Newbie with PF 65 II questions (1 Viewer)

Have added this to my short list of first spotting scopes and have a couple of questions as I know little about scopes. Price seems right for what sounds like a decent scope.

1. What eyepiece for use with eyeglasses. Seems from reading prior post tha XW-14 is good choice. Want primarily for scanning ponds, some ocean viewing, and fields. I know a 80 mm would probably be better but want a bit more compact for travel and carry in my motorcycle topbox.

2. Are there other eyepieces i should also consider in either Pentax or other manufacture (less money)

Randy

Astrotech Paradigm ED 15mm or Celestron Xcel LX 12/18mm.

Rmel66.

Baader Hyperion 13 mm is what I have used prior to acquiring the Pentax XW14. Not sure if the Baader's are available on your side of the pond though!

John

John Fleet said:

Baader Hyperion 13 mm is what I have used prior to acquiring the Pentax XW14. Not sure if the Baader's are available on your side of the pond though!

John

Click to expand...

Would the baader be a good choice for a 2nd higher magnification eyepiece along with XW14. Sounds like the Pentax is a better ep?

Not sure why you'd want both? the specs and mags are so similar that in the real world I doubt if you'd see a difference. TBH I only bought the XW14 because the guy I bought the PF80 ED and SMC zoom from had it and offered it a price I couldn't turn down. I'll sell the Baader - they fetch around £60 or so used - which is a fraction of the cost of the Pentax lens. That's the only reason why I'd get rid of the Baader - I had no issues with its quality and it has some novel features (which I've not explored) ie the ability to adapt the lens to differing magnifications by removing a module. It's also good for digiscoping as the eyepiece rubber can be removed and a thread is then revealed.

John

Thanks John. My confusion comes from lack off understanding e/p's. looks like I would want something probably wider to go along with something like the xw14. Is that correct?

Pauhana said:

Have added this to my short list of first spotting scopes and have a couple of questions as I know little about scopes. Price seems right for what sounds like a decent scope.

1. What eyepiece for use with eyeglasses. Seems from reading prior post tha XW-14 is good choice. Want primarily for scanning ponds, some ocean viewing, and fields. I know a 80 mm would probably be better but want a bit more compact for travel and carry in my motorcycle topbox.

2. Are there other eyepieces i should also consider in either Pentax or other manufacture (less money)

Randy

Click to expand...

I use the PF-65 for all my birding. I don't think you will find a better eyepice than the XW14 for using with it.
My XW14 is almost never off the scope. I have other eyepieces but hardly use them. With 20mm eyerelief the XW14 is supremely comfortable for use with my glasses on. Some people report black outs with it though so I think eye placement is tricky for some.

As for an 80mm being better- I have owned 80mm scopes in the past (including a Nikon ED82) and I don't any of them were noticably brighter or sharper than the Pentax. I have no desire to go back to lugging a bigger scope around when the Pentax does such a good job. A friend had a look through my scope at the weekend and commented on how bright it is- it was a heavily overcast day too.

My other e/ps are Vixen NLV 17mm (24x) and Celestron Xcel 21mm (18.5x). The Vixen cost nearly as much as an XW, The Celestron is very cheap and does a great job for the price. I bought it to try using the scope on a shoulder pod. oth are fine with glasses. I occasionally get tempted to get the XW10 for 39x mag but it's too much money for an e/p that will hardly ever get used.

In truth I should probably sell the Vixen, as it has proabbly only been on the scope a half dozen times in two and a half years, and put the money towards an XW20.

The Baader Hyperions are almost as good as the XWs but I noticed a distinct advantage to the XW when I tried the BH 17mm a couple of years ago. If i was saving money I'd get a BH though.

So, my advice- get the Pentax with the XW14. That will do just about everything you need it to. I doubt you'll regret it, assuming you don't get blackouts like some do.

I had the XW14 and returned it for the XF12 which I prefer. The XW would kidney bean and blackout when I moved my eye to "look around" the extra-wide field. I wear glasses to correct an astigmatism so this may have made things worse for me. The XF12 is waterproof, sharp, has good eye relief and acceptable FOV (for me). I find eye placement very easy with it. Its size is in better proportion to the 65mm as well.

Pauhana said:

Thanks John. My confusion comes from lack off understanding e/p's. looks like I would want something probably wider to go along with something like the xw14. Is that correct?

Click to expand...

Nope . Not really. The XW14 provides 28x magnification and very wide views. You don't really need anything else.

I tried some higher mag eyepieces but honestly the scope doesn't handle anything above 35-40x well, and the jump from 30x to 40x isn't with carrying another ep.

The older XL13 is a great alternative if you can find one used, essentially the same optics as the XW but a 65 degree field instead of 70. And you will save $50-75 or so. The XF12 mentioned above is also a good choice if you are willing to trade off some FOV and off axis performance for much lighter weight. It is very sharp and mates well with scope, but the superior optics of the XL/XW were worth it to me. If you search back a bit in this forum you can find my thoughts when I compared the two.