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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

New scope from Zeiss... (1 Viewer)

Hi,

The name "Kocher" originates from its Celtic name "cochan" and probably means winding, meandering river."

From what a historian told me about his research on the place names here in North Germany, the recurring pattern is that their etymological explanation usually goes back to some locally reknown amateur scholar of the 19th century, who in the absence of reliable evidence typically based his explanation on educated speculation :)

Regards,

Henning
 
Thanks Joachim and VB for shining a light on this little corner of German. Many years ago we met a lovely German couple on Mallorca whose family name was Koch. We were friends for many years and they thought it was hilarious when I called them 'der Kochen'. They have passed away and we miss them for their sense of humour and down-right good-naturedness even when we were arguing over the identification of an obscure orchid. I can hear Robert's stern voice now (delivered with a smile): Nicht fusca!! Nicht, nicht, nicht!! RIP.

Lee
 
.........family name was Koch. We were friends for many years and they thought it was hilarious when I called them 'der Kochen'. ……...
Lee

Did they also tell you how it would be correct? Here in Switzerland we also have many people with the family name of Koch, some also of German origin. The plural form as we use it here would be "die Kochs" or in our Swiss German "s'Kochs" and also "s'Koche". At any rate Koch means cook (the profession, not the activity).
 
Did they also tell you how it would be correct? Here in Switzerland we also have many people with the family name of Koch, some also of German origin. The plural form as we use it here would be "die Kochs" or in our Swiss German "s'Kochs" and also "s'Koche". At any rate Koch means cook (the profession, not the activity).

No Robert and Elizabeth just laughed. They were from Duesseldorf and I managed to visit them at their home one time and they served me a vegetarian lunch which was unidentifiable despite their name. Lovely people with a liking for sherry in disconcertingly large glasses.....

Lee
 
i wanna buy a new scope at the upcoming birdfair and am torn betweeen the zeiss harpia 95 or the swarovski atx 95 is it really hard to split them or is there a clear winner in anyones eyes? any feed back much apreciated
many thanks
 
Harpia has a wider zoom range with a lower end of 23x rather than the Swaro's 30x. This can be useful for scanning around or getting onto flying birds and also on days when heat-shimmer makes higher magnifications useless. Being able to zoom from a low mag like this all the way to 70x without changing eyepieces is a nice feature especially if it is raining. And the constant angle of view no matter what the magnification makes viewing comfortable.

But your best bet is to compare at Bird Fair (17th-19th August so not long to wait) and make your own mind up which suits you best. Although Bird Fair gets crowded the views from the optics marquees are far better than you get at most dealers for testing out binos and scopes.

Lee
 
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Hi,

comparing at birdfair is fine - just try to buy a scope you have looked through before as example variation does happen even with the best! Bonus points if you can get the hand picked demo unit at a good price after the show.

Or buy online from a place with a good return policy.

PS: We would like to read your impressions, especially on the Harpia...

Joachim
 
Peregrinescaffolding,

Don't forget the Kowa 883 or the Meopta S2, which despite its reasonable price is also an excellent scope. If you don't already have an adequate support, you are also going to have to plan a substantial sum for a tripod and head.

John
 
Peregrinescaffolding,

Don't forget the Kowa 883 or the Meopta S2, which despite its reasonable price is also an excellent scope. If you don't already have an adequate support, you are also going to have to plan a substantial sum for a tripod and head.

John

John
I can echo your sentiments about Meopta's S2. I currently have borrowed one for reviewing with the 20-70 eyepiece and it is brilliant. An alpha? Definitely.

Lee
 
John
I can echo your sentiments about Meopta's S2. I currently have borrowed one for reviewing with the 20-70 eyepiece and it is brilliant. An alpha? Definitely.

Lee

If you consider that the first 62 & 77mm iterations of Leica's Televids were made by Meopta, then this is a fair indication of Meopta quality. These scopes are still hard to beat optically IMHO.

RB
 
i wanna buy a new scope at the upcoming birdfair and am torn betweeen the zeiss harpia 95 or the swarovski atx 95 is it really hard to split them or is there a clear winner in anyones eyes? any feed back much apreciated
many thanks

I’ve learned from experience that it’s worth reading the reviews to get some ideas of your next possible telescope or binoculars but whatever you do go and compare all the models within your budget side by side if possible. The Birdfair is obviously a good place to do this, despite the crowds. You may be surprised. I’ve bought optics in the past with preconceived ideas of what the best available manufacturers were and with hindsight would probably have tried a few more models out and chosen something different.

And remember that if you choose a modern piece of glass from one of the leading manufacturers you will be fortunate enough to get a fantastic viewing experience. You don’t necessarily need “the latest” to enjoy the benefits of a great scope. It’s a bit like comparing say Porsche’s and Ferrari’s - both are really excellent sports cars but do you really need the 2018 model when the 2015 version is rather good?

As far as value is concerned, I would respectfully suggest that all the big names are completely and utterly taking the piss with their inflated prices.
 
thanks for the responses so far, yes im looking to invest in an excellent tripod also at the birdfair, were heading down there on friday and hoping to get some great views of osprey afterwards, then saturday were going to frampton marsh so looking forward to really trying my scope out there, hoping to also get an iphone adapter for whatever scope i go for and try some digiscoping also
thanks once again for your feedback, and yes if i go for the harpia i will be sure to let you know my faults on it :)
 
Andrew Clarke, post 217,
Meopta played a similar role in the making of an older Zeiss telescope as it did for the Leica telescopes, that is not really new knowledge you can see the samples in the Meopta factory on display and it was known by many for some time.
Gijs van Ginkel
 
Andrew Clarke, post 217,
Meopta played a similar role in the making of an older Zeiss telescope as it did for the Leica telescopes, that is not really new knowledge you can see the samples in the Meopta factory on display and it was known by many for some time.
Gijs van Ginkel

Well I was unaware - but to be honest I haven’t been in the market for new optics for a while. Will have to check Meopta out when I get the chance.
 
If you consider that the first 62 & 77mm iterations of Leica's Televids were made by Meopta, then this is a fair indication of Meopta quality. These scopes are still hard to beat optically IMHO.

RB

Light transmission and color rendition are better in modern scopes, including the Meopta S2.
 
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