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Nikon Field and Sky as a first scope (1 Viewer)

Joe A.

Well-known member
Hi Andy,

I'm planning to make the plunge into digiscoping and am now in the market for a scope. It would be my first scope. (I have a cp4500 camera.)

My budget prevents me from buying one of the more expensive scopes. I have read material on Eagle optics and Kowa -- affordable and used by many digiscopers. I must confess, however, that I have an affinity for Nikon, having bought my first Nikon, an "F," in Saigon in 1968. It's still in perfect working order.
The Nikon Field and Sky, at $349 (US), is within my price range.

Paul Sansom, one of my favorite 'scopers, uses the Field and Sky. His work, in my opinion, is outstanding. Double click on the url below to see a sample of his work.

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php?photo=6720&password=&sort=1&cat=525&page=3

I don't see much of anything in the forums re: Nikon scopes, except for the very expensive ed models. What is your opinion of the Field and Sky as a starter scope. 18x-20x 60mm.

Joe
 
nikon fieldcopes

Joe,

I have been exactly where you are. Digiscoping is not going to cheap, there is the camera, which I assume you have, then you are planning to get the spotting scope, and I think that it will work for you, I myself extended myself and got a fieldscope with 60mm, I think the high end Nikon ED versions make quite a difference in the picture quality.

Even if you get the cheaper spotting scope, you still are going to need the adapters or better yet, custom made eyepiece attachments and a very good tripod. With you spending on all of these things, I really suggest, you go for the fieldscope and not the spotting scope. You can get the fieldscope on ebay for less than retail, I got mine there too. I got me a tactical fieldscope, which is even better than the regular fieldscope.

I viewed through a Swarovski HD 80 mm (best spotting scope made by man till date) and my poor man's fieldscope is not that bad compared to it, at least I do not see a whole lot of difference.

In short, go for the Nikon for casual digiscoping, but if you are really serious, then think about Leica, Leupold, Zeiss, and top of the line "Swarovski".


Ash












Joe A. said:
Hi Andy,

I'm planning to make the plunge into digiscoping and am now in the market for a scope. It would be my first scope. (I have a cp4500 camera.)

My budget prevents me from buying one of the more expensive scopes. I have read material on Eagle optics and Kowa -- affordable and used by many digiscopers. I must confess, however, that I have an affinity for Nikon, having bought my first Nikon, an "F," in Saigon in 1968. It's still in perfect working order.
The Nikon Field and Sky, at $349 (US), is within my price range.

Paul Sansom, one of my favorite 'scopers, uses the Field and Sky. His work, in my opinion, is outstanding. Double click on the url below to see a sample of his work.

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php?photo=6720&password=&sort=1&cat=525&page=3

I don't see much of anything in the forums re: Nikon scopes, except for the very expensive ed models. What is your opinion of the Field and Sky as a starter scope. 18x-20x 60mm.

Joe
 
ashatbird said:
... I viewed through a Swarovski HD 80 mm (best spotting scope made by man till date)...
In short, go for the Nikon for casual digiscoping, but if you are really serious, then think about Leica, Leupold, Zeiss, and top of the line "Swarovski".


Ash
Well - some of us won't be agreeing quite with you. Could you delineate why you think the Swaro is so superior, say, to the Zeiss Diascope 85?
 
scampo said:
Well - some of us won't be agreeing quite with you. Could you delineate why you think the Swaro is so superior, say, to the Zeiss Diascope 85?
Scampo I agree. We have had the chance to try the top models and in all weather conditions from Swarovski, Leitz and Zeiss at the Full Monty watchpoint courtesy of the RSPB, . Very little if anything to choose between but on balance I think I prefer eyeballing through the Zeiss. At the moment it would be my choice if I upgraded.
 
Full Monty - I like that. I haven't been to Frampton yet, though, Geoff. Is there much else to see apart from the Montague's harrier? I suppose Cut End is nearby and well worthwhile if the tides are right.

On the scopes, I think the Swaro is at the very top - but along with the others depending on your personal preferences. For myself, like you, I think the Zeiss is overall the better birding scope, not least because of its lovely zoom eyepiece that lets you see so much more of the action.
 
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Joe,
I have a Nikon "Sky and Earth" 15-45x 60mm scope (is this the same as "Field and Sky"??). I like it very much. A friend has a Kowa and often on a birdwatching trip I'm switching between looking thru that and looking thru the Nikon. Yes, the Kowa is better, but I'm not kicking myself everytime I switch back to the Nikon - it looks good even in direct comparison to the much more expensive scope.
 
Welcome ashatbird :bounce:

You’ve resurrected an old thread here. In case Joe doesn’t have the relevant “notification” setting on, perhaps it is OK for me to say what transpired (had a nice little dialogue with him a while back). In summary, Joe got the Nikon he mentioned, showed ability at digiscoping, found the scope was compromising the quality of his results (CA primary culprit) then upgraded. Gallery suggests tried smaller Leica apo and is now with Swarovski 80mm HD (you didn’t cheat did you?).

Be interesting to know whether Joe regrets not pushing out the boat initially for the 80mm Swarovski (maybe that wasn’t possible). Minus side was that presumably has shots in his collection that would be better if had had better scope and maybe spent more overall by this route. On plus side is in much better position now to appreciate the optics he has and never risked making large outlay on a hobby that mightn’t take off. Though a good condition, good quality scope bought at reasonable price should keep most of its resale value; hope that’s what he found anyway ;)
 
I have a Nikon Spotting Scope RAII(A)

I have a nikon spotting scope RAII(A) and i think it is also known as the Sky and Earth Nikon scope. I got this scope when i first wanted to try out digiscoping, so i go for the one that i can afford -that would be the nikon spotting scope. I must say the result is OK, but can't compare with the top range scopes such as leica, zeiss, swarovski, nikon ED, etc. CA is bad, but can still be adjusted with photo editing software.

But overall, if you just want to have fun and do your own bird records, it's fine. I still use it once in a while when my DSLR can't do the trick.

Weng Chun
Malaysia
 
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