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Need advice for Travel Scope and Tripod (1 Viewer)

PJPro

Well-known member
Hi everyone,

I would like to buy a new, lightweight travel scope and tripod. I have been looking at the following options.

Celestron Hummingbird MM ED, 09-27x Fixed Zoom, Total 590g /£ 287
Nikon Fieldscope ED50, 13-40x MKII Eyepiece, Total 620g /£ 778
Hawk Endurance ED, 12-36x Fixed Zoom, Total 700g /£ 399
Vortex Viper HD, 11-33x Fixed Zoom, Total 700g /£ 549
Kowa TSN-553, 15-45x Fixed Zoom, Total 810g /£1599
Opticron MM4 50 GA ED, 12-36x HDF Eyepiece , Total 825g /£ 528
Opticron MM4 50 GA ED, 12-36x SDL v2 Eyepiece, Total 889g /£ 628
Opticron MM4 60 GA ED, 12-36x SDL v2 Eyepiece, Total 999g /£ 728
Swarovski ATS 65 HD, 20-60x Eyepiece, Total 1665g/£1555

Ideally, I'd like the scope to be as light as possible but would be prepared to lug a little extra weight for a better viewing experience. Currently, I'm leaning towards the Nikon ED50. Would the MM4 60 be a better option (taking into account the extra weight)? The MM4 appears to offer a lot of nice features (rotating tripod adapter, fine focus). The Kowa was looking good until I saw the price! Are there other options I need to consider?

I'm also looking for a decent tripod. Again, it needs to be light. A lot of the recommendations on this forum appear to be for items which are now discontinued. The Sirui range of tripods (eg Sirui T-0025X) look good but I'm worried that 130cm max height isn't high enough (I'm 5' 9").

Incidentally, I am looking for an angled scope rather than straight.
 
I've used a Nikon ED50 for many years and it's a very good scope that can give excellent views at lower magnifications and in reasonable light conditions. I'd perhaps recommend a fixed eyepiece rather than the zoom e.g. 20x or 27x. It works well at those magnifications and that's enough power for most circumstances.

There are quite a lot of lightweight travel tripods around that should do the job. It depends how much you want to spend. Carbon fibre is likely to be more expensive but lighter. For a small scope you might want to consider a ball head rather than a video fluid head.
 
Thanks for the advice Andrew. I think I am all but settled on the Nikon ED50 but I thought it worth a posting a thread before I pull the trigger.

Incidentally, which tripod do you use with your Nikon? I don't mind spending a bit of money (so carbon fibre is an option) but I don't want to spend Gitzo money. At the end of the day, the cost of the tripod needs to be in proportion with the cost of the scope.
 
Thanks for the advice Andrew. I think I am all but settled on the Nikon ED50 but I thought it worth a posting a thread before I pull the trigger.

Incidentally, which tripod do you use with your Nikon? I don't mind spending a bit of money (so carbon fibre is an option) but I don't want to spend Gitzo money. At the end of the day, the cost of the tripod needs to be in proportion with the cost of the scope.

I currently use this Manfrotto Element tripod:
https://www.wexphotovideo.com/manfrotto-elements-carbon-fibre-big-traveller-kit-1640497/
I think it's basically very good for the price. My main reservation is with the quick release plate, which come loose a bit too easily. I actually use a similar Benro ball head with it rather than the Manfrotto one supplied because the release plate is more secure.
 
PJ
I tried the little Kowa 553 at Bird Fair last year and it is stunning.

Depending how keen you are to decide you could do worse than postpone deciding and come up to Bird Fair this August so you can try out many models in a short space of time.

Lee
 
Hmm. Can't wait until August (I want to buy today)! And I would struggle to justify the price of the Kowa (however good).

I've been considering the weight difference between the MM4 60 and Nikon ED 50 (it's these two that are the front runners). Basically, it's around 400g....that's less than a tin of beans. I would happily take that comprise if the MM4 60 provided a better experience. Has anyone compared these scopes?
 
PJ In my two big local nature reserves at Potteric Carr and RSPB Old Moor I see loads of Opticron MM scopes (and binos) and on a recent visit to the north Norfolk coast the most popular brand was Opticron too.

Lee
 
I am surprised, give the popularity of both scopes, that no-one appears to have made a direct comparison between the two.
 
The Opticron MM3 and MM4 are better than the Nikon <ED50>. If you want something in the $800 range, get the Opticron. But, neither come close to the Kowa TSN-553.

This statement suggests the MM4 is a ED50 beater?
 
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No way is the MM3 50 better than the Nikon ED50 good samples of both. Come to think of it I haven't star tested a really good MM3 yet. Each to their own though.
Although not all agree with Steve OB4's statement. No mention of the MM4 but I understand they are optically similar?
 
I've used the Nikon ED 50 angled with a 27x wide for many years and have really enjoyed it. No need to upgrade. It actually gets more use than my big scope and it weighs 628gm.

That said, Nikon really doesn't make much of an effort to support this scope, at least here in the states, and some of the eyepieces apparently aren't being made anymore. I had to order that 27x from Japan. So I'd look into the Opticron and Kowa if I were currently in the market.

I recently upgraded my tripod for the Nikon to a Vanguard VEO2 265CB carbon and really like that. It weighs 1.3kg, folds up small, is very solid for a smaller scope, goes up to 59" (150cm) and is very reasonably priced. I saw the Sirui T-025x and it was too light (almost flimsy) and too short for me (I'm 5'9"). I passed on it.

At about 2kg for the combo, what I have is easy to travel with and I don't mind carrying it for miles and miles.
 
I have an ED50 (angled) and my tripod is .. a monopod! But it's really both as it's a SIRUI P204-S. It works really well with the little ED50. No head required, just affix the scope to the monopod direct. In most conditions I find that I can leave it standing (on its three little feet) without additional support and it really comes into its own in hides where I no longer need to faff around with a hide clamp. It's much quicker to set up and fold away than any tripod I've ever used. The only (rare) occasion when it struggles is if there's a need to pan vertically which it can only do to a limited extent (relying on the swivel at the base of the monopod). Of course if I bothered to fit a video head this wouldn't be a problem, but for the very rare occasions when you might want to look up (or down) by more than about 30 degrees, it's not worth the extra weight. SIRUI do a CF version too, but it's quite a bit more expensive.
 
Hi Andrew,

I've used a Nikon ED50 for many years and it's a very good scope that can give excellent views at lower magnifications and in reasonable light conditions. I'd perhaps recommend a fixed eyepiece rather than the zoom e.g. 20x or 27x. It works well at those magnifications and that's enough power for most circumstances.

I'm using the 13 - 40x eyepiece and like it very well. It's not so much the long end of the zoom that I'd miss, but the short end, as in my opinion it gives a great view when searching an area for birds.

Regards,

Henning
 
Hi Andrew,



I'm using the 13 - 40x eyepiece and like it very well. It's not so much the long end of the zoom that I'd miss, but the short end, as in my opinion it gives a great view when searching an area for birds.

Regards,

Henning

I'm sure that's true and I don't really have much experience with that zoom so can't really comment in depth. However, I think it's a relatively narrow field of view zoom, whereas the fixed eyepieces have a wide field. Given that the magnifications are already fairly low, with a fixed eyepiece you can get the wide field you'd get at 13x but at a higher magnification. I think the 27x lens has almost as wide a field as the zoom at 13x and the 20x lens has a much wider field.
 
Hi Andrew,



That's quite an interesting consideration ... I guess I'd like to try out the fixed eyepieces one day! :)

Regards,

Henning

I've tried locating a source for the 27x MC II (the one with the twist up eye cup) and it seems it has been discontinued by Nikon and is no longer available. I'd be happy to be proved wrong. The DS (digiscoping?) version, however, is available. I think the MC II is regarded as the better eye piece, especially for those who do not wear glasses.
 
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I have an ED50 (angled) and my tripod is .. a monopod! But it's really both as it's a SIRUI P204-S. It works really well with the little ED50. No head required, just affix the scope to the monopod direct. In most conditions I find that I can leave it standing (on its three little feet) without additional support and it really comes into its own in hides where I no longer need to faff around with a hide clamp. It's much quicker to set up and fold away than any tripod I've ever used. The only (rare) occasion when it struggles is if there's a need to pan vertically which it can only do to a limited extent (relying on the swivel at the base of the monopod). Of course if I bothered to fit a video head this wouldn't be a problem, but for the very rare occasions when you might want to look up (or down) by more than about 30 degrees, it's not worth the extra weight. SIRUI do a CF version too, but it's quite a bit more expensive.
The scope will be shared with my wife. While a mono-pod is an attractive proposition from the perspective of weight, it would be nicer to be able to view the same bird without having to re-find it....assuming it doesn't move :)
 
I've tried locating a source for the 27x MC II (the one with the twist up eye cup) and it seems it has been discontinued by Nikon and is no longer available. I'd be happy to be proved wrong. The DS (digiscoping?) version, however, is available. I think the MC II is regarded as the better eye piece, especially for those who do not wear glasses.

I use the 27x DS and also wear glasses. I don't have a problem personally, though others might do.
 
I've used the Nikon ED 50 angled with a 27x wide for many years and have really enjoyed it. No need to upgrade. It actually gets more use than my big scope and it weighs 628gm.

That said, Nikon really doesn't make much of an effort to support this scope, at least here in the states, and some of the eyepieces apparently aren't being made anymore. I had to order that 27x from Japan. So I'd look into the Opticron and Kowa if I were currently in the market.

I recently upgraded my tripod for the Nikon to a Vanguard VEO2 265CB carbon and really like that. It weighs 1.3kg, folds up small, is very solid for a smaller scope, goes up to 59" (150cm) and is very reasonably priced. I saw the Sirui T-025x and it was too light (almost flimsy) and too short for me (I'm 5'9"). I passed on it.

At about 2kg for the combo, what I have is easy to travel with and I don't mind carrying it for miles and miles.

I've read a lot of threads bemoaning the apparent lack of support by Nikon for the ED 50. It seems the more popular (fixed lens MC II) eye pieces have been discontinued. This is nudging me back to the MM4. The problem is that there aren't too many reviews of the MM4 online. It's a pity that I can't try out the ED 50 (with the 13-40x eyepiece) alongside the MM4....then it would be easy to decide.
 
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