Help me chose a scope! (1 Viewer)

Passerine Dream · Apr 6, 2018

Shoe string budget. $1000 CDN max! This is for watching shore birds, waterfowl and possibly raptors sometimes. Id like a scope thats built well and also good optics. Im an eyeglass wearer so good ER is important. Im sticking to my budget because every just spend a little more turns into looking at scopes 2 or 3 times the price. I made a similar post for help with chosing bins recently and I ended up getting the Zeiss Conquest 8x42's and they are great. Anyways heres my picks, what would you choose?

1. Pentax PF 65 ED ii + Pentax XW14 eyepiece

2. Vortex Viper HD 65mm the newer dark green version

3. Kowa 602 + Kowa TE14WD 30X eyepiece

Ive been doing allot of reading lately on these models. I cant really spend more than the $1000. But i want something half decent that wont break on me prematurely. Please let me know what you guys think.

Thanks

etudiant · Apr 6, 2018

Allow room in your budget to include a decent tripod and head to hold your scope.
No scope is fun if it wobbles at every touch. I'd budget 25-30% for that part.
Also consider buying used, often much more bang for the buck.

jring · Apr 6, 2018

Hi,

for the given use cases, you want a large scope with ED glass. Getting a nice used one is a good idea - I love cash & carry deals as these allow me to evaluate before buying. But I have also bought some used optics online, usually less expensive stuff - no real bummer yet, fortunately...

Of the ones listed, the Pentax is certainly the best one. The Pentax XW EPs are very well regarded but also not quite cheap. Since the Pentax takes 1.25" astro EPs, there is a plethora of other options too. An Explore Scientific 14mm 82 deg would give the same magnification with a wider field but is a lot cheaper than the Pentax.

Other good and not too expensive options beside Pentax PF ED series are older Kowa ED or fluorite bodies (the ones ending in 3 for angled and 4 for straight - EPs are easily available for all but the 823/4), Nikon Fieldscope ED series (EPs are getting hard to come by, so get sth. with the correct EP or be prepared to search a bit). Zeiss, Leica and Swaro tend to be out of your budget even used.

Joachim

Passerine Dream · Apr 6, 2018

etudiant said:
Allow room in your budget to include a decent tripod and head to hold your scope.
No scope is fun if it wobbles at every touch. I'd budget 25-30% for that part.
Also consider buying used, often much more bang for the buck.

Hi Etudiant,

Yes the tripod is completely separate from the $1000 scope budget. Im looking at a Manfrotto MT290XTA2W Tripod w/ 128 RC Head.

Passerine Dream · Apr 6, 2018

jring said:
Hi,

for the given use cases, you want a large scope with ED glass. Getting a nice used one is a good idea - I love cash & carry deals as these allow me to evaluate before buying. But I have also bought some used optics online, usually less expensive stuff - no real bummer yet, fortunately...

Of the ones listed, the Pentax is certainly the best one. The Pentax XW EPs are very well regarded but also not quite cheap. Since the Pentax takes 1.25" astro EPs, there is a plethora of other options too. An Explore Scientific 14mm 82 deg would give the same magnification with a wider field but is a lot cheaper than the Pentax.

Other good and not too expensive options beside Pentax PF ED series are older Kowa ED or fluorite bodies (the ones ending in 3 for angled and 4 for straight - EPs are easily available for all but the 823/4), Nikon Fieldscope ED series (EPs are getting hard to come by, so get sth. with the correct EP or be prepared to search a bit). Zeiss, Leica and Swaro tend to be out of your budget even used.

Joachim

Thanks for the reply. I thought about used. But there doesnt seem to be much in the way of scopes between kijijji and ebay. Nothing that really pops out and looks like a deal. The Kowa doesnt look like it has ED glass. Theres not much reviews in the way of the Kowa. The Pentax has got some pretty good reviews with the XW eyepieces. I dont want to buy a whole bunch they are quite expensive so Im not sure which I would settle on just yet. Then there is the Viper HD.....I like that the Pentax and Kowa are Japanese made.

jring · Apr 6, 2018

Hi,

since you seem to accept straight scopes like the TSN 602... Cley Spy has a TSN-4 with the great 30 wide EP for 199 quid on sale (plus p&p to canada probably).

This is a great offer for former alpha glass (or rather fluorite) and you can get an Opticron SDLv2 or HDF zoom later for 18-52x.

https://www.cleyspy.co.uk/kowa-tsn-4-ref-nd03042018.html

Joachim, happy owner of a TSN-3 with SDLv2 - have looked through many alphas but they weren't a lot better, if at all.

johnf3f · Apr 8, 2018

jring said:
Hi,

since you seem to accept straight scopes like the TSN 602... Cley Spy has a TSN-4 with the great 30 wide EP for 199 quid on sale (plus p&p to canada probably).

This is a great offer for former alpha glass (or rather fluorite) and you can get an Opticron SDLv2 or HDF zoom later for 18-52x.

https://www.cleyspy.co.uk/kowa-tsn-4-ref-nd03042018.html

Joachim, happy owner of a TSN-3 with SDLv2 - have looked through many alphas but they weren't a lot better, if at all.

I think that one is an 824 rather than a TSN 4 - note the sloped back and it states an 82mm objective in the description. If I am right then it is even better value!

Like you I use the SDL V2 eyepiece but mine is on a TSN 4 and yes, in reasonable light, it gives up little to most of the Alpha scopes!

To Passerine Dream: Check out some images on Google, I am pretty sure that link (from Jring) is to an 824 which replaced my TSN 4 and is a better scope. It would be worth contacting CleySpy to check. If it is a TSN 4 then it is a good price for a good scope (well mine is!), if it is an 824 then it is even better!
I have dealt with CleySpy and found them to be a very good retailer - that is where I bought my SDL V2 eyepiece.

P.S. If it is an 824 then the SDL V2 eyepiece will not fit - however it comes with a good eyepiece anyway.

Stephen Mark · Apr 8, 2018

I have the Kowa 602 and its fine but it doesn't have ED or klourite glass so you gt a small amount of CA. The 664 is a very good scope but unless you can find one used irs probably too much money. Good luck.
Steve

jring · Apr 8, 2018

johnf3f said:
I think that one is an 824 rather than a TSN 4 - note the sloped back and it states an 82mm objective in the description. If I am right then it is even better value!

Hi,

john is right - the image shows an 824 which would be even better value (although one would have to look for a 20-60 zoom if one wants higher mag than 32x - the Opticron doesn't fit here).

Joachim

Crusty · May 9, 2018

Passerine Dream said:
1. Pentax PF 65 ED ii + Pentax XW14 eyepiece

2. Vortex Viper HD 65mm the newer dark green version

3. Kowa 602 + Kowa TE14WD 30X eyepiece

Passerine Dream...

In the event you select the Pentax PF ED II, you could trim the budget considerably by selecting a Televue Plossl 15mm eyepiece (100 US$) instead of the Pentax XW14mm eyepiece (350 US$).

Just a suggestion.

Crusty

slingworks · May 11, 2018

I know of a fellow that has a mint 99% Kowa TSN 824M with a 20-60x zoom eyepiece for sale. He's asking $750 US plus shipping. He "Might" take $700 if you ask.

This is an 82mm florite spotter from the mid 2000s. I personally looked it over and it's pristine. If it were angled I would have bought it in a hurry....

Has a case too if I remember.

If you're interested I can give you his number.

I don't know what shipping to Canada would run maybe $70?

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