hello to all:
count me among the new converts to this really killer lil' rascal of a spotter. the boys in brown brought one of the ED50's this afternoon, and i couldnt be more pleased. got what i think is a decent deal also, from Shopwise2000, angled body only, for $409 delivered. since i all ready had the ED82 and a 38X (on that scope) eyepiece, this was a no-brainer way to go for me. could only find two places here stateside, this retailer and optics planet that would ship just the scope, sans ocular. originally placed the order w/ OP, but after a couple of delays and no clear answer for when the unit might ship, i dumped that order and emailed SW2K; their webpage showed they had "100" units in stock. got an almost immediate reply; yes they said the scope carried a usa warranty amd was NIB so i thought what the heck, i'll cancel if it's bogus. later that day got a confirm that they had shipped the scope, tracking number the whole enchilada. sure smells new, that's for sure, and included a usa warranty card and all included accessories, or so it looks. excellent service i have to say.
anyway, i see myself as fairly critical of image quality, and the first views were absolutely pristine in every catagory i could come up with- flat field, bleeding edge resolution, little to no geometric distortion at the edges, surprisingly bright even in fading afternoon light. this ep gives 20X, which is good enuf for now.
anyone looking for a killer travel scope just cant go wrong with the ED50, as far as i'm concerned!
thanks to all on this site who took the time to record their impressions of the baby nikon.