I got to try a Harpia 95 today out in the field in bright conditions, the owner kindly let me look through it.
The biggest wow is clearly the fov, which is impressive, excellent contrast and colour neutrality, the resolution I felt should have been better given the price.
I don`t quite know how I feel about it, the exit pupil was very small at all powers, noticeably so at low power and to me the brightness suffers as a result here, so I`m not sure it will be the best choice on a dull, dark Winter day scanning at its lowest power.
I`d need to spend a lot of time behind one in Winter before I`d take the plunge given the price.
Hi Lee,
Trouble for me is this seems like it's the world's most expensive 50mm scope at 23x !
John.
Trouble for me is this seems like it's the world's most expensive 50mm scope at 23x
As a Kowa 883 owner, my reference of course is the 25x magnification of the TSN-11WZ, and not the 30x quoted by Dobler. Still, my scope is listed with a 42 m/1000 m field of view at 25x, which is very markedly narrower than the 58.8 m/1000 m listed for the Harpia at 23x. The Harpia also beats the 52 m/1000 m of my Nikon ED50 at 13x, which I always considered a really nice wide field of view.
Hi Lee,
Trouble for me is this seems like it's the world's most expensive 50mm scope at 23x !
John.
your eye pupil will stop down any scope to about that size in daylight.
Its a balance of capabilities John and which may not meet your personal needs.
At 2.5mm the EP is similar in size to your pupil in normal daylight and its no coincidence that at this size the human eye is at its most effective with regard to detail. And as Vespo pointed out in normal daylight your pupils will be this size no matter what scope you are using. If you need a scope for late evening this may not be the scope for you.
Lee
That`s very true but how many of us use this proposal to choose a binocular with a 2.5mm exit pupil for our Birding needs ?, 8x20 sf anyone ?
Lee,
I would`nt say the balance of capabilities doesn`t appeal to me, its clearly an interesting design, and I only have a first impression to go on, Ohweh has just posted a comparative review and clearly enjoyed the Zeiss more with greater familiarity.
I myself am used to a very small ep on my ats65 at 60x, but I use my scope far more at 20-30x and however good the Zeiss is at high power, not getting the full benefit of that huge objective at 23x would definitely annoy me.
John.