I finaly got my first scope, Opticron ES 80 GA/45 (old model). Absolutely delighted with it especially because i got it brand new with eyepiece, S.O.C. and tripod for just £350. Bargain or what? Anyway i have used it a few times with the 32x HDF eyepiece which i find brilliant but i would like a little extra power and was wondering if the 50x fixed HDF eyepiece from opticron is any good. Its just that sometimes birds (especially waders & ducks) tend to be just out of range for positive identification and the extra magnification would be useful. Also if anyone has tips on cleaning Lens/Eyepieces i would be glad to hear them.
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A little extra power for long range? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter B.Walsh
- Start date
bob hastie
Well-known member
If you're going to get another lens then get the HDF zoom, thats all i've got and i sometimes wish i had the 32x for digiscoping. For general birding i think the zoom is excellent
level seven
Registered user
B.Walsh said:
I was in exactly the same position as you as I bought the ES 80 GA with the 32 HDF last year. I was so pleased with the performance I decided to buy the 50 HDF for the (few) occasions where the extra power might be useful. I can only say I haven't been disappointed with it. It's as sharp (if that's the right word) as the 32. I also considered buying a zoom after the initial purchase, but then I reckoned that would have made the 32 HDF almost obsolete.
I'm chuffed to bits with the scope and 32X eye-piece and personally don't miss a zoom. If you can afford it, go for the 50X as well, although the extra power isn't that much in practice. A 60X HDF option would have been nice.
pduxon
Quacked up Member
B.Walsh said:
There are some locations where you are going to need the clout of the zoom - e,g big reservoirs. You can then scan on low levels and zoom in. You are not going to want to keep swapping eye pieces are you? For some locations you don't want the power of a zoom and extra field of view of the x32 is preferable.
Anyway whatever power you get there's always something you can't see..
Thanks for your thoughts. The only reason i havent considered the zoom is because i dont know how the 60x image might look compared to the 32x which i love. Can it be used with a good image all the way to 60x or would the 50x offer better quality because its a fixed eyepiece with bigger field of view?
level seven
Registered user
Have you looked at the "Which eyepiece" thread below (just noticed there are two with the same name - both useful), which has quite a few comments about the pros and cons of fixed v zoom lenses?B.Walsh said:
I'd imagine it's an optical fact of life though that a fixed 50X is going to give a better image than a zoom at the same magnification (if you're comparing lenses within the same manufacturer's range, like the HDFs).
To be fair it is a bit of a hassle swapping lenses, although when you get a bit of practice it gets a lot quicker. I wish they had a bayonet-mount system like SLR camera lenses. I've only used Opticron - don't know if the higher priced scopes use such a system?
Last edited:
pduxon
Quacked up Member
B.Walsh said:
Well the zoom will never give as wide an image as your 32ww but then nor wll the 50ww.
The 32ww has a field of view of 36m at 1000m.
The 50ww has a field of view of 23m at 1000m.
Whereas the zoom as a fov of 35m at 1000 at x20 and 16m at 1000 at 60x.
I believe that the 50x is a fold down eye cup design not the twist up of the 32x and the new zoom.