First Time scope buying, which one? (1 Viewer)

I am new to the forum by the way. I am looking for my first spotting scope. my price range is probably about a maximum of £200 inc. eyepiece, and hopefully inc. tripod and/or case. However, I am planning to buy one second hand.

I have looked at a few on ebay and similar places and I understand the specifications, I just need some models recommended and/or places to buy them from?

I do not intend to use it for digiscoping, just for watching birds from hides or on walks, that type of thing. Also, I know there is a huge range for objective lenses, zoom lenses and other aspects but i'm not sure what would be adequate for me? I know this is quite a wordy thread but I would be extremely grateful for help!

Thankyou

I'm having the same dilemma, for about the same budget. So far I've been considering the Opticron Picollo on warehouse express (£150 with stay on cover), the opticron MM2 (£139 puls lens) or the Delta 70 (an infocus special at £199).

So far the MM2 has been highly rated for the money by others on the site but almost everyone recommends trying before you buy. This is what I intend to do at the Lea valley bird fair in a couple of weeks - quite a few optics manufacturers and vendors are exhibiting there, so there should be quite a range to try out.

Andrew

adam321 said:

I am new to the forum by the way. I am looking for my first spotting scope.

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Hi
The red wine is at room temperature - I can ramble :smoke:

After years of couch potatoing I got a camera as an excuse for getting out and often bumped into people dressed in green hunched over a telescope muttering about glaucous thingies that were white where they should be black - yawn....so what.
I did however see some weird birds with long bent beaks which were apparently Curlews - these were fun as were the Lapwings.....bought bins.
Swore however I'd never join the geeks with scopes as they were debating a yellow-legged gull which actually had pink legs and looked exactly like all the other gulls - a rat with wings.
Time passed and I put up bird feeders, my lunch breaks got taken up with searching for Snow bunting and my day off trying to separate Redshank from Spotted redshank which I can't because the estuary is massive and bins just don't help.
Bought Mighty midget II and now I am that green clad nerd hunched over a scope pointing out Glaucous gulls - not too sure about the 1W Yellow-legged though as it still has pink legs.
I wish I'd started bird watching years ago and with a zoom scope - bins are wonderful for enhancing a day out but for long distance sea watching, big estuaries etc a scope is essential and greatly rewarding - finding a rare bird, examining it in detail, watch how it behaves, how it feeds, how it interacts with other birds - can't get enough of it - the hours fly by.
Our Long-billed dowitcher often teams up with a Spotted redshank but doesn't like a Little egrets attention, it will tolerate a Greenshank but won't feed with it.
As the tide drops I can scan a mile of mud and see how the birds divide it up into territories and who can visit and who can't - I use up to 100x magnification and have a much better understanding and appreciation of the the birds - I should have joined the dark side sooner - once you get relaxed about it the satisfaction is enormous.
I find the MMII quite adequate even at dusk - my brother has a horrid high-street scope which is not adequate in bright sunlight - the Picollo, Nikon RA are also adequate - second hand might suit you as you want a tripod too (essential) - scopes don't really wear out like car engines so should be a safe buy - there is a second hand forum here.

Don't be afraid to buy second hand. Lots of people buy and then find the scope they have bought doesn't suit them. I bought an immaculate Optolyth TBG 80 for £250 a couple of years ago. It was too heavy for the lady I bought it off but suits me and the type of birding I do.

Hi,

I was in just the market that Adam and Andrew were in, but with maybe a slightly higher budget. I went for the Midget with the HDF zoom (which I am told makes a notciable difference) and love it. You'd not go wrong with a Midget, many experienced birders have them.

There is a Mighty Midget going, going......nearly gone....on a world famous internet auction site, giving you enough spare cash for a tripod.

Martin

It is like buying binoculars. Try to see some models in the field. The eyepiece, zoom, eye cup have to work for you. Cheaper end has rubber eye cups. I am almost ready to buy a few spares so I can trim the eye cup to a better eye relief.

Thanks for advice so far everyone. I am considering the Opticron Mighty Midget 2 and have found one with a 25x38 lens, will this be adequate for my uses of it? (see top of page). P.S. The objective lens is 52mm.

I recently purchased the Nikon RA II straight from Warehouse Express for £179 including 20x eyepiece and case.

I bought it on the strength of the excellent pair of Nikon Binoculars which I bought from them before Christmas (Nikon Sporters 8x36). The Binoculars were ace, as many on the forum will testify.

So as I had decided to spend some limited funds on a lightweight waterproof scope. The Nikon on paper seemed to deliver the goods.

I have not been disapointed either, it is certainly lightweight, has a built in sunshade, and the image to my eyes (with nothing else to compare to) is bright and crisp. I do not digiscope I simply have a highly portable scope which goes in my rucksack, and is easily used from hides or the car or on the move.

It gets the thumbs up for me and as a result I have ID'd many birds that were out of range before, and have been amazed at the extra detail that i have been able to obtain.

I am only recently reaquainting myself with birding again after a 15 year spell with the dark side, but so far I am delighted with my purchases, and they do what I need them too. Of course when I win the EuroMillions Lotto tonight it will be Leica's all round - until then it's cheap but excellent Nikons!

adam321 said:

i have checked and the Nikon RA II on warehouse express with a 20x eyepiece is now a minmum of £218. Thanks for the help though and correct me if i'm wrong.

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Nope the straight version is still £179 at WE

Go to Special Offers
Then BINOS AND SCOPES
Then Promotional Items
Then choose Scopes
Then scroll down to see the good deal on the Nikon Straight.

Are there any more scopes anyone can recommend as being good value for money?

And do you think a having a zoom eyepiece is worth the extra cash?

Hi, I too was in the same position. I am new to the hobby, I have some basic but decent binoculars but wanted to upgrade to a scope.

After much internet surfing I decided to go for an Opticron. I bought a used Opticron IS60/45, including 25x eyepiece and stay on case for £111 off Ebay. Its great. Bought a Velbon Sherpa 250r tripod from Jessops for £59.99.

Took it out for the first time last Saturday - bloomin freezing - to RSPB site at Sandwell Valley, West Midlands. Saw Wigeon, black headed gulls and a couple of Snipe (took photo below just holding my dig camera to scope eyepiece) amongst others.

adw73uk said:

I'm having the same dilemma, for about the same budget. So far I've been considering the Opticron Picollo on warehouse express (£150 with stay on cover), the opticron MM2 (£139 puls lens) or the Delta 70 (an infocus special at £199).

So far the MM2 has been highly rated for the money by others on the site but almost everyone recommends trying before you buy. This is what I intend to do at the Lea valley bird fair in a couple of weeks - quite a few optics manufacturers and vendors are exhibiting there, so there should be quite a range to try out.

Andrew

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Had a great time at the fair, spent a lot of time on the infocus stall (thanks guys) trying out the above mentioned scopes and some sub £200 second hand jobbies.

Had myself a real dilemma - go for the light weight MM2, which I know I'd take out all the time, or the Delta, better image quality, but a much bigger scope - would I use it as much, or second hand - better image and cheaper but heavier than the Delta??????

I did what all good indecisives do...... nothing! I thought about it, mulled it over.... alot! In the end I saw a new mighty midget V1 (waterproof!) 20x on ebay - got it for £55 quid including delivery - what a bargain!

So far have only used it in the garden, on a tripod and in the hand and I'm really pleased with it. The aim is to see how much I use it, how I use it etc.... then upgrade to a better quality scope that fits my purposes - either a travel scope type or full size. May even just stick with the MM1!

Cheers to all for advice, on this thread and others................

Andrew

If you can save up for one get a Nikon ED50 travel scope(now £269 from Warehousexpress). What an optic for the money. I use it all the time in preference to lugging my Leica 77 around. Got a nice deal on a nice Slik lightweight tripod with it from In Focus. The scope,and tripod weigh less than my old scope alone.

Den said:

If you can save up for one get a Nikon ED50 travel scope(now £269 from Warehousexpress). What an optic for the money. I use it all the time in preference to lugging my Leica 77 around. Got a nice deal on a nice Slik lightweight tripod with it from In Focus. The scope,and tripod weigh less than my old scope alone.

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Yeah, it is a nice bit of kit - I had a look through one at the Lea Vally Bird fair, bit pricey for me though (about £450 with eyepiece) unless I know I'm going to get full use out of it - hence trying the bargain MM1 for a bit first.

What model tripod did you get? And have you used a shoulder pod with it?

Cheers

Andrew

Nikon Fieldscope 111 Angled body only new can be found for around £200, so second hand you might be able to get an eyepiece as well.

If I were you I'd look for 2nd hand scopes eg: Kowa (various eg 610 series), Optolyth (eg TBS80) and the above mentioned Nikon.

30x is generally considered the optimum general purpose mag. Very few decent zooms out there for any budget so go with fixed eyepiece.

Objective lens - my advice don't go under 60mm. 60mm achieves approx 1.44x the quantity of light gathered of a 50mm lens. 80mm achieves approx 2.56x over a 50mm. This makes a difference in low light conditions.

Angled gives far more flexibility and ease of use (IMO).

Far more 'bang for your buck' on second hand scopes if you choose wisely.

good luck