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Using the Nikon ED50 and ED82 "at the same time"..!? (1 Viewer)

T

The Kingfisher

Well-known member
My primary eyepiece on the ED50 has always been the 50x (27x on ED50), but in recent months I have discovered how wonderful the ED50 is with the 30x (16x on the ED50) - easy on the eye, bright, clear and sharp. Despite the low magnification, it is still usually possible to determine the species of birds on quite a distance. The field of view is large and low magnification makes it easy to find the birds.

Soon it's time for birds migrating to pass by where I live and I think for the first time to use both the ED50 and the ED82 "at the same time". I will therefore set up the ED50+16x and the ED82+50x next to each other (I also have the 25-75x, but that eyepiece will only be used on special occasions). The little ED50 scope will probably be used most while the larger scope will be used only when the magnification of the ED50+16x is not quite enough. Is there anyone who has combined the ED50 and ED82 in this way when birding from a single location?
 
Kingfisher,

I owned two of the ED50s at one point and do own the Nikon 82 mm "clone" in the Theron Optics Mag82. I also have the Opticron MM3 50 mm. I use 30x with the Mag 82 and 18x with the Opticron...many time in tandem if birding a specific location...more often than not one of the local lakes in my area.
 
Hi

I own them both, but, sorry, I use them in quite different situations.

ED 50: walking trips-holidays-ancillary optics to binoculars during point counts of nesting birds

ED 82: 95%+ of the other bird observations (mainly raptor migration - seawatching)

Enjoy your device!

Luca
 
Thank´s for your answers!

I'll just try to use them in parallel with each other to see how it works. An additional video head must first be obtained before I can try though. But I am convinced that the combination ED50 + 16x DS and ED82 + 50X DS will work superbly for the purpose that I mentioned above! :)
 
I had both last time with DS30x on ED82 then 13-40x MC II on the ED50. When I swapped the eyepiece, DS16x on ED50 is awesome but not enough for my purposes in ID. Then I put back the zoom eyepiece and it was a complete set for long walk with ED50 and open field for ED82 hehehe
 
I will only use the combo ED50+16x and ED82+50x when birding from one specific spot. The reason I think the 50x eyepiece is better suited than the zoom is because of the larger field of view of the fifty. It can be hard to follow fast flying birds with the zoom at high power (I use spectacles when birding).

When birding on different locations and I go there by car the ED82 will be used with the 25-75x zoom. It's very flexible and I think one have more use of high power than a large fov in this case. The 30x DS has allways been my standard eyepiece, but I am tired of changing eyepieces everytime I need higher power than that. And of course..why not use the full potential of the ED82 when it's possible!? :)

When walking a lot..the tiny ED50 is the scope to use. 16x is wonderful on that scope, but I would not use that eyepiece when out birding with only the ED50. My standard eyepiece have been the 27x, but now I use the 13-40x zoom instead. At 25x I think it's easier on the eye than the 50x, and at 25x it's also brighter. And of course..it's possible to use the zoom at 40x with good result! :)
 
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The Kingfisher said:
I will only use the combo ED50+16x and ED82+50x when birding from one specific spot. The reason I think the 50x eyepiece is better suited than the zoom is because of the larger field of view of the fifty. It can be hard to follow fast flying birds with the zoom at high power (I use spectacles when birding).

When walking a lot..the tiny ED50 is the scope to use. 16x is wonderful on that scope, but I would not use that eyepiece when out birding with only the ED50. My standard eyepiece have been the 27x, but now I use the 13-40x zoom instead. At 25x I think it's easier on the eye than the 50x, and at 25x it's also brighter. And of course..it's possible to use the zoom at 40x with good result! :)
Click to expand...

As another spectacle wearer, I wondered how you find the eye relief with the zoom on the ED50?

I had understood it wasn't too good and had stayed with the 27x fixed eyepiece instead?
 
I think the eye relief is the same on the ED50 and the ED82 = bad! But still..I prefer to use the zoom at 13x over the fixed 27x eyepiece because of the better brightness of the zoom. And I also think that 40x makes the difference sometimes.

The most wonderful eyepiece is the 16x - pretty bright, wide field of view, good eye relief, sharp..and the low magnification makes it very easy to spot birds. 16x magnification is not enough for everything in the field, but it´s enough for very much! :)
 
I have both an ED50 and an ED82. I am a big fan of the DS EP that yields 16x on the 50 and 30x on the 82. They're both my favorite magnifications on these two scopes respectively.

Regarding what you want to do, why not? If you don't have to slog all that over hill and dale, then what's the harm?

I use the ED82 on a large manfrotto carbon tripod with the older 3130 (now 128) fluid head. Pretty good combo.

The ED50 is mounted on a Markins Q3 ballhead atop a Benro C158 carbon tripod. This is a most excellent combo IMO. The little scope maneuvers easily on the ballhead and doesn't want to "flop".
It makes for a very light setup.

Cheers
 
I have sometimes thought about replacing the ED82 with another spotting scope to get a larger field of view and more eye relief when using a zoom. But no matter how I twist and turn it, it ends with that I do not find any worthy replacement for my ED82. The absolute perfect scope is simply not yet on the market.

The 25-75x zoom has a narrow field of view and poor eye relief, but it's really only at certain type of birding it creates problems (when observing migrating birds that move erratically). At such times it is possible to have two scopes set next to each other - ED50 with 16x and ED82 with 50x to access the large field of view with a relatively high magnification.

At other times (in most cases), a high magnification is more important than a large field of view, which makes the ED82 with 25-75x a prefered combination. But even here it is sometimes possible to set up the ED50 + 16x next to the ED82 + 25-75x to more effectively "scan" large areas. At times when one must walk long distances the ED50 with 13-40x is a good scope-eyepiece combination!

The 30x DS is very very nice on the ED82, but sometimes I miss higher magnification and sometimes 30x is just too much mag. With ED50+16x and ED82+25-75x (or 50x for migrating birds) you get the best of both worlds, I think. Hopefully we will see the launch of a new and well-designed Nikon Fieldscope within 2-3 years which can become a worthy replacement for the ED82. I want an ED82, but with 85mm objective, 20-70x zoom with a relatively wide FOV and generous eye relief, max weight of 1800 gram (scope+ep) and smaller in length than the EDG 85. Nikon..please..let my dream come true... :)
 
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I've got the ED82 and the ED50 and I have the 25-75(on the 82) zoom and the 30x fixed. I use the zoom on the ED82 when I need to ring read and the 30x fixed when seawatching. If I need to be mobile with lots of walking then it is the ED50 with the zoom. That 30x eyepiece is one of the best ever produced in my opinion. I also think that the ED82 takes some beating even though mine is over 10 years old. Mind you my Zeiss 7x42 Dialyts don't have many pairs better and they are 25 years old but that is for another forum.
 
The Kingfisher said:
I have sometimes thought about replacing the ED82 with another spotting scope to get a larger field of view and more eye relief when using a zoom. But no matter how I twist and turn it, it ends with that I do not find any worthy replacement for my ED82. The absolute perfect scope is simply not yet on the market.

The 25-75x zoom has a narrow field of view and poor eye relief, but it's really only at certain type of birding it creates problems (when observing migrating birds that move erratically). At such times it is possible to have two scopes set next to each other - ED50 with 16x and ED82 with 50x to access the large field of view with a relatively high magnification.

At other times (in most cases), a high magnification is more important than a large field of view, which makes the ED82 with 25-75x a prefered combination. But even here it is sometimes possible to set up the ED50 + 16x next to the ED82 + 25-75x to more effectively "scan" large areas. At times when one must walk long distances the ED50 with 13-40x is a good scope-eyepiece combination!

The 30x DS is very very nice on the ED82, but sometimes I miss higher magnification and sometimes 30x is just too much mag. With ED50+16x and ED82+25-75x (or 50x for migrating birds) you get the best of both worlds, I think. Hopefully we will see the launch of a new and well-designed Nikon Fieldscope within 2-3 years which can become a worthy replacement for the ED82. I want an ED82, but with 85mm objective, 20-70x zoom with a relatively wide FOV and generous eye relief, max weight of 1800 gram (scope+ep) and smaller in length than the EDG 85. Nikon..please..let my dream come true... :)
Click to expand...

Kingfisher,

Your dream scope already exists (almost). The Meopta Meostar S2 82 HD with the 20-70x zoom ticks all the other boxes on your list except it lacks that last 3 mm in objective diameter and has the wrong brand name on it. Have you tried one?

Kimmo
 
kabsetz said:
Kingfisher,

Your dream scope already exists (almost). The Meopta Meostar S2 82 HD with the 20-70x zoom ticks all the other boxes on your list except it lacks that last 3 mm in objective diameter and has the wrong brand name on it. Have you tried one?

Kimmo
Click to expand...

Quite right - Meopta with 20-70x agree quite well with my wishes. I have not had the opportunity to test the S2 82 HD yet, but have been curious to do it.

The nearest shop where Meopta is possible to try is about 4 hours drive from where I live. This together with that the Meopta not usually appear on exhibits (eg Falsterbo Bird Show) makes it difficult to test the scope. I have been in contact with Meopta and explained my situation and also asked if they could borrow me a 82 S2 HD for testing. Just for some few days. They have not had any sympathy at all for my situation - only refers to the dealer which I have just explained is too far away from me. With such poor service I no longer have any desire to buy optics from Meopta..

Maybe a Nikon EDG 65 might be a good option for me. It is certainly relatively heavy and large for a 65mm, but the zoom range of 16-48x sounds appealing. In many cases, 50x is enough..and to have access to such a low magnification as 16x would have been nice. Getting an EDG 65 instead of a large 80+ scope also makes it more appropriate to retain my ED82. One should also get basically identical color balance in the scope as in the EDG 8x42. It is an important thing for me!
 
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