Old scope, (1 Viewer)

Hey,

I recently became very interested in birding again so dug out my old scope that my grandparents got me (they got me birding when I was younger).

It is a Model AA64-60SR HR ED Opticron or something, with a x15-45 magnifying lens.

I cannot find any specs or reviews of this scope and I was just wondering if anyone else has an opinion of it. Is it a good spotting scope in general, and will it be okay for digiscoping when I finally get on to that?

Thanks in advance
Matt

Seems to be a pretty fancy scope.
See http://www.binoculars-uk.co.uk/acatalog/Opticron_Hi_Resolution_ED_Fieldscopes_eyepieces.html
Do note that the ED appellation is a fairly recent one, as marketing became aware that ED or extra dispersion optics were a good selling point.
So you have a valuable gift. Hope it will help you enjoy the birds more easily.

Hmmmm, looks like my scope- I guess mine has a rubber casing on it.
Thank you very much for your reply, I look forward to using it soon
I can't believe my grandparents got me such an expensive scope.
They got it for me about 6-7 years ago, is that recent enough?

MrBruce said:

Hey,

I recently became very interested in birding again so dug out my old scope that my grandparents got me (they got me birding when I was younger).

It is a Model AA64-60SR HR ED Opticron or something, with a x15-45 magnifying lens.

I cannot find any specs or reviews of this scope and I was just wondering if anyone else has an opinion of it. Is it a good spotting scope in general, and will it be okay for digiscoping when I finally get on to that?

Thanks in advance
Matt

Click to expand...

Well, if yours is a HR ED 66 ( its should show the size of the objective lens on the inside lip of the lens its probably one of these: http://www.opticron.co.uk/Pages/hr_scope.htm
If its a 60mm lens, as the eypiece magnification implies then is quite an old scope, HR 60. Its still a good scope ( either bare green metal, or coated with a black rubber with ridges running along it ), but probably not ED glass.
I have also found a HR60 model via google that has a modern looking black smooth rubber coating too http://www.fpoint.co.uk/ViewProdDet...0195&Prod_name=Opticron+HR+60+Body+(Straight)

HTH

I'm still using my Mirador scope that I bought when I was about 19 (when I got my first job!!). It's still going strong & I'm now 42.

Nothing wrong with older scopes.

Richard

Mr Bruce,

If you are in any doubt take the scope along to an optics "Field Day", and compare it with what's on offer. If you can see an optical improvement in what's on offer, then it's up to you to decide whether your own scope is good enough, and/or whether you are willing and/or able to afford the improvement.

One thing you might notice is an improvement in the brightness and/or field of view of zoom lenses since you were given your scope. Alternatively you might find a wider FOV fixed magnification lens (say 30x) suits you better. I am not an Opticron expert, but I do know they have several ranges of eyepieces, some of which may be backwards-compatible with older and no longer available scope bodies, so an eyepiece upgrade could be possible if you wanted.

If you have any other questions I'd recommend posting on the Opticron sub-forum of the scopes forum, because I know several of the Opticron guys keep a watch and will be happy to help.

Regards

Mark

alan_rymer said:

Well, if yours is a HR ED 66 ( its should show the size of the objective lens on the inside lip of the lens its probably one of these: http://www.opticron.co.uk/Pages/hr_scope.htm
If its a 60mm lens, as the eypiece magnification implies then is quite an old scope, HR 60. Its still a good scope ( either bare green metal, or coated with a black rubber with ridges running along it ), but probably not ED glass.
I have also found a HR60 model via google that has a modern looking black smooth rubber coating too http://www.fpoint.co.uk/ViewProdDet...0195&Prod_name=Opticron+HR+60+Body+(Straight)

HTH

Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply, it has a rubber coating with ridges, so what does the ED stand for?

MrBruce said:

Thank you for the reply, it has a rubber coating with ridges, so what does the ED stand for?

Click to expand...

you really should post this straight in the opticron forum, the opticron sales guys come on here all the time, they will give you every last bit of information about the scope that you could ever wish for