The Nikon MCII features 39 degrees at low power and opens to 60 degrees apparent field of view at max magnification..It is really not far from standard zooms offering 42-60 degrees field of view..The view through this eyepiece is remarkable regarding contrast and sharpness through the entire fov.I agree that compared with wide angle zooms like the current batch of alphas or even the Baader zoom ,it would feel restrictive,but mostly on paper,because i think in the field the zoom performs fine in that regard ..my complaint with the zoom is in regards of eye relief at high power..I have never been able to get a good view with eyeglases on at 40x with the ED50,but at lower magnifications works better..I have owned a couple of the MCII ,as well as the small zoom and all the wide angle eyepieces at one time or the others and the ED 50 is not going to dissapoint you with any of these eyepieces..Optics aside ,the Zoom is a good value and still goes for 200 dollars More or less, in good condition,so if it doesnt work for you you can trade it or sell it easily,although ,and specially if you dont need glasses ,would be a good idea to keep it and maybe complement it with a wide angle eyepiece for digiscoping or to get a differemt experience...low power wide eyepieces like the 16x.are truly spectacular and addicitive on the little nikon ..I think if you can get the combo for 450 ,you are getting a really good deal.