PF ED 65 vs. 80 mm? (2 Viewers)

Stereo,

I just posted a response to a similar question on another forum. To copy/paste.....

"In a word, yes, I would buy the 20 mm XW withouth question. The image really is that good. The best word for it is "expansive"...and bright...and sharp...and comfortable...and, ohhh, what sweet spot. I have never seen anything like it and I have owned many of the top bins at one time or another. Personally I would have no problem using the 20 mm exclusively for any situation. The only time I found a bit challenged for power was when I was viewing waterfowl on a lake at a great distance. There were so many of them in the field of view, and they all looked perfect from one end of the field of view to the other, that I had a hard time concentrating on just one. Sounds funny but it is true.

Now, don't get me wrong, some of those other eyepieces are excellent in their own regard. It is just that the Pentax XW puts it all together perfectly. It is superb."

Thank you for the reply, I have XW14,XW10 and XW7. Also have XF zoom,XF12 along with a handful of other lesser quality EP's. I have been wanting the 20mm for sometime should have gotten it before I purchased the 7mm! Just didn't see alot of feedback for that particular EP? I know the view through the XF zoom at 20x in my opinion is outstanding!!! So one could assume that the view through the XW would be that much better. Thanks again, Stereo...

stereotruckdriver said:

Thank you for the reply, I have XW14,XW10 and XW7. Also have XF zoom,XF12 along with a handful of other lesser quality EP's. I have been wanting the 20mm for sometime should have gotten it before I purchased the 7mm!

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Wow there!! Got enough eyepieces?? :t:

Do you mind describing some of the differences between them for the benefit of others? I have owned the XF12 (since sold), XL10 (sold), XL14 (still got this one), plus a few others (Vixen zoom, a couple of cheaper zooms) and now use the William Optics Zoom II (which is superb). I'd love to hear your thoughts on XF vs. XW, the quality of the XF zoom (most say it sucks!), the quality of the views at 7mm with the XW7, etc.

Thanks!

Crake Dude said:

the Baader Hyperion 8-24mm zoom transformed the scope altogether...absolutely superb.

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How far away was the object you were looking at? I was one of the "guinea pigs" who bought a Baader Hyperion zoom to try it on the PF-65ED when it came out, but the zoom did NOT reach focus beyond 100 ft or so making it unusable.

The views, from what I COULD focus on, were absolutely superb as you described.

I now have the William Optics Zoom II which is also superb, if maybe a little off from the Hyperion from my memory (mostly in terms of field-of-view).

Eitanaltman, I guess I'm on the fence! I like the XF zoom for what I use it for! When I'am out and about it is light & compact! To me very usable between 20 & 50x. Eye relief is not a problem for me. Fov not the best but, still very usable! View at 20-30x very sharp good color! Does the XF do the scope justice? Probably not, but better than 70% of other scopes! This combo is a compromise with the intended zoom but I can take the trade off's! When fitted with XW EP's the character of this scope changes and personally I think it compares very well with scopes double it's price! Where I live I'am fortunate to be able to use higher power's more times than not! I find the XW7 to be at the limit for the PF65ED-A. Stability is the main concern. Focus is not as forgiving on the XW's compared to XF's? Still at 55x the view is pretty much the same as XW10 ( 39x ) detail, resolution etc... Huge EP!!! With out dragging on, hope this answered some of you're ??? Stereo...

mooreorless said:

Frank, I have been thinking on this tripod thing. Some people have taken a piece of wood long enough to mount on the tripod like you would the scope and then mount the scope under this piece of wood so that the center of weight is closer to the pivot point instead of all the weight on top.This would lower it though. I will try to find picture of this.This probaly works better for astro scopes.
Regards,Steve

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I found a picture of what I was talking about with mounting a scope more at the pivot point. Rich V has kindly given me permission to use his picture. I got this off CN site.
Regards,Steve