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The best scope I have ever owned. (1 Viewer)

SUPPRESSOR

Well-known member
England
And have I owned some, over the years,scopes such as Optolyth HD,Kowa with flourite objective lens,Zeiss 85mm Diascope with Zoom,3,Leica APO televids with zoom and all of the fixed lenses and many many more along the way.I have loved them all but,my love is fickle.Ever since BVD did the review on the Pentax PF ED 80mm spotting scope I have lusted after one for myself and when the angled version came onto the market I lusted even more.But most of the reviews that came after BVD were not so gushing with there praise so I left it at that,until yesterday that is when I was given the opportunity to spend the afternoon testing a mint Pentax PFEDa 80mm scope along side my own Leica (straight through) APO 77 Televid. I took them to Tresillian in Cornwall along side the river,the tide was out,lots of shiny mud,sunshine,with some very black clouds ideal conditions for testing optics .I know from many years of birding there that anything but the best optics will give poor results.
Both scopes had zoom lenses which I think are a must for long range birding,the Pentax had the 21x63 SMC zoom which was very smooth to operate and comfortable to view through,the20x60 Leica zoom as is well known was also smooth to operate and is easy to view through,the Leica zoom was the latest model.Both scopes to my eyes show no colour cast worth losing any sleep over,both scopes were sharp and bright all the way up to x60. The Pentax is not quite as well colour corrected as the Leica,but close enough for me,what really impressed me and what I have been searching for,for a long time is the way the Pentax zoom performs something I have never found with any other zoom eyepiece, for instance with the Leica zoom and (I have had a few over the years) as soon as you start to zoom up from x20 the image up to x40 is not very pleasing once you get up to x40 it improves again and at x60 it becomes quite pleasing to the eye I found this to be true of the Zeiss zoom to. Not so with the Pentax zoom at x20 it looks good you start to zoom in and the image just gets better,more open,more relaxing no distracting fuzzyness around the periphery its like every increase in power you put another fixed eyepiece in the scope.
Let me now say a bit about the scope in quality control terms as I have read conflicting views on this model.The inside of this scope is perfect no dust,no marks of anykind,the outside is also blemish free,the focuser is silkey smooth and very precise the zoom eyepiece is very,very impressive that is the way it performs and the way it is put together it is easy to look through it zooms smoothley and precisley the way you dial in the required eye relief is the best I have ever used oh!and it looks the part too. The stay on case is well made and does not move around on the scope.
Is it a better scope than the Leica Apo televid,?no,is it as good yes I think it is.Is the Pentax X
lSMC 20x60 zoom a better zoom than the Leica?,yes I think its the best zoom I have ever looked through.
This evening I had the scope set up in the garden we live on top of a hill 600 feet above sea level with panoramic views of the countryside and over to the tors of bodmin moor 23,miles away I really put that scope through its paces I was even panning with the zoom on x60.Even at 5.30 this evening I could clearly see the spaces in between the flight feathers on a weather vane 3/4 of a mile away on full zoom.So it is goodbye Leica hello Pentax.This just might be the last scope I ever buy!
Anybody who has been thinking of buying a Pentax scope,please don't dissmiss it because of what some self-appointed experts have written try one out for yourself,for me Mr Ingrham was right on the button.Why did I wait so long?
 
FIDDLER said:
And have I owned some, over the years,scopes such as Optolyth HD,Kowa with flourite objective lens,Zeiss 85mm Diascope with Zoom,3,Leica APO televids with zoom and all of the fixed lenses and many many more along the way.I have loved them all but,my love is fickle.Ever since BVD did the review on the Pentax PF ED 80mm spotting scope I have lusted after one for myself and when the angled version came onto the market I lusted even more.But most of the reviews that came after BVD were not so gushing with there praise so I left it at that,until yesterday that is when I was given the opportunity to spend the afternoon testing a mint Pentax PFEDa 80mm scope along side my own Leica (straight through) APO 77 Televid. I took them to Tresillian in Cornwall along side the river,the tide was out,lots of shiny mud,sunshine,with some very black clouds ideal conditions for testing optics .I know from many years of birding there that anything but the best optics will give poor results.
Both scopes had zoom lenses which I think are a must for long range birding,the Pentax had the 21x63 SMC zoom which was very smooth to operate and comfortable to view through,the20x60 Leica zoom as is well known was also smooth to operate and is easy to view through,the Leica zoom was the latest model.Both scopes to my eyes show no colour cast worth losing any sleep over,both scopes were sharp and bright all the way up to x60. The Pentax is not quite as well colour corrected as the Leica,but close enough for me,what really impressed me and what I have been searching for,for a long time is the way the Pentax zoom performs something I have never found with any other zoom eyepiece, for instance with the Leica zoom and (I have had a few over the years) as soon as you start to zoom up from x20 the image up to x40 is not very pleasing once you get up to x40 it improves again and at x60 it becomes quite pleasing to the eye I found this to be true of the Zeiss zoom to. Not so with the Pentax zoom at x20 it looks good you start to zoom in and the image just gets better,more open,more relaxing no distracting fuzzyness around the periphery its like every increase in power you put another fixed eyepiece in the scope.
Let me now say a bit about the scope in quality control terms as I have read conflicting views on this model.The inside of this scope is perfect no dust,no marks of anykind,the outside is also blemish free,the focuser is silkey smooth and very precise the zoom eyepiece is very,very impressive that is the way it performs and the way it is put together it is easy to look through it zooms smoothley and precisley the way you dial in the required eye relief is the best I have ever used oh!and it looks the part too. The stay on case is well made and does not move around on the scope.
Is it a better scope than the Leica Apo televid,?no,is it as good yes I think it is.Is the Pentax X
lSMC 20x60 zoom a better zoom than the Leica?,yes I think its the best zoom I have ever looked through.
This evening I had the scope set up in the garden we live on top of a hill 600 feet above sea level with panoramic views of the countryside and over to the tors of bodmin moor 23,miles away I really put that scope through its paces I was even panning with the zoom on x60.Even at 5.30 this evening I could clearly see the spaces in between the flight feathers on a weather vane 3/4 of a mile away on full zoom.So it is goodbye Leica hello Pentax.This just might be the last scope I ever buy!
Anybody who has been thinking of buying a Pentax scope,please don't dissmiss it because of what some self-appointed experts have written try one out for yourself,for me Mr Ingrham was right on the button.Why did I wait so long?[/QUOT

I Fully agree with you Fiddler I also have owned several scopes & find the pf80ed as good or better than any .You are very fortunate to live in Bodmin Cornwell .one of my favorite areas whenever i visit my native England.
Brian.
 
Interesting difference in price between the two you compared;

Pentax PF80ED, angled with 20-60 zoom and case- $979

Leica APO77,angled with 20-60 zoom and case - $2593

(prices from Eagle Optics)
 
Price Difference

Grousemore said:
Interesting difference in price between the two you compared;

Pentax PF80ED, angled with 20-60 zoom and case- $979

Leica APO77,angled with 20-60 zoom and case - $2593

(prices from Eagle Optics)

Wow,nothing like as much between them over here, second hand £110 .difference.New best price Pentax with zoom +case £948 Leica with zoom +case£1,288,maybee even a bit less.
In this case the difference was much closer I paid £749 for the Leica +x20 eyepiece,no case with it.Condition EX++.The Pentax with ZOOM +case in MINT UNUSED CONDITION £699.
 
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medinabrit said:
FIDDLER said:
And have I owned some, over the years,scopes such as Optolyth HD,Kowa with flourite objective lens,Zeiss 85mm Diascope with Zoom,3,Leica APO televids with zoom and all of the fixed lenses and many many more along the way.I have loved them all but,my love is fickle.Ever since BVD did the review on the Pentax PF ED 80mm spotting scope I have lusted after one for myself and when the angled version came onto the market I lusted even more.But most of the reviews that came after BVD were not so gushing with there praise so I left it at that,until yesterday that is when I was given the opportunity to spend the afternoon testing a mint Pentax PFEDa 80mm scope along side my own Leica (straight through) APO 77 Televid. I took them to Tresillian in Cornwall along side the river,the tide was out,lots of shiny mud,sunshine,with some very black clouds ideal conditions for testing optics .I know from many years of birding there that anything but the best optics will give poor results.
Both scopes had zoom lenses which I think are a must for long range birding,the Pentax had the 21x63 SMC zoom which was very smooth to operate and comfortable to view through,the20x60 Leica zoom as is well known was also smooth to operate and is easy to view through,the Leica zoom was the latest model.Both scopes to my eyes show no colour cast worth losing any sleep over,both scopes were sharp and bright all the way up to x60. The Pentax is not quite as well colour corrected as the Leica,but close enough for me,what really impressed me and what I have been searching for,for a long time is the way the Pentax zoom performs something I have never found with any other zoom eyepiece, for instance with the Leica zoom and (I have had a few over the years) as soon as you start to zoom up from x20 the image up to x40 is not very pleasing once you get up to x40 it improves again and at x60 it becomes quite pleasing to the eye I found this to be true of the Zeiss zoom to. Not so with the Pentax zoom at x20 it looks good you start to zoom in and the image just gets better,more open,more relaxing no distracting fuzzyness around the periphery its like every increase in power you put another fixed eyepiece in the scope.
Let me now say a bit about the scope in quality control terms as I have read conflicting views on this model.The inside of this scope is perfect no dust,no marks of anykind,the outside is also blemish free,the focuser is silkey smooth and very precise the zoom eyepiece is very,very impressive that is the way it performs and the way it is put together it is easy to look through it zooms smoothley and precisley the way you dial in the required eye relief is the best I have ever used oh!and it looks the part too. The stay on case is well made and does not move around on the scope.
Is it a better scope than the Leica Apo televid,?no,is it as good yes I think it is.Is the Pentax X
lSMC 20x60 zoom a better zoom than the Leica?,yes I think its the best zoom I have ever looked through.
This evening I had the scope set up in the garden we live on top of a hill 600 feet above sea level with panoramic views of the countryside and over to the tors of bodmin moor 23,miles away I really put that scope through its paces I was even panning with the zoom on x60.Even at 5.30 this evening I could clearly see the spaces in between the flight feathers on a weather vane 3/4 of a mile away on full zoom.So it is goodbye Leica hello Pentax.This just might be the last scope I ever buy!
Anybody who has been thinking of buying a Pentax scope,please don't dissmiss it because of what some self-appointed experts have written try one out for yourself,for me Mr Ingrham was right on the button.Why did I wait so long?[/QUOT

I Fully agree with you Fiddler I also have owned several scopes & find the pf80ed as good or better than any .You are very fortunate to live in Bodmin Cornwell .one of my favorite areas whenever i visit my native England.
Brian.
Hi Brian,
Leica scopes are great no doubt about it but as I love using a zoom I wanted the best (to my eyes) zoom on the market and to me the Pentax zoom is just that. I live between Bodmin and St Austell out in the sticks with stunning views.When you can see it through the mist!! There are lots of great scopes out there somtimes I don't think we kow how lucky we are to be living in this age,what would 19th century birders give to have the optics we have today.
..................Pete.
 
FIDDLER said:
...the way the Pentax zoom performs something I have never found with any other zoom eyepiece, for instance with the Leica zoom ... as soon as you start to zoom up from x20 the image up to x40 is not very pleasing once you get up to x40 it improves again and at x60 it becomes quite pleasing to the eye.... Not so with the Pentax zoom at x20 it looks good you start to zoom in and the image just gets better,more open,more relaxing no distracting fuzzyness around the periphery its like every increase in power you put another fixed eyepiece in the scope...


I can't support your assessment of the Leica zoom's performance at all. I have one of the earliest versions, and I would describe its performance just as you do for the Pentax "like every increase in power you put in another fixed eyepiece...". There are two differences to the sequence of fixed eyepieces: a narrower FOV and a somewhat reduced eye-relief. And I need to slightly refocus when I change the setting. But the view in my APO77 is extremely pleasing and brilliant up to the edge all the time!

My usual setting is in the 30 to 35x range after I start at 20x. So that would be right where you claim your zoom is the weakest. I certainly would not prefer that range if it were as you say it is for your model.
 
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Each to his own

Swissboy said:
I can't support your assessment of the Leica zoom's performance at all. I have one of the earliest versions, and I would describe its performance just as you do for the Pentax "like every increase in power you put in another fixed eyepiece...". There are two differences to the sequence of fixed eyepieces: a narrower FOV and a somewhat reduced eye-relief. And I need to slightly refocus when I change the setting. But the view in my APO77 is extremely pleasing and brilliant up to the edge all the time!

My usual setting is in the 30 to 35x range after I start at 20x. So that would be right where you claim your zoom is the weakest. I certainly would not prefer that range if it were as you say it is for your model.

I,m pleased for you.
 
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