Nikon Fieldscope ED50 - Good first scope? (1 Viewer)

Hi! Me and my gf are looking for our first spotting scope and ive looked at the Kowa TSN661 that seems like a good first buy.

But just now i stumbled over the Nikon Fieldscope ED50. We have no car atm and the mobility of this scope is just astonishing. However i dont want to find my self regretting that i didnt buy a 60-66mm scope instead. We also live in Sweden and we dont exactly have alot of light all around the year.

I wanna know if the ED50 is more of a complement if you already own a bigger scope or a serious alternativ to a bigger 60-66 mm scope. Would you who have tried/own this recommend it for two scope-newbies? I can naturally accept that it has less performance then a bigger since it will save my back from carrying exessive loads of gear everyday but i dont wanna sit there with a barely usefull scope either

Finaly.. what tripod/head/ockular is a good buy for this? i Guess u want a fixed ockular when the scope is a bit smaller/cheaper? And the tripod djungel is even more confusing the optics.
Thanks!

Never owned an ED50, but am a long time owner of EDIII (60mm). If I was starting again I would probably choose ED50.
Doubt that you will have any issues re image quality. ED50 iswell respected and Nikon have a happy habit of producing outstanding images.The (obvious?) limitations are low light and high magnification (e.g. 50-60x) perfomance where larger scopes hold up better.
I spent a long time learning that my days out were often spoilt by lugging too much gear around on a long day - too much equipment rather than the lack of it.
In your position, I would try ED50 with a shoulder pod and fixed, wide FOV eyepiece of 20 to 30x magnification, which will give great views and excellent portability.
Modern zooms are practically equal in optical quality to fixed - the big difference now is field of view (Nikon zooms not best in this respect).
Whatever EP you buy, nearly all are common to ED50/EDIII/ED82, so you can keep if you buy bigger body.
Then you can base your trade-ups (if any) on what you really want to improve on, in light of experience.
Happy Birding

pluvanut said:

Never owned an ED50, but am a long time owner of EDIII (60mm). If I was starting again I would probably choose ED50.
Doubt that you will have any issues re image quality. ED50 iswell respected and Nikon have a happy habit of producing outstanding images.The (obvious?) limitations are low light and high magnification (e.g. 50-60x) perfomance where larger scopes hold up better.
I spent a long time learning that my days out were often spoilt by lugging too much gear around on a long day - too much equipment rather than the lack of it.
In your position, I would try ED50 with a shoulder pod and fixed, wide FOV eyepiece of 20 to 30x magnification, which will give great views and excellent portability.
Modern zooms are practically equal in optical quality to fixed - the big difference now is field of view (Nikon zooms not best in this respect).
Whatever EP you buy, nearly all are common to ED50/EDIII/ED82, so you can keep if you buy bigger body.
Then you can base your trade-ups (if any) on what you really want to improve on, in light of experience.
Happy Birding

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Thanks for your input! Perhaps the 27x eyepiece is good then. Is it nikon who manufactures them aswell?

Im not quite sure what a shoulder pad is. Can you name a productname of one so i can investigate this further

Hi Kristoffer -

I just got the Nikon Fieldscope 50ED along with the 13-40x zoom and the 27x MC II EP My initial impression is that it is a very, very good scope indeed - as you will see from the reviews here, there is not a single person who doesnt like it and for a lot of people, it has become their primary or most-often used scope even when they have larger models... it is that good.

I do a lot of birding in the Himalayas where reducing weight is a necessity. I also do a lot of photography and so dont have a lot of space to devote to scopes. For me, the 50ED is going to become my most-used scope as well even though I bird in areas under thick shade or forest cover.

So while it is a lot of things, it is NOT a "barely-usable" scope by any means - it is a practical and useful tool for all sorts of birding.

That being said, at this point, I wouldnt settle for the ED50 as my *only* scope. If I was to have just 1 scope, I'd go with a good 65mm scope. Something like the Pentax PF65EDII is only 2-3" longer than the Nikon (although the Nikon is atleast 800gm lighter and smaller in the other dimensions, due to its smaller objective) and IMO, it offers a good blend of weight, size, performance and price, IMO - plus allows higher magnifications and the use of astronomical EPs, which offer much better performance/price.

So it boils down to your usage - if you plan to use the scope primarily while hiking, the 50ED is your best bet. For more varied use, including longer distance viewing, I'd go with something like the Pentax PF65 scope.

As for the other questions:
- tripod: get something as light as possible. I got these Gitzo knockoffs called Benro for $150 including a ballhead. It isnt the sturdiest of jobbies and I wouldnt put a camera on it for low-light exposures, but it does a very good job for viewing and weighs next to nothing. I have a Gitzo 1228 and a 1548, and yet I use this Benro with both the Pentax and the Nikon scopes.
- ocular: The 13-40 zoom is a much better option than the default 13-30 that comes with this scope and allows a decent ability to handhold. The Nikon 27x MCII is also a very good prime viewing option and if you are going to use the tripod with a camera, this is a winner... wide field of view, sharp and surprisingly bright with this scope.

Regards,
Vandit

Agree with above opinions. Check out the other Nikon ED50 threads on this forum if you haven't already. Basically it is my only scope. (My old Nikon Spotting Scope with 20* doesn't compare).

Obviously if you plan to bird in very low light, dusk conditions, then it won't compare to an ED scope of larger lens size like a 65mm or bigger.

I put the scope and small tripod in my small backpack when out walking, and get them out when at suitable habitat. Use the 27*, but would be grateful for more magnification at times when eg looking at gulls on the river so I may look into the 13-40* as well . .

Seems good for hand held digiscoping btw!

vkalia said:

Hi Kristoffer -

I just got the Nikon Fieldscope 50ED along with the 13-40x zoom and the 27x MC II EP My initial impression is that it is a very, very good scope indeed - as you will see from the reviews here, there is not a single person who doesnt like it and for a lot of people, it has become their primary or most-often used scope even when they have larger models... it is that good.

I do a lot of birding in the Himalayas where reducing weight is a necessity. I also do a lot of photography and so dont have a lot of space to devote to scopes. For me, the 50ED is going to become my most-used scope as well even though I bird in areas under thick shade or forest cover.

So while it is a lot of things, it is NOT a "barely-usable" scope by any means - it is a practical and useful tool for all sorts of birding.

That being said, at this point, I wouldnt settle for the ED50 as my *only* scope. If I was to have just 1 scope, I'd go with a good 65mm scope. Something like the Pentax PF65EDII is only 2-3" longer than the Nikon (although the Nikon is atleast 800gm lighter and smaller in the other dimensions, due to its smaller objective) and IMO, it offers a good blend of weight, size, performance and price, IMO - plus allows higher magnifications and the use of astronomical EPs, which offer much better performance/price.

So it boils down to your usage - if you plan to use the scope primarily while hiking, the 50ED is your best bet. For more varied use, including longer distance viewing, I'd go with something like the Pentax PF65 scope.

As for the other questions:
- tripod: get something as light as possible. I got these Gitzo knockoffs called Benro for $150 including a ballhead. It isnt the sturdiest of jobbies and I wouldnt put a camera on it for low-light exposures, but it does a very good job for viewing and weighs next to nothing. I have a Gitzo 1228 and a 1548, and yet I use this Benro with both the Pentax and the Nikon scopes.
- ocular: The 13-40 zoom is a much better option than the default 13-30 that comes with this scope and allows a decent ability to handhold. The Nikon 27x MCII is also a very good prime viewing option and if you are going to use the tripod with a camera, this is a winner... wide field of view, sharp and surprisingly bright with this scope.

Regards,
Vandit

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Thanks alot for a very good answer! Just got a few questions
How much more magnification can you use without extraordinary lighting on the pentax compared to on the ED50 without getting dark/bad image?

Do you know the exact name of the benro tripod/head? I found alot of differant ones.
thx again!

dantheman said:

Agree with above opinions. Check out the other Nikon ED50 threads on this forum if you haven't already. Basically it is my only scope. (My old Nikon Spotting Scope with 20* doesn't compare).

Obviously if you plan to bird in very low light, dusk conditions, then it won't compare to an ED scope of larger lens size like a 65mm or bigger.

I put the scope and small tripod in my small backpack when out walking, and get them out when at suitable habitat. Use the 27*, but would be grateful for more magnification at times when eg looking at gulls on the river so I may look into the 13-40* as well . .

Seems good for hand held digiscoping btw!

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Ive read some of the other threads and i like what i read! What tripod do you use? Im not really sure how much 27x is when you are out there. Think id better try how much " x" i want out from a scope

kristoffer said:

Ive read some of the other threads and i like what i read! What tripod do you use? Im not really sure how much 27x is when you are out there. Think id better try how much " x" i want out from a scope

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The Delta Travel Tripod http://www.at-infocus.co.uk/reviews_tripods.html
It's the £69 one. May be able to find it elsewhere??

I bought it with the kit from the same people (looks like they're not quite doing that deal now though.) Getting the Ed50 Pinkoscope saved me £70, it cost me only £1.20 to camouflage it and give added protection with black tape!!

http://www.at-infocus.co.uk/reviews_scopes.html

On the magnification front - I choses the 27* as it's pretty close to the 30* most birders seem to prefer. 20* just didn't give that much better magnification than my 10* bins to justify taking a scope into the field as well. The 27* has a better FOV than the zooms, which I think are really quite restrictive and not great for actual 'birding' (As opposed to looking at an individual bird zoomed in). It's all a compromise, but that's the best one IMO!!

Cheers, Dan

One thing with the delta tripod is it doesn't have locking legs - you have to use it in a different way, especially being conscious to place it down carefully and I wouldn't leave it unattended if too windy (but that holds anyway, surely?).

But I haven't had any problems with it, and at c. 1kg and 45 cm length it really is little, and at that price you can't have everything. I'm 6'2" and no problem with its height extensiom either. . .

dantheman said:

The Delta Travel Tripod http://www.at-infocus.co.uk/reviews_tripods.html
It's the £69 one. May be able to find it elsewhere??

I bought it with the kit from the same people (looks like they're not quite doing that deal now though.) Getting the Ed50 Pinkoscope saved me £70, it cost me only £1.20 to camouflage it and give added protection with black tape!!

http://www.at-infocus.co.uk/reviews_scopes.html

On the magnification front - I choses the 27* as it's pretty close to the 30* most birders seem to prefer. 20* just didn't give that much better magnification than my 10* bins to justify taking a scope into the field as well. The 27* has a better FOV than the zooms, which I think are really quite restrictive and not great for actual 'birding' (As opposed to looking at an individual bird zoomed in). It's all a compromise, but that's the best one IMO!!

Cheers, Dan

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Thanks! That tripod looks nice and for a nice price too! Is that site good to order from? Pinkoscope! I have not seen that version in sweden but the price looks very nice.

kristoffer said:

Thanks for your input! Perhaps the 27x eyepiece is good then. Is it nikon who manufactures them aswell?

Im not quite sure what a shoulder pad is. Can you name a productname of one so i can investigate this further

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A shoulder pod is a scope mount that rests against your shoulder, a bit like a rifle. Here is popular one, which doubles as a table-top tripod - can be useful for birding on hide bench.
http://www.acecameras.co.uk/asp/web...words//recor/1/SearchFor//PT_ID/1/product.asp

Don't know where to buy in Sweden, but German (Cullman) made so should be available I guess.
Obviously less stable than a tripod but useable up to about 30x.
Much lighter, cheaper and compact - very portable.
All depends where/how you want to do your birding.
This set-up is fine for general use and ideal for woodland or difficult terrain.
For me most missed opportunities were through gear I couldn't be bothered to carry on long walks, or lack of observation skills. So portability and practice rule for me.
Trying to cover all the bases from the outset can be very expensive and hit or miss.

27x will be brilliant and, yes, made by Nikon.

kristoffer said:

Thanks alot for a very good answer! Just got a few questions
How much more magnification can you use without extraordinary lighting on the pentax compared to on the ED50 without getting dark/bad image?

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I find that even at 40x, the view on the Fieldscope with the zoom starts to become dark, tunnelly & less than ideal. With the Pentax, I get very nice views at 49x with a Televue 8mm eyepiece.

Keep in mind that I am comparing a zoom with a fixed eyepiece, so it is not a fair comparison. The Vixen zoom I use with the Pentax is not very good at higher mags either, although my early impression is that it appears to be more usable than the Nikon zoom. I havent really spent a lot of time with the zoom on the Nikon, to be honest, as I really like the 27x EP on it.

Perhaps someone with more experience with the Nikon can chime in here on what is doable with fixed EPs.

I like the Nikon and bought it AFTER owning the Pentax, but as purchase decisions go, my thinking is this: even if I use the Nikon 80% of the time, it is not suitable for the other 20%. The Pentax, OTOH, is suitable for all my birding needs, although 80% of the time it is heavier than I'd like it to be. If I had to settle for just one scope, I'd rather compromise a little bit on the 80% usage with something heavier, rather tcompromise heavily on the remaining 20% usage. It is possible to decide to optimize the other way around as well. There really is no "incorrect" decision.

One added bonus of the Pentax - you can get great, wide-angle astro eyepieces for it for a very low price. Everything I've read about scopes indicates that it is the eyepiece that defines the ultimate results (objectives are pretty standardized and easy to get right), and you have a wide variety of eyepieces for the Pentax, offering better price/performance ratios than birding EPs.

Do you know the exact name of the benro tripod/head? I found alot of differant ones.

Click to expand...

Frankly, I have no idea. I'd look it up for you but am away from home for another 2 weeks. The one I have is approximately 5' in height and has a center column built into it. Mine came with the BH1 Arca-Swiss compatible ballhead which works fairly well with the light scope, but I cannot seem to find that anywhere and the Benro website isnt loading. Still, I think this one ought to do it:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=RetrieveSku&IC=BEC227&Q=&O=

Lastly, as you are ordering from outside the EU, consider ordering from Accuflite (google their website or search BF for it - I forget the exact URL). I got the ED50 scope for $410 from them.

Cheers,
Vandit

vkalia said:

I find that even at 40x, the view on the Fieldscope with the zoom starts to become dark, tunnelly & less than ideal. With the Pentax, I get very nice views at 49x with a Televue 8mm eyepiece.

Keep in mind that I am comparing a zoom with a fixed eyepiece, so it is not a fair comparison. The Vixen zoom I use with the Pentax is not very good at higher mags either, although my early impression is that it appears to be more usable than the Nikon zoom. I havent really spent a lot of time with the zoom on the Nikon, to be honest, as I really like the 27x EP on it.

Perhaps someone with more experience with the Nikon can chime in here on what is doable with fixed EPs.

I like the Nikon and bought it AFTER owning the Pentax, but as purchase decisions go, my thinking is this: even if I use the Nikon 80% of the time, it is not suitable for the other 20%. The Pentax, OTOH, is suitable for all my birding needs, although 80% of the time it is heavier than I'd like it to be. If I had to settle for just one scope, I'd rather compromise a little bit on the 80% usage with something heavier, rather tcompromise heavily on the remaining 20% usage. It is possible to decide to optimize the other way around as well. There really is no "incorrect" decision.

One added bonus of the Pentax - you can get great, wide-angle astro eyepieces for it for a very low price. Everything I've read about scopes indicates that it is the eyepiece that defines the ultimate results (objectives are pretty standardized and easy to get right), and you have a wide variety of eyepieces for the Pentax, offering better price/performance ratios than birding EPs.



Frankly, I have no idea. I'd look it up for you but am away from home for another 2 weeks. The one I have is approximately 5' in height and has a center column built into it. Mine came with the BH1 Arca-Swiss compatible ballhead which works fairly well with the light scope, but I cannot seem to find that anywhere and the Benro website isnt loading. Still, I think this one ought to do it:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=RetrieveSku&IC=BEC227&Q=&O=

Lastly, as you are ordering from outside the EU, consider ordering from Accuflite (google their website or search BF for it - I forget the exact URL). I got the ED50 scope for $410 from them.

Cheers,
Vandit

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I would second just about all of this (other than my brand prejudice for Nikon.)
I owned 20-60 zoom for my EDIII(60mm) for 2 years and on this scope the image starts to darken at 50x, even in good light, so really not much use above that. I guess only the ED82 makes full use of it.
Once the novelty had worn off, the 30xW was on all the time and I sold the zoom. You need to see this view to appreciiate it - wide enough for quick location and bright image iwth lots of fine detail.
So far haven't found "20% gap" like Vandit. Whatever rocks your boat.

Thanks for all input guys! Now i know alot more about scopes and tripods. Mobility is really a good thing and now i can get that along with good optics which is great.
After some searching i think i found the correct eyepiece here?

You dont want the DS eyepiece - that is designed for digiscoping. You want the MC II version of that eyepiece. It is a 27x/40x/50x or something like that (depending on whether you use it with the Fieldscope III or the 82ED).

Vandit

vkalia said:

You dont want the DS eyepiece - that is designed for digiscoping. You want the MC II version of that eyepiece. It is a 27x/40x/50x or something like that (depending on whether you use it with the Fieldscope III or the 82ED).

Vandit

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ok! hmm searching.. eyepieces are almost as confusing as tripods.

This is the puppy you are looking for:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/132465-REG/Nikon_7464_MC_Series_Wide_Angle.html

You can read up on Nikon's eyepieces here:
http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/scopes/mc/index.htm

You are looking for #5 - the wide MC 26x/40x/50x eyepiece. You will note that there is a difference in specs between what is listed on B&H and what is listed on Nikon's site. I am not sure why this is the case... I dont think B&H would still be carrying the older MC eyepieces. Perhaps someone in the US can call them and check, and post here for everyone else...?

Vandit

I concur w/Vkalia's analysis. I have a full range of scopes, and I love the Nikon 50 ED with 27x eyepiece, but if I were to own only one scope, it would be a 60 or 65 ED. The beauty of the 50ED is that it has superb optical quality in a lightweight package. The downsides of the 50ED is that it is not as rugged as the 60 mm Fieldscope and other comparable scopes, and it isn't as bright in low light (or support as high powers in normal light) as the larger scopes. Note that the 50ED is lighter, but not much smaller than the 60ED.

That said, there is one circumstance in which I wouldn't recommend getting a ~60 mm scope. If you _know_ you will be getting another scope in the future, I might choose the 50 ED and then make the second scope a ~80 mm model. That's a nice combo.

--AP

Alexis Powell said:

I might choose the 50 ED and then make the second scope a ~80 mm model. That's a nice combo.

--AP

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That's what I have and I agree, it's a nice combo.

With these two ends of the spectrum covered, 60-65mm scopes are neither fish, nor fowl. If you've got some light the 50's great. If you don't have some light an 80 or larger handily beats a 60-65mm scope.

Starting with an ED50 is an easy choice I think as you'll always have a need/use for it no matter what other field optics tantalize you.

Hi Kristoffer,
I have the angled version of the ED50 and am very pleased with it. The ED50 is not a 'starter scope'...it is a lightweight scope with an exceptional view. I was originally interested in the Pentax (mentioned earlier), but I was a little bit concerned with the variations in the quality of views (different units...same models) that I kept reading about on different threads on BF (as well as other sources). I also purchased the ED50 knowing that eventually I would get the ED82 and could use the same eyepieces that I use for the ED50. The light weight of this scope was also a key issue for me, as I wanted to be able to use it for hiking and plane travel.

I have two eyepieces for the ED50:
1. FIELDSCOPE WIDE EYEPIECE MC
40X(60)/50X(78)
(the first number is the mag, the number in parentheses is the size of the objective used...40X for the 60mm, 50X for the 78mm). This is the way the eyepiece is marked (and marked on the box)...it works out to be 27X for the 50mm. Nikon said that it is the same eyepiece as the one listed as '27X/40X/50X WIDE MC'...just the box is different (prior to the 50mm & 82mm productions). This 27X eyepiece is excellent for most of the bird watching that I do. I even use it in the early mornings and late afternoons, and it is plenty bright...except right at dusk.

2. FIELDSCOPE EYEPIECE WIDE DS
16X(50)/24X(60)/30X(82)
As you can see, this is in the newer box (note that the '50' is listed, and the '82' is listed instead of the '78'). It is a digiscoping eyepiece, and the only difference between it and the non-digiscoping eyepiece is that the 'DS' version has a slightly bulkier housing (to allow easier attachment of camera adapter). Again, both eyepieces are optically the same...both fully MC...etc.

I have read numerous posts from people who were very pleased with the ED50 (including several from people who are now using the ED50 as their primary scope). I have read very few posts from people who have been disappointed with this remarkable scope. I would suggest that (if you do opt for the ED50) you try to get this scope with the wide MC 27X eyepiece (either DS or non-DS) as opposed to the zoom eyepieces. Most people seem to agree that the 27X is an excellent choice for most situations. As others have mentioned (on this thread as well as other threads), it does have a wider view, better eye relief, and is brighter than the zooms.

I hope that this info helps a little, rather than making your decision more difficult. Best Wishes. :t:

Ron Davidson