Acuter Scopes. any good? (1 Viewer)

Been out today to Bass & Bligh in Harrogate - had a look at their scopes (they have a good selection of scopes and bins. (I tagged along with friends who were after a digi mount)

I saw a couple of Acuter scopes, 60mm @ £150 and 80mm @ £200 what suprised me is they come with zoom lenses and a case.

Had a look at a couple of other scopes there as well, a nice Minox with fixed lens for £275 IIRC for comparison (Minox was a bit brighter but i put that down to the fixed lens)

Now, can anyone tell me about these scopes - are they any good as I don't want to read the blurb as gospel, I'd rather have others oppinions.
I wasn't after a scope at the time - but they look quite good and may be tempted.

Many thanks, Rhys.

Rhys, Acutor are ok at best and to be honest I havent tried the Minox you mention,I know its a bit of a cliche,but you really do get what you pay for,they are cheap for a reason and I should know I fell into the trap myself!!I bought an Opticron scope some years ago for £189(I cant remember the model) and that came with a zoom eyepiece,my initial thoughts were who needs a Leica.......until I looked through a Leica APO 77!!...I now own one.Best advice would be save a bit longer and get a good quality one,it will last you a lifetime and you should never be dissatisfied with the images be-they in daylight or low light.
hope this helps,Nigel

fynnon said:

Rhys, Acutor are ok at best and to be honest I havent tried the Minox you mention,I know its a bit of a cliche,but you really do get what you pay for,they are cheap for a reason and I should know I fell into the trap myself!!I bought an Opticron scope some years ago for £189(I cant remember the model) and that came with a zoom eyepiece,my initial thoughts were who needs a Leica.......until I looked through a Leica APO 77!!...I now own one.Best advice would be save a bit longer and get a good quality one,it will last you a lifetime and you should never be dissatisfied with the images be-they in daylight or low light.
hope this helps,Nigel

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Rhys

Its important to say that many of the Opticron Scopes, especially the ED versions are excellent, and if you marry up the cheaper models of their none ED scopes with the HDF eyepieces it transforms a mediocre scope into a good one. That said, Nigel is correct in saying you get what you pay for.

The Opticron ES80GA ED with HDF zoom is excellent and can be had for £500 from Warehouse Express ( See link at the top of the page ). Many birders are extremely happy with these, I have one, with that eyepiece, for over four years, and feel no urge to "upgrade", even after looking through a friends Leica APO 77 scope ( with fixed eyepiece ).

Alan

Ocelot,is selling an ES80 / hdf zoom..check earlier posts.

Gramayr said:

Been out today to Bass & Bligh in Harrogate - had a look at their scopes (they have a good selection of scopes and bins. (I tagged along with friends who were after a digi mount)

I saw a couple of Acuter scopes, 60mm @ £150 and 80mm @ £200 what suprised me is they come with zoom lenses and a case.

Had a look at a couple of other scopes there as well, a nice Minox with fixed lens for £275 IIRC for comparison (Minox was a bit brighter but i put that down to the fixed lens)

Now, can anyone tell me about these scopes - are they any good as I don't want to read the blurb as gospel, I'd rather have others oppinions.
I wasn't after a scope at the time - but they look quite good and may be tempted.

Many thanks, Rhys.

Click to expand...

I now have use of a Leica APO 77, but used the 80mm Acuter for about 6 months before that. To be honest, the Leica beats it by miles - but so it should at 6 times the price! Having said that, the Acuter wasn't all that bad. Mine's up for sale at the moment - but i haven't had any offers - i suspect because most people on here already have a better scope.

It was a a good starter model though, but i wouldn't pay £200 for one. Either save for something better, or but mine cheap!!!

I wasn't in the market for a scope as I don't have the funds realy at the mo (building trade is always slack at this time of year) but at this price it looked good. Saying that, the Minox looked a nice little scope.
If I had the money to afford a Leica, i wouldn't buy a scope - I'd have some bins instead as I'd use them more - but I can't justify the expense when I only go out now and again. besides I'd realy like to save up for a decent DSLR (Nikon D1X) as that's more important to me.

btw, rezmole - how much for the acuter?

I was asking £100 (including case, zoom lens and UK postage). But, as i said, there's been no interest - so may just end up having it as a spare to leave in the car.

The Acuter scopes are Chinese copies of the Kowa TSN-1 and on www.actionoptics.co.uk the 65mm is £122 and the 80mm is £185 both with zoom lens and case. As a starter scope offering fantastic value for money, they are hard to beat.

Thanks for all the info. Been discussing scopes with my other half. The Acuter one would be no good (even though it's a good price as a kit) as the eyepeice is a rubber one. I wear specs - she does not and to be honest can't be faffed folding and unfolding the rubber bit, better off with a twist up eyepiece.
Had a look at a Kowa scope at Old Moor (think it was the TS-1) seamed ok on first impression but my partner doesn't like it as she can see the 'red bit' ie the Kowa badge. She keeps both eyes open when looking through scopes - as do I.

I think we will keep looking till we find one that we both like (wouldn't mind one for May when we go to Mull)..

Anyway, I've just bought a Country Inovations Falcon jacket at Old Moor so I'll have to wait a bit longer for funds to build up a bit. Bit of an impulse purchase, saw it, tried it, liked it, bought it.

Not sure what the Minox scopes are like, have told her to look in Bass & Bligh to see what she likes as it's only round the corner from her (D&A opticians in Harrogate - she's the manager so can skive when she wants lol)