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Opticron eyepieces (1 Viewer)

Moorsider

Member
I have an Imagic 65 scope with a 27 times mag HR eyepiece.If I bought an HDF (25 or 35 mag) eyepiece,would I notice a big difference in image quality,or is the scope the main factor.Hope somebody with experience of these eyepieces can help.I dont want to spend money if its not going to make much difference.
 
Moorsider said:
I have an Imagic 65 scope with a 27 times mag HR eyepiece.If I bought an HDF (25 or 35 mag) eyepiece,would I notice a big difference in image quality,or is the scope the main factor.Hope somebody with experience of these eyepieces can help.I dont want to spend money if its not going to make much difference.

Hi Moorsider,

The short answer is yep the HDF eyepiece will make a difference to the quality of image through your scope. They cost double the price of an HR eyepiece but it's worth it!

Cheers,

John. :t:
 
JohnnyH said:
Hi Moorsider,

The short answer is yep the HDF eyepiece will make a difference to the quality of image through your scope. They cost double the price of an HR eyepiece but it's worth it!

Cheers,

John. :t:
Ditto!.o:D
 
JohnnyH said:
Hi Moorsider,

The short answer is yep the HDF eyepiece will make a difference to the quality of image through your scope. They cost double the price of an HR eyepiece but it's worth it!

Cheers,

John. :t:
Thanks for your reply.Which one would you go for,the 25 mag or 35 mag ?(on my scope).Would they both be of the same quality with just the FOV to consider?Would mainly be used for reservoir work, plus of course the ever popular "general birding".I realise Im asking the earth but can only afford one.
Cheers :-O
 
had an unfortunate thing happen the other day, bought a GS 665, went to pick it up paid 250 quid (which i thought was body only) but an eyepeice came with it? so i thought that it was suppose to come with it (it was a HDF 15-45 zoom). anyway i had problems with the scope, and took it back and also took the eyepeice back. what a stupid thing to do. when a replacement came in, guess what, no eyepeice! then realised i had it by mistake and shouldn't have took it back. :clap: :clap:
 
Moorsider said:
Thanks for your reply.Which one would you go for,the 25 mag or 35 mag ?(on my scope).Would they both be of the same quality with just the FOV to consider?Would mainly be used for reservoir work, plus of course the ever popular "general birding".I realise Im asking the earth but can only afford one.
Cheers :-O

Hiya,

I would go for the 25x, 30x is about the ideal eyepiece to use for general birding, I would say that 35x would be a little too much. The 25x will provide a nice wide,bright image & would also be ideal for digiscoping if ever you decide to try it.Best idea would be to go to an optics field day & try out both & then decide.

Cheers,

John.
 
I use an Opticron IS60 and have the HDF 20x & 32x eye pieces.

For digiscoping photography the 20x is far superior. The image is sharp and clear. Using the 32x eyepiece the image is bigger but not really better.

For photography its a worse quality picture. But for looking through its a bit better.

The non ED glass in the scope is probably be the limiting factor.

So it depends on youyr intended usage.
 
JohnnyH said:
Hiya,

I would go for the 25x, 30x is about the ideal eyepiece to use for general birding, I would say that 35x would be a little too much. The 25x will provide a nice wide,bright image & would also be ideal for digiscoping if ever you decide to try it.Best idea would be to go to an optics field day & try out both & then decide.

Cheers,

John.
Anybody any experience of the HDF zoom?Would it be good on my scope?Seen it for £150.In theory it seems to cover all options.Viewing birds only.I realize it wouldn't be best for digiscoping.
Cheers, Moorsider
 
Moorsider said:
Anybody any experience of the HDF zoom?Would it be good on my scope?Seen it for £150.In theory it seems to cover all options.Viewing birds only.I realize it wouldn't be best for digiscoping.
Cheers, Moorsider
Got one last year & no regrets. I have the same scope as yours, and its the best money i've spent, my advice GO for it. Good look, & and great viewing.
 
I'm very tempted with the HDF 32x but would it give me anything over my SDL Eyepiece?,
I have a ES 80 ED with the new SDL 20-60x ...
Thank's,
Tc,
John,
 
Moorsider said:
Anybody any experience of the HDF zoom?Would it be good on my scope?Seen it for £150.In theory it seems to cover all options.Viewing birds only.I realize it wouldn't be best for digiscoping.
Cheers, Moorsider

Hi Moorsider, I have posted a similar thread - and got no replies - just found your thread and realised why!
I have an Imagic 65, also. What did you decide for your eye piece choice? What were the results?
cheers
 
A Question for any HDF zoom owners or anyone that has tested one.

I had a look through one of these and I found that the eye cup moved with the zoom. Can't remember which way round it was but I think that when I zoomed in, the eye cup came down. Is this some clever way of maintaing eye relief or is it a fault?

Cheers

adw73uk
 
I've been looking out for a Mighty Midget II for a while now. It sounds like HR is better than non-HR but HDF is better still. I've only got £150 so I've been looking on ebay, but I obviously want the best I can get for my money. So...

For HDR eyepieces, what's the difference between W and WW? i.e. is one worth paying the extra for but not the other?
If I can't afford it, is it worth getting HR over non-HR?

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
2520years said:
I've been looking out for a Mighty Midget II for a while now. It sounds like HR is better than non-HR but HDF is better still. I've only got £150 so I've been looking on ebay, but I obviously want the best I can get for my money. So...

For HDR eyepieces, what's the difference between W and WW? i.e. is one worth paying the extra for but not the other?
If I can't afford it, is it worth getting HR over non-HR?

Thanks.

presuming you meant HDF no HDR the WW lenses have twist up eye cups not fold down and are a lot more expensive. There must be another reason for the price. you could email [email protected]

can't help you over the HR vs standard lenses thing. Opticron recommend HR for spectacle wearers. The HR20 lens has a much wider fov compared to the 25x MM2 lens.

You can pick up a new MM2 with fixed lens for 150ish from Sherwoods @ chipping Camden
 
adw73uk said:
A Question for any HDF zoom owners or anyone that has tested one.

I had a look through one of these and I found that the eye cup moved with the zoom. Can't remember which way round it was but I think that when I zoomed in, the eye cup came down. Is this some clever way of maintaing eye relief or is it a fault?

Cheers

adw73uk

The eyecup does not rotate or move in any way on the HDF or SDL zooms - I've got both.
 
Thanks for the replies, I've emailed Opticron for their recommendations but had no reply as yet. I'm thinking of getting a HDR 28x W or HDR 45x W. They're the same price on one of the websites below (£89) which seems odd to me. I suppose then it depends how far away from the birds I'm likely to be.

Cheers.
 
2520years said:
Thanks for the replies, I've emailed Opticron for their recommendations but had no reply as yet. I'm thinking of getting a HDR 28x W or HDR 45x W. They're the same price on one of the websites below (£89) which seems odd to me. I suppose then it depends how far away from the birds I'm likely to be.

Cheers.

I presume you mean HDF rather than HDR.
I've had a Midget for a year, when I bought it I thought I might be buying something which was very limiting considering the huge prices 'real' scopes go for.
Found the opposite - firstly the Midget is so small & light it got used far more than I imagined it would - I either walk or travel pillion on a bike and a full size scope plus tripod wouldn't see much use, secondly the image quality is excellent - no abberations or weirdness - watched Bitterns at dusk with it.
I can't imagine using a scope with a fixed 45x eyepiece, unless the bird was dead or slow moving you would never find it, on the Midget I use a 12-36 zoom and more often than not it's towards the 12 end - 36 starts to get dark unless there's really good light and it's tooooo much magnification generally.
I watch a lot at a fair size estuary which can need high magnification but I would really not like to be stuck with it all the time - the Long-billed dowitcher we had here last year was never more than 50ft away and at 45x all you would get is some extreme detail of a feather.
I like zooms as I'm all over the place - sea, marsh, woods, reservoir, moon, dockyard - fixed eyepiece would drive me nuts and I'd probably prefer a cheap zoom if I was forced to choose - I just cut down on the fags 'n booze for a while and bought the HDF zoom - there's no point in compromising equipment choice if you can possibly avoid it.
If you get a fixed eyepiece 20-25 would be more useful.
I subsequently bought an ES80 ED MKII with a 20-60 SDL eyepiece (still have the Midget) for long rang ID - not that the Midget wouldn't do it - the ES80 just does it better BUT the ES80 doesn't get used that much as it's too big and heavy for my little legs.
 
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