved at all, I prefer the ED50. The ED50 obviously has a narrower FOV for all eyepieces, it is not as bright as a good 80mm scope (but extremely bright nonetheless - Ive never found fault with it in any situation regarding brightness), and it's resolution is not quite as crisp as the ED82 (but again, it's a superb performer, and you could I.D. anything with it in most situations). Search the threads for negative assessments of the ED50 just to get both sides of the story before spending your hard-earned, though.

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Hi Sancho,

Sage advice, indeed. As to me being an ED50 proselytizer...I resemble that remark! Best wishes & cheers.

Ron

Sancho said:

The ED50 obviously has a narrower FOV for all eyepieces..

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That's not accurate, I'm afraid. For a given magnification, with the same (apparent) FOV EP, the ED50 will have the same FOV.

Because of the shorter focal length of the ED50 body as compared to the 60 & 82mm scopes, the same EP yields lower magnification AND a wider actual FOV for the small scope.

Mark,
The obvious issue you asked about is light gathering. The larger scope will gather more light. This allows higher magnification when desired, a larger exit pupil, and better low light capability.
In practice, during anything resembling daylight hours, at 27X and below (especially), you'd be hard pressed to tell much difference.

A 50mm scope is not a substitute for an 80mm scope in terms of optical horsepower but for many under most conditions it's just fine, thanks.

Also, though I have no experience with Opticron products, I can tell you the optical quality of the ED50 scope and the Fieldscope EPs are great.

Forgot to mention that there is a theoretical disadvantage to the smaller scope regarding sheer resolving power beside the usually talked about issues and that is Angular Separation.

4.56/aperture= Angular Separation (resolving power)

An 80mm objective has an angular separation of .057" (arc)
A 50mm objective has an AS of .0912" (arc)

Lower number having higher resolution.

Astronomers are pretty familiar with this and is one (of the many) reasons large scopes resolve celestial objects better than small ones. It's much harder to quantify terrestrially, though the physics remain the same. Looking for tiny detail under conditions that support great seeing, at the same magnification, the larger scope will resolve greater detail. This is completely non related to light gathering, exit pupil, "brightness", coatings, etc...

I wouldn't get too concerned about this as it pertains to viewing a bird in a tree however, though the perfectionist might.

markbirder said:

I am new to scoping and find this most interesting. I have an Opticron GS815 GA with 20-60mm eyepiece, which is a bit of a lump to carry around. I would like to know what the disadvantages would be (if any) if I changed to the Nikon ED50?

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The biggest disadvantage would be the lower light gathering power and the lower highest magnification. In many situations you will not see any significant difference, but it low light situations the ED50 can struggle a bit. The main reason I delayed in getting one was that I was unwilling to give up my big scope for one. I found that larger scopes have the edge in some situations (raptor watching/seawatching). I even feel that some 60mm scopes struggle when seawatching.

It comes down to what kind of birding you do, you may well find that an ED50 covers your needs as well as the GS815 does and that the smaller, lighter package makes it a better option. The best thing to do is to take your GS815 to an optics dealer and compare it to the ED50.

Kevin Conville said:

That's not accurate, I'm afraid. For a given magnification, with the same (apparent) FOV EP, the ED50 will have the same FOV.

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Apologies for the lousy advice, Kevin is absolutely right. What I should have said (and I hope I get this right), is that the 30xw ep on the ED82 gives a wider FOV than the 27xw ep on the ED50. (These are obviously totally different eyepieces, but almost similar mag for both scopes.) The 30xw is obviously brighter on the ED82 than the 27xw on the ED50, but in most circumstances it's not an issue.

uh Sanco you sure ?

according to the RSPB optics website the 27x has a fov of 2.7 degrees the 30x on FSIII or ED82 2.4 degrees........

pduxon said:

uh Sanco you sure ?

according to the RSPB optics website the 27x has a fov of 2.7 degrees the 30x on FSIII or ED82 2.4 degrees........

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Darn. Wrong again. Sancho Alert: Take no advice from this man, all of it is at best misleading and at worst wildly innaccurate. Seriously, apologies for time-wasting with impressions that I didn't bother to check properly.

Thanks for the wealth of info fellas!

Sancho said:

Darn. Wrong again. Sancho Alert: Take no advice from this man, all of it is at best misleading and at worst wildly innaccurate. Seriously, apologies for time-wasting with impressions that I didn't bother to check properly.

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infairness.... I always thought the 13x on zoom was wider than the 20x when using both. it isn't!

I have been trying to find the useful Nikon page which gave information on all the eyepieces with the various scopes but it seems to have disappeared. I have found this new one which gives information on the DS eyepieces. Perhaps the MC lenses are somewhere on the site but I haven't had time to search for them thoroughly.

http://nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/dsystem/ds/index.htm

Edit. I think I have just found the MC information.

http://nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/scopes/mc/index.htm

Ron

Nice one Ron, as the MC eyepeices are the same optics as the DS ones (just the eyecup change) the info should be correct for the MC's too. That table suggests that Sancho is correct that the 30x on the ED82 has a wider FOV than the 27x on the ED50. I do find it strange that they are claiming that the apparent FOV is the same for all three fixed eyepeice regardless of which scope they are used on, doesn't make sense to me!

postcardcv said:

Nice one Ron, as the MC eyepeices are the same optics as the DS ones (just the eyecup change) the info should be correct for the MC's too. That table suggests that Sancho is correct that the 30x on the ED82 has a wider FOV than the 27x on the ED50. I do find it strange that they are claiming that the apparent FOV is the same for all three fixed eyepeice regardless of which scope they are used on, doesn't make sense to me!

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it says that the 27x on an ed50 is 2.7 and that the 30x fov is 2.4 on an EDIII an ED82 of course these are all different physical eyepieces.

pduxon said:

it says that the 27x on an ed50 is 2.7 and that the 30x fov is 2.4 on an EDIII an ED82 of course these are all different physical eyepieces.

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Just took the 27xw/ED50 and 30xw/ED82 combos out on the street (as I ought to have done firstly) to compare them. The former has a wider FOV, I've no idea how to measure it but I'd say it's wider by about 5 percent. Obviously the mag in the latter is higher and it's brighter, but this calls into question one of my primary rationales for using the 30xw/ED82 seawatching...I thought it had wider FOV! Now another one of my Universals is crashing down around my ears....