pluvanut
DOCG
I am thinking of getting the ATS80 and am undecided on the eyepiece to get. I have always used a 30x ep, sometimes wishing that I had a zoom. I can only get one ep at the moment so opinions on either a fixed or zoom apprieciated. This forum has helped already.
Cheers
I am long time devotee of 30w. Owned a 20-60 zoom for 2 years, the second one of which it stayed in the case, so I sold it. Rarely if ever gained more from 60 mag than I could see in bright, wide, revealing view from 30W. Also makes birds easier to find and follow.Simply easier to use on a long outing and great view.
Admitted this is with a 60mm (Fieldscope ED3) scope, so 80mm should not suffer from image darkening above 50x or so and in poor light. I also understand that the Nikon zoom has more 'drainpipe' effect than other top makes.
All the same, if you can only have one, my money would go on 30xW every time.
Might be worth considering also why so mnay threads like this one use 30W as standard for comparison. Maybe its hard to beat?
Maybe you have to balance very occasional missed ID (according to ID gurus) against a bundle of all the time benefits. Good trade-off IMO