Pf-65
I thought I might repose this post that was lost last month. I am combining a couple of posts to include all the information so the post is long – sorry.
I recently purchased the PF-65 ED Scope body for $435 from Optics4Birding. I am an amateur astronomer so have plenty of eyepieces. Once receiving the scope I had the opportunity to compare the PF-65 to the Nikon Sky and Earth 60mm and the Pentax PF-80. The Nikon Sky and Earth was my first spotting scope and I have enjoyed using it over the years. Although not considered a high-end scope, it was certainly interesting to compare it to the PF-65. In performing the comparison I dialed the zoom of the Nikon to around 20X and placed the Pentax XL21 fixed focal length eyepiece (approx. 20X in the PF-65) in the PF-65. As an amateur astronomer, I knew before looking how absolutely unfair the comparison would be. The Pentax view was wide-open (60-degree field), bright, clear, and beautifully resolved. In comparison the Nikon was narrow (almost "soda-straw-like" in comparison), dull (sort of a yellow tint to the image in direct comparison), but still reasonably well resolved. Now I have been a fan of this little Nikon for years, but the differences, under direct comparison, were NOT subtle. I then placed the Pentax XL10 (approx. 40X in the PF-65) and dialed the Nikon zoom to 40X. This time the Nikon's zoom field had widened (perhaps to around 50 degrees) and evidenced less soda-straw effect. The yellowish tint was increasingly exacerbated in the Nikon now at higher power while the Pentax remained bright, wide open, and clear. It was at this point I ceased the comparison, which was simply unfair. The performance of the Pentax PF-65 was well beyond the Nikon. The Pentax fixed focal length eyepieces are extraordinary and I would argue that placed behind any high quality spotting scope objective (e.g. Zeiss and Swarovski who offer 1 1/4" barrel adapters could use these eypeices) they would be virtually unsurpassable.
Direct comparison of the PF-65 to the PF-80 yielded only subtle differences related to brightness (the PF-65 appeared slightly dimmer as sunlight diminished late in the evening). Most of the time, other than magnification differences, I was unable to differentiate between views from the two Pentax scopes.
I am extraordinarily pleased with the PF-65. It is more compact than the Nikon Sky and Earth 60 and a giant leap beyond optically. It provides a birding experience equivalent to the PF-80 and with the fixed focal length eypieces is simply extraordinary. To check out the objective lens I did star test the PF-65 with a Pentax XL5 (somewhere around 80X). The star test was perfect showing perfectly circular images in the center of the field both inside and outside focus. The star test suggested a well-figured objective lens free from optical abberations.
Now I have never liked the Pentax zoom. While optically it is very good (certainly close to the zoom performance of the Zeiss and the Swarovski), it is nowhere near the image provided by the fixed focal length eyepieces. In my opinion the zoom is overly bulky and heavy. I did not buy the new, slimmer Pentax zoom designed for the PF-65. I am interested to hear a review, but am dissappointed to hear that the high magnification eye relief is only 11mm. The huge PF-80 zoom works fine in the PF-65, but looks disproportionate to the scope. I did test the scope using the Vixen 8-24mm zoom which is an excellent astronomical zoom (now modified for use on scopes by Bausch and Lomb, Kowa, Swift, and Celestron and offered with a standard 1 ¼” barrel by Tele-Vue, Meade, and Orion). This zoom only costs around $169 and is compact, well resolved at all magnifications, and bright on the Pentax. The magnification is around 16-50X on the PF-65.
I have always believed that birding scope reviews are basically reviews of zoom eyepieces. I can't imagine that any of the top end scope makers would be unable to manufacture a reasonably flawless objective lens. The zoom eyepiece, however, is another story. With 6-9 pieces of moving glass the design and manufacturing challenges are more evident and more difficult to overcome. It would be very interesting to compare a Zeiss, Swarovsky, and Pentax objective lens by holding the eyepiece constant. Say a Pentax XL21 eyepiece could be placed in the 65mm versions of all three scopes and compared (remember adapters are available for the Zeiss and Swarovski that would allow the incredible Pentax fixed focal length eyepieces to be used). For that matter, the Tele-Vue Radians or Meade Series 5000 Ultra Wides, or any of the other excellent, wide field, long eye relief, astronomical eyepieces could also be substituted. It is my hope that someday spotting scope makers move away from the use of proprietary eyepieces to the 1 1/4" standard so birders can choose from the (literally) thousands of different eyepiece and zoom eyepiece options that have been available to astronomers for years.
My last plug for the PF-65 ED has to do with price. The 65mm scope with the zoom is $650 (including view through case) - compare that to the 60-65mm "special glass" versions of Swarovski ($1868), Leica ($1824), Zeiss ($1370), Kowa ($1072), and the Nikon Fieldscope III ED ($1124). (Optics4Birding prices) (the case is not included in some of the above) - While no direct comparisons are yet available, I believe, based on what I have seen, that the Pentax will hold its own with the others when comparing zoom eyepieces and I would wager - surpass the others in direct comparisons using Pentax’s fixed focal length eyepieces even if compared to the Proprietary fixed focal length eyepieces of the other makers.
Now, from a different posts a couple of eyepiece recommendations for the PF-65ED
Owl Services offers two excellent fixed focal length eyepiece options at a very low price. These eyepieces are excellent terrestrial eyepieces with a wide apparent field (65-67 degrees), good eye relief (around 15 mm), and nice resolution and contrast. They are manufactured by GSO, an Asian company that has released some excellent offerings recently; some of which are marketed under a number of other co. labels (e.g. Meade, StellarVue, etc.). The eyepieces are the 15mm SuperView (65-degree apparent field) at $34 and the 20mm SuperView (67-degree apparent field) at $34. In direct comparison to the Pentaxes there were only subtle differences. Additionally, these eyepieces were much more compact in size than the Pentaxes. This is true only for terrestrial application. If you own either the PF-65 or PF-80 you ought to pick these up - $68 for both – you will be very impressed!! The website for ordering is:
http://www.owlservices.com/cart/index.html
Adorama Camera offers the Vixen Zoom for $170. This is an excellent and well known zoom eyepiece described above. While not as strong as the high end zooms on birding scopes, it is close and much less expensive. You can combine the two excellent fixed focal lengths above and this zoom for less than $250 – still much less than a single zoom for a high end maker. The website for the zoom purchase is below:
http://www.adorama.com/VXLAZ.html?searchinfo=vixen zoom&item_no=2
For higher power fixed focal length eyepieces I recommend the new Pentax XF series (8 and 12mm offerings) available through Pentax dealers. They are priced at $169 each and offer 18mm of eye relief and 60-degree apparent fields. I have not viewed through these, but other reviews on this website suggest high quality.
A quick note: The focal length of the new PF-65 is 390mm. To calculate magnification divide the focal length of the eyepiece by the focal length of the scope. For example, the 15mm GSO Superwide provides 26X (390 divided by 15).
