What magnification (1 Viewer)

If you could carry only one magnification with you, what would your choice be out of 20, 30 or 45x.

Regards

I use 30x 70% of the time, 45x 25% and 20x 5% . I suppose if I could only have one of these it would be the 30x. I am impressed with the new 25-50x zoom and will be making this my main eyepiece from now on.
Neil.

Neil said:

I use 30x 70% of the time, 45x 25% and 20x 5% . I suppose if I could only have one of these it would be the 30x. I am impressed with the new 25-50x zoom and will be making this my main eyepiece from now on.
Neil.

Click to expand...

I agree with Neil,30x is a very good magnification,however a lot depends on the size of the Scope's objective, as well as the type and time of day.

Eg,a bright sunny day is fine at 30x on a lot of scopes,but on a dull cloudy day,lower Magnification may be the better choice.

If your objective lens is small,you tend to lose brightness,and detail,at the higher Magnifications.

regards.
John

Thanks for the replies so far.

To expand on my needs, I want something that is portable, decent quality, is durable though not necesssarily waterproof, and is for looking long distance, at shorebirds out on the estuary for example; so I've been looking at the the two Swarovski drawscopes, the fixed CTC30 x 75, or the CTS85 with either the 20x, 30x or 45x eyepieces.
The 85 allows flexibility, and photography I gather, so I've been leaning towards it with a 45x eyepiece, simply for the extra reach.
Just wondering if it would be a classic newbie mistake and I'll end up buying the 30x eyepiece too and then use it all the time. And therefore might as well just get the more portable 30 x75 - but then it can't be used for photography, so I guess it has to be the 85.

From an earlier thread I understand that the zoom eyepieces are awkward to use on the 85 as, when turned, they turn the focussing tube of the scope too so have discounted them.
Also as a keen amateur photographer, I'm a bit of a purist in liking prime lenses(and still haven't got over the discontinuation of kodachrome 25|;|).

It's an enjoyable quandary.

In South Texas, I have experienced problems with heat mirage and wind vibration at magnifications of 32X and 45X. My choice is 25X with Nikon Field Scope (78mm).