• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

ED50 vs. Focus Nature Scope 23x70-70 (1 Viewer)

Royfinn

Well-known member
ED50 with 27xDS = 460 € (from Japan) + 65 € Rangers tripod with ballhead (2kg)
Focus Nature Scope (FNS) 23x70-70 = 160 € + 60 € Velbon tripod with videohead (4kg)

I have only briefly tested the scopes from my balcony. Optically they are close, when FNS is used in lowest mag. The pic quality of FNS goes rapidly down when zoom is used, so I rarely use it. :-C You can tell that ED50 has little more magnification and wider view.

Some observations:

- ED50 has slightly better optic quality, but I am not sure if it makes difference in bird ID.
- FNS has somewhat more comfortable viewing because of exit pupil.
- ED50 seem cause dizziness in use, maybe because of small exit pupil or the fast moving ball head.
- Focusing works well with both scopes, but ED50 seem to snap better in focus.
- Velbon videohead is slow and stiff, while the Rangers ball head is very fast.
- ED50 has clearly wider view.
- ED50 combo is lot more agile to use and has no "loose" parts when moved around.
- FNS combo is head heavy, which makes it bit hard to move around
- ED50 combo fits easily to my backpack, which might be it's biggest strenght, as I can keep it along while hiking or biking.
- FNS combo is way more rugged and I have had it in hard use, and it has falled in the wind etc. and still going strong.
- FSN combo is cheap and used, so it doesn't matter so much if it gets broken or stealed.
- Velbon has wider stance, which is both good and bad feature.
- It seems that ED50 combo has more wind resistance because of smaller area.

I still have to wait for real life action use comparison. ED50 + tripod is quite like I expected, but I am not 100 % sure if I made the right choise of new scope, because the optical performanse is close to same as with FNS.
 

Attachments

  • 5685.jpg
    5685.jpg
    51.7 KB · Views: 59
Last edited:
Hi Royfinn,
The ED50 stands out primarily by its size and quality, it is the superior choice for travel.
It can be hand held at a pinch, especially with the Nikon stay on case. It becomes much more usable with a monopod, a vastly more compact alternative to a tripod. The Velbon Super 8 is a good option here.
https://www.amazon.com/Velbon-porta...d=1552528193&s=gateway&sr=8-26&srs=2530719011

If the compact convenience does not matter that much to you, then you can get more scope for the same money. But for hiking, sling it over one shoulder and use the monopod as a walking stick, you'll be set for observing whenever there is opportunity. Note that although the case is plastic, it is quite solid and waterproof.
Incidentally, a small ball head is a convenience even on a monopod, it makes scans easier.
 
If the compact convenience does not matter that much to you, then you can get more scope for the same money. But for hiking, sling it over one shoulder and use the monopod as a walking stick, you'll be set for observing whenever there is opportunity. Note that although the case is plastic, it is quite solid and waterproof.
Incidentally, a small ball head is a convenience even on a monopod, it makes scans easier.
Thanks for monopod tip. :king: My tripod can be turned into monopod, but I haven't tested it yet.

I first ordered different scope os same price (Hawke endurance 20x60-85) https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=372587 , but I returned it. It just felt big and too similar to my FNS scope.

The spring is coming, so in the next month I will have opportunity to take ED50 to hard field testing... :t:
 
Warning! This thread is more than 5 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top