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

A Brief Review of the Zeiss Harpia 95 (1 Viewer)

I forgot to add, I found eye placement a bit finicky in order to avoid blackouts, and a need to refocus every time after changing zoom power.
 
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I got to try a Harpia 95 today out in the field in bright conditions, the owner kindly let me look through it.

The biggest wow is clearly the fov, which is impressive, excellent contrast and colour neutrality, the resolution I felt should have been better given the price.

I don`t quite know how I feel about it, the exit pupil was very small at all powers, noticeably so at low power and to me the brightness suffers as a result here, so I`m not sure it will be the best choice on a dull, dark Winter day scanning at its lowest power.

I`d need to spend a lot of time behind one in Winter before I`d take the plunge given the price.


John

The EP gets gradually restricted below 40x mag. Above this mag it uses the full 95mm objective and has a normal EP.

Lee
 
Hi Lee,

Trouble for me is this seems like it's the world's most expensive 50mm scope at 23x !

John.

I think it's more like 57mm, also your eye pupil will stop down any scope to about that size in daylight.
;)

But, expensive yes, even at 70x mag...

A reasonable edge sharpness and CA control at 23x with that large FOV would probably not be possible without stopping down the scope a bit.

Personally I don't see much visible difference in brightness in most "normal" light conditions between a good 65mm and 80mm+ scope at 25x-30x.

But as you say, in dim late autumn/early winter light the Harpia might not be the optimal scope.
 
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Hi John,

Trouble for me is this seems like it's the world's most expensive 50mm scope at 23x

Interesting perspective. However, isn't the field of view of the Harpia still larger than that of typical 50 mm scopes at the Harpia's smallest magnification?

I tried to put this into perspective in another thread:

As a Kowa 883 owner, my reference of course is the 25x magnification of the TSN-11WZ, and not the 30x quoted by Dobler. Still, my scope is listed with a 42 m/1000 m field of view at 25x, which is very markedly narrower than the 58.8 m/1000 m listed for the Harpia at 23x. The Harpia also beats the 52 m/1000 m of my Nikon ED50 at 13x, which I always considered a really nice wide field of view.

Regards,

Henning
 
I`m not really looking for a new scope purchase right now, but I`m trying to square £3.5k for a 95mm objective that shrinks to below 60mm at low power.
 
your eye pupil will stop down any scope to about that size in daylight.


Its a balance of capabilities John and which may not meet your personal needs.

At 2.5mm the EP is similar in size to your pupil in normal daylight and its no coincidence that at this size the human eye is at its most effective with regard to detail. And as Vespo pointed out in normal daylight your pupils will be this size no matter what scope you are using. If you need a scope for late evening this may not be the scope for you.

Lee
 
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Its a balance of capabilities John and which may not meet your personal needs.

At 2.5mm the EP is similar in size to your pupil in normal daylight and its no coincidence that at this size the human eye is at its most effective with regard to detail. And as Vespo pointed out in normal daylight your pupils will be this size no matter what scope you are using. If you need a scope for late evening this may not be the scope for you.

Lee

That`s very true but how many of us use this proposal to choose a binocular with a 2.5mm exit pupil for our Birding needs ?, 8x20 sf anyone ?
 
That`s very true but how many of us use this proposal to choose a binocular with a 2.5mm exit pupil for our Birding needs ?, 8x20 sf anyone ?

Also true but binos don't offer the zoom of a scope and the full 95mm is available from 40x mag upwards. Meanwhile at lower magnifications there is a super-wide field of view.

And scope users are used to small exit pupils of 1.5mm or less at high magnifications. Its a balance of capabilities and clearly this balance doesn't appeal to you. I hope to borrow a test unit from Zeiss soon so I will be able to find out if it appeals to me or not.

Lee
 
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Lee,

I would`nt say the balance of capabilities doesn`t appeal to me, its clearly an interesting design, and I only have a first impression to go on, Ohweh has just posted a comparative review and clearly enjoyed the Zeiss more with greater familiarity.

I myself am used to a very small ep on my ats65 at 60x, but I use my scope far more at 20-30x and however good the Zeiss is at high power, not getting the full benefit of that huge objective at 23x would definitely annoy me.

John.
 
Lee,

I would`nt say the balance of capabilities doesn`t appeal to me, its clearly an interesting design, and I only have a first impression to go on, Ohweh has just posted a comparative review and clearly enjoyed the Zeiss more with greater familiarity.

I myself am used to a very small ep on my ats65 at 60x, but I use my scope far more at 20-30x and however good the Zeiss is at high power, not getting the full benefit of that huge objective at 23x would definitely annoy me.

John.

I can certainly understand that especially if you bird a lot in the evenings.

Lee
 
Thanks Henry!

One remark: full 95mm are not really possible. The screw-in size for lens hood/filter is 95mm, so the effective diameter of the front lens must be minimal smaller.

For me, this is an advantage, see my review.
 
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