The Kingfisher
Well-known member
I have the Nikon ED82 with different eye pieces and I think it is a fantastic scope. I like it very very much when using it with the 30x DS eye piece. I also have the little Nikon ED50 and my main binocular is the Nikon EDG 8x42. I also own the Nikon 8x32 SE.
All equipment above are great, but I have one dilemma with the big scope - I allways have to think about which of the three eye pieces I would use in a certain situation. The 30x is fantastic, but now and then I need more power and have to change to either the 50x or the 25-75x zoom. And then back to 30x eye piece again. I could choose to use the zoom all the time, but it is a little bit narrow at 25x and at higher power it is really narrow (as looking through a keyhole). For stationary birds it works, but its hard to follow flying birds (especially terns and other birds with unpredictable movement).
So..I am thinking of a new scope with a good zoom. I have tried lots of different scopes from Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski, Nikon etc, but I do not like any of them as much as I like my Nikon ED82. I have also tried the Kowa 883, and it felt better than the other. I prefer the focusing on my Nikon ED82, but I think the Kowa 883 could be a great scope for my needs.
If I remember correctly the colors are a little bit different in the Kowa 883 than in my Nikon ED82. A little more yellow, I think. That is not good, because I do not like to have different color balance in the scope and the binocular. That's why I also might buy the Kowa XD 8,5x44. For some years ago I owned that binocular. It was rather big and heavy and the colors was on the yellow side. Maybe it was not as sharp as my Nikon EDG, but I actually have had some of my best birding moments with that Kowa binocular!
Question: is the color balance in the Kowa 883 and in the Kowa XD 8,5x44 similar?
Another choise is to go Meopta..the scope with 30-60 zoom and the binocular 10X42 HD. But I have not tried the Meopta scope and binocular, so I do not know how good they really are...
All equipment above are great, but I have one dilemma with the big scope - I allways have to think about which of the three eye pieces I would use in a certain situation. The 30x is fantastic, but now and then I need more power and have to change to either the 50x or the 25-75x zoom. And then back to 30x eye piece again. I could choose to use the zoom all the time, but it is a little bit narrow at 25x and at higher power it is really narrow (as looking through a keyhole). For stationary birds it works, but its hard to follow flying birds (especially terns and other birds with unpredictable movement).
So..I am thinking of a new scope with a good zoom. I have tried lots of different scopes from Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski, Nikon etc, but I do not like any of them as much as I like my Nikon ED82. I have also tried the Kowa 883, and it felt better than the other. I prefer the focusing on my Nikon ED82, but I think the Kowa 883 could be a great scope for my needs.
If I remember correctly the colors are a little bit different in the Kowa 883 than in my Nikon ED82. A little more yellow, I think. That is not good, because I do not like to have different color balance in the scope and the binocular. That's why I also might buy the Kowa XD 8,5x44. For some years ago I owned that binocular. It was rather big and heavy and the colors was on the yellow side. Maybe it was not as sharp as my Nikon EDG, but I actually have had some of my best birding moments with that Kowa binocular!
Question: is the color balance in the Kowa 883 and in the Kowa XD 8,5x44 similar?
Another choise is to go Meopta..the scope with 30-60 zoom and the binocular 10X42 HD. But I have not tried the Meopta scope and binocular, so I do not know how good they really are...
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