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Kowa 613 60mm (1 Viewer)

Quacker

Well-known member
Just purchased one of these small, lightweight scopes and surprised to see no mention of the model on these pages. Are there any other users out there? - I am aware of Tim Allwood as he recommended the scope to me in the first place.

They are considered not available anymore, but our friends at Warehouse Express still have a few of these but they are only available in a package with 30x eyepiece, SKUA stay on case and lightweight Pyser tripod. for £499 - the scope has flourite coatings. - The whole combo is so light to carry and that was why I wanted the setup.

The irony was this was purchased for birding only, yet it is so light, it is no hassle to hand hold a camera to it, or even buy a lightweigh Kyocera or similar.

Not the cheapest setup, but an alternative to those who like me don't always want to lug a large/heavy scope & pod around.

I assume there is a difference between this scope & the TSN3 scope threaded below?

Steve
 
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Great scope, I used one for years with a TSN 20x eyepiece. Recently I have had to use it again since my newer (Swarovski ATS 65) was away for repair, and wasn't disappointed at all. They are quality.
 
I have the TS 614, which is the straight version of your TS 613.

I've used it very happily for 8 years now. In my opinion it's a seriously underrated scope that compares very well with supposedly more prestigious rivals.

The only downside is in poor light conditions (gull roosts etc.), when it struggles against 80mm competitors. However, this is more than outweighed by the very appealing combination of sharp optics and supremely light weight.

Good choice!

JamesW
 
Quacker said:
Just purchased one of these small, lightweight scopes and surprised to see no mention of the model on these pages. Are there any other users out there? - I am aware of Tim Allwood as he recommended the scope to me in the first place.

They are considered not available anymore, but our friends at Warehouse Express still have a few of these but they are only available in a package with 30x eyepiece, SKUA stay on case and lightweight Pyser tripod. for £499 - the scope has flourite coatings. - The whole combo is so light to carry and that was why I wanted the setup.

The irony was this was purchased for birding only, yet it is so light, it is no hassle to hand hold a camera to it, or even buy a lightweigh Kyocera or similar.

Not the cheapest setup, but an alternative to those who like me don't always want to lug a large/heavy scope & pod around.

I assume there is a difference between this scope & the TSN3 scope threaded below?

Steve

The TS-611 to 613 series were Kowa's first lightweight polycarbonate 60mm scopes brought out to replace the earlier, heavier (and longer) TS-601/602 series which were all-metal. Optically, the new series was better but their weak spot was the tripod mounting screw. However, this is quite adequate if treated with care.
The TSN-1 to -4 series are all-metal 77 mm scopes of all-round excellence but have been replaced by the TSN 821 to 824 series which have polycarbonate bodies. These dont have any particular weaknesses apart from the focusing prism platform inside but they are not as readily repairable as the previous TSN-1/4 series. Whatever you have, should an accident befall it, do not despair because all is repairable.
Hope this helps.
Tony
 
I use a 611 (cheapo version) for all my overseas birding. It's quite light and easily carried in a rucksack and won't give you backache after a day in the field.

On a recent trip my wife used the Kowa after having used someone else's Leica APO and claimed not to be able to see any obvious difference. Clearly she didn't look hard enough :h?:
 
Alf King said:
I use a 611 (cheapo version) for all my overseas birding. It's quite light and easily carried in a rucksack and won't give you backache after a day in the field.

On a recent trip my wife used the Kowa after having used someone else's Leica APO and claimed not to be able to see any obvious difference. Clearly she didn't look hard enough :h?:

I use the cheapo 611 (with 27xWA eyepiece) for ALL my birding!! Optically i think it's ok tho' i don't have much experience of better models, but it certainly is very light and user friendly.
james
 
I've now used this scope for a few months now, and I'm sure you've all heard the old addage, the best scope is the one you use?

Well this lightweight little gem is used almost exclusively because of the weight difference between it and my Nikon ED78 - I've also left the Nikon 4500 and army of attachments behind. This is not a sleight against the Nikon, but probably more to do with my laziness and impatience. I've considered buying Sco-pacs and similar things to carry the Nikon, but the Kowa with (admittedly) cheapo pod is a doddle.

I'm sure the magnificent Nikon and camera will be used again soon, but the Kowa is sure a good scope - better still, a long-lasting one judging by some of the previous posts.

Lesson Learned?

Patience is a virtue, and birding is and should be a priority to digiscoping alone.

Steve
 
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