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20x-30x enough magnification for Yellowstone (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Blue72
- Start date
Alexis Powell
Natural history enthusiast
You can make do with what you have (higher mags are not a "must"), but if you are an experienced scope user and find it satisfying to make IDs of distant critters even though they lack the immediacy of those more close at hand, you will find much use for higher powers, especially in Hayden Valley, in meadows below Dunraven Pass, and in the Lamar Valley. Watching wolves and grizzlies on elk kills, wolves and their pups around dens, Harlequin Ducks in LeHardy's Rapids, moose browsing on willows north of Norris, and other sorts of behaviors can be especially satisfying at high mags. For strictly making IDs (rather than behavior observation), 30x is adequate. For that matter, 8x bins can be used for most ID.
--AP
PS - What time of year are you going? During the warm seasons, if you are at one of the larger turnouts, you'll find at least a few folks who spend the whole day there happily letting others take looks through their big Swarovski scopes at distant wolves or bears doing awesome things. All of the above said, as someone who has made numerous trips to Yellowstone, my best advice is to get up early. In June, I like to leave camp by 4:30 AM, which gives me about 5 hours before most other park visitors are active. At that time of day, you will find numerous e.g. bears right alongside the road and very nearby along river access points. No need for a scope when grizzlies are mating 20 feet in front of you!
--AP
PS - What time of year are you going? During the warm seasons, if you are at one of the larger turnouts, you'll find at least a few folks who spend the whole day there happily letting others take looks through their big Swarovski scopes at distant wolves or bears doing awesome things. All of the above said, as someone who has made numerous trips to Yellowstone, my best advice is to get up early. In June, I like to leave camp by 4:30 AM, which gives me about 5 hours before most other park visitors are active. At that time of day, you will find numerous e.g. bears right alongside the road and very nearby along river access points. No need for a scope when grizzlies are mating 20 feet in front of you!
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Blue72
Well-known member
So, long story short......I’m going to want higher magnification
P.S. I’m going in September
Kammerdiner
Well-known member
I was there a few years ago with my travel scope, Nikon ED 50 with the 27x wide eyepiece. Easy to travel by plane, but yeah it would have been nice to have 60x, for the same points of interest Alexis mentioned. Lamar valley is huge.
I had a fantastic time regardless. Enjoy!
I had a fantastic time regardless. Enjoy!
Blue72
Well-known member
Alexis Powell
Natural history enthusiast
Well, my answer was more focused on big mammal watching rather than birds. Birds are smaller, so we typically don't even notice them at the distances that you might spot a wolf pack on a kill or a big grizzly and its cubs (but keep an eye out for lingering "greater" subspecies Sandhill Cranes). As I said before, if you get out early, you'll likely find many big mammals very close to the roads, overlooks, and river pull-offs, in which case you won't need high magnifications. However, you will still find plenty at distance, and you might enjoy the high-mag views of behavior around dens, loafing areas, and kills.
--AP
--AP
Hi,
since you have an ED50 and a 20x and what I would guess 27x EP (I'm not aware of a Nikon Fieldscope EP which offers 30x om the ED50), getting a larger used Fieldscope ED body would make a lot of sense...
With a 60mm body your two EPs give you 30 and 40x and with a 78 or 82mm body you get 38 and 50x...
The best offers for these are usually from Japan though, so depending on when in September you want to travel, it might not arrive in time...
Joachim
since you have an ED50 and a 20x and what I would guess 27x EP (I'm not aware of a Nikon Fieldscope EP which offers 30x om the ED50), getting a larger used Fieldscope ED body would make a lot of sense...
With a 60mm body your two EPs give you 30 and 40x and with a 78 or 82mm body you get 38 and 50x...
The best offers for these are usually from Japan though, so depending on when in September you want to travel, it might not arrive in time...
Joachim
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Alexis Powell
Natural history enthusiast
I agree w/this recommendation. Also, it is rare that 78ED or 82ED bodies are sold without a zoom eyepiece, so you'd also have that option to reach 56x or 75x. With luck, you could find a 78ED with zoom for around $500.
--AP
krizwickles
Member
I think you will be fine with what you have. September is a great time to be there, crowds start to thin out a bit and is it starts to get colder the animals become a little more concentrated in parts of the park at lower elevations.
If you've never been before you'll likely be shocked by the number of quality wildlife-viewing opportunities you'll get. I go a couple times a year and usually just bring binoculars and rarely feel deprived. And as another poster pointed out, the odds are good that if you pull up to one of the 'hotspots' there will likely already be people there (unless you take Alexis Powell's excellent advice and hit the park early in the day) with large, quality scopes. People there are usually friendly about sharing, but scope sharing in the covid-era is definitely a trickier proposition.
If you've never been before you'll likely be shocked by the number of quality wildlife-viewing opportunities you'll get. I go a couple times a year and usually just bring binoculars and rarely feel deprived. And as another poster pointed out, the odds are good that if you pull up to one of the 'hotspots' there will likely already be people there (unless you take Alexis Powell's excellent advice and hit the park early in the day) with large, quality scopes. People there are usually friendly about sharing, but scope sharing in the covid-era is definitely a trickier proposition.
