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recomended lense for Nikon Fieldscope ED50 Spotting Scopes (1 Viewer)

Val & Rex

Val & Rex

Well-known member
Hi all
Due to rapid decline with my joints I have had to sell my Swarovski HD 80 set up it was far too difficult for me to handle,Val uses the Minox MD50 W and it is acceptable,but I beleve I would do better with the Nikon Fieldscope ED50 (strait) as most of my birding will be done from the car and the minox works well on the window mount but for the angle of the lens.
But what I would really appreciate is, advice on the best lens to use with the Nikon ED50. With only a 50mm lens I was tempted to go for the 20XW but reading a few reviews?? are the Zoom lens's up to it,
Regards
Rex.
 
this is the Pentax forum, you are asking about a Nikon scope. You cannot use Pentax eyepieces (like the XW series) with a Nikon fieldscope.

for the ED50, you have your choice of many Nikon lenses... whether you prefer the zoom (which will give 13-30x on the ED50) or any of the wide angle lenses is really up to you, zoom vs. fixed widefield is a personal choice.
 
Val & Rex said:
Hi all
Due to rapid decline with my joints I have had to sell my Swarovski HD 80 set up it was far too difficult for me to handle,Val uses the Minox MD50 W and it is acceptable,but I beleve I would do better with the Nikon Fieldscope ED50 (strait) as most of my birding will be done from the car and the minox works well on the window mount but for the angle of the lens.
But what I would really appreciate is, advice on the best lens to use with the Nikon ED50. With only a 50mm lens I was tempted to go for the 20XW but reading a few reviews?? are the Zoom lens's up to it,
Regards
Rex.
Click to expand...

Rex:

It would be good to post this in the Nikon subforum as mentioned. I have
the Nikon ED50 scope, and I would recommend the zoom. There are usually
2 choices, most come with the 13-30 MC Zoom, or the premium option is the
13-40 MC II, zoom, I have experience with both. The 13-30 is fold-down
rubber eyecup, the 13-40 is twist up, and may be better with glasses.

This scope is very good and can handle 40X easily with great results if you get that zoom. I also use a window mount with this small scope, it is very good,
and I think that every time I look through it.

I hope this helps.

Jerry.
 
Rex, I have had 60mm spotters that were not much good above 35x. An older non phase-coated 60mm Baush & Lomb Elite. Jerry left me use his Nikon ED 50 with the 13-30 zoom and I have the MCII zoom 13-40x and I agree with his thoughts on the "big" zoom. After using his ED 50 I bought a Nikon 60ED Fieldscope and was still wanting an ED50, so I bought just the scope no eyepiece. I have both of the zooms.

Rex sorry for your joint problems!
 
Last edited:
(Assuming this thread gets moved to the 'Nikon' subforum at some point in the near future ... ;) )

I use the Nikon ED50 as my main scope with the 27x W eyepiece. Better field of view than the zoom, good magnification for most purposes. Happy with.
 
dantheman said:
I use the Nikon ED50 as my main scope with the 27x W eyepiece. Better field of view than the zoom, good magnification for most purposes. Happy with.
Click to expand...

Ditto, having downgraded as I couldn't be bothered carrying a full-size. 27x WA a very good choice I think.
 
I have the 13-40 zoom and 20x wide on mine. Of the two I prefer the extra brightness, FOV and eye relief of the 20x, although the extra reach of the 27x might make it a better bet than both.

Ron
 
I have both an ED50 and an ED II (60mm) scope, and so an assortment of lenses
16x (ED50) / 24x (ED II),
20x (ED50) / 30x (ED II) ,
27x (ED50) / 40x (ED II) , and
13-30x (ED50) / 20-45x (ED II)
and I'd rank them in the order
20x (ED50) / 30x (ED II) ,
27x (ED50) / 40x (ED II) ,
16x (ED50) / 24x (ED II), and
13-30x (ED50) / 20-45x (ED II)

For me the 20x feels just right on the ED50 - the lower magnification compared to the 27x is outweighted by its greater clarity (and field of view). The zoom is fun, but the field of view is too narrow to be useful - and in any case I personally do not feel that the 50 mm objective is able to carry magnifications as large as 40x effectively.

However, as you'll see from all the views in this thread, preferences differ. So I'd suggest that you try some of the alternatives for yourself - or buy several!

Good birding, Roger
 
I have a whole assortment of Fieldscope eyepieces, but I always use the 27x wide on the 50ED because that power is generally most useful (for most birding, and regardless of scope model) and because it then performs very similarly to my big scope (78ED with 30x wide), which defines my expectations for scope performance w/respect to power and FOV.

I sometimes use higher powers, and the 25-75x zoom on my big scope, so I've thought about using the 13-40x on the 50ED, but I don't think it is worth the trouble. The gain of 40x from 27x is of minor practical significance for bird ID, and it comes at the tremendous cost to the FOV at what are usually the most useful magnifications (i.e. 25-30x). Plus, it's just another control ring to have to fiddle with. I think better just to keep it simple: eyes for 1x wide field, binos for 8x widefield, scope for 30x wide field, and big scope if you need meaningfully more power or brightness.

--AP
 
Val & Rex said:
Hi all
Due to rapid decline with my joints I have had to sell my Swarovski HD 80 set up it was far too difficult for me to handle,Val uses the Minox MD50 W and it is acceptable,but I beleve I would do better with the Nikon Fieldscope ED50 (strait) as most of my birding will be done from the car and the minox works well on the window mount but for the angle of the lens.
But what I would really appreciate is, advice on the best lens to use with the Nikon ED50. With only a 50mm lens I was tempted to go for the 20XW but reading a few reviews?? are the Zoom lens's up to it,
Regards
Rex.
Click to expand...

Rex,

Please accept my apologies if my words were already stated in a past post. The ED50 is an excellent choice and one of my favorites that I sell at shows. The body construction is amongst the most durable Nikon has to offer. I would attempt to use the 16x WA DS eyepiece which is 30x on the 82mm Fieldscope. The magnification is a bit low for some people, but I believe the larger ocular and wide-angle view from this eyepiece makes it the most comfortable viewing we have. Please let me know if you have other questions.

Best,
Mike Freiberg
Nikon Birding Market Specialist
 
Hi Rex,

Either the 20x or 27x would be my recomendation too. I had the 13x-40x zoom as well at one point but ended up selling it as I found the narrow field of view offputting. I tend to use the 20x most of the time as I usually use this scope with a little Culman mini-tripod/sholder-pod and the 27x tends to highlight the lack of stability in the support (me) too much! That said, when using a proper tripod (albit a lightweight one) the 27x is great.

I should also add that my wife also has an ED50 (I got fed up with her pinching mine!) though she prefers using the 16x with just the Nikon gripper case for the ultimate in portability.

Hope this helps but whichever lens you go for enjoy - it's a great little scope.

Regards,

James
 
mikefreiberg said:
...The body construction is amongst the most durable Nikon has to offer...
Click to expand...

What???? You must have been thinking of the other Fieldscopes when you wrote this, because the ED50 is not a tough scope in comparison to _any_ other scope that Nikon has ever manufactured. This model requires a bit more care in handling than most scopes.

--AP
 
mikefreiberg said:
The ED50 is an excellent choice and one of my favorites that I sell at shows. The body construction is amongst the most durable Nikon has to offer.
Click to expand...

The ED50's "body construction is amongst the most durable Nikon has to offer"?? You must be joking.

That statement is utter nonsense. If that were true I wouldn't recommend any Nikon product to anyone. And I'd sell my Nikon scopes and binoculars as fast as possible.

Hermann
 
mikefreiberg said:
The body construction is amongst the most durable Nikon has to offer.
Click to expand...
I must admit that I too raised an eyebrow at this remark. If I were to hit my EDIII with my ED50 (or vice versa), I know which one would come off worse! I recall seeing photos of an ED50 which had snapped in half on this forum. It still sends shivers down my back.

Ron
 
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