Another ED50 question (1 Viewer)

Hi
Im contemplating buying an ED50, to reduce the amount of weight I carry. One thing thats bothering me is the waterproofing. I want a scope I can use in the rain, but is the ED50's protection adequate and are the eyepieces sealed?
Also, I've heard loads of good stuff about this scope, but how good is it with the 13-40x zoom? I.e what other scopes is it comparable too? At the moment I have a superb Kowa Ts614 w/30X eyepiece, and I dont really want to go down in quality.
These are just thoughts, I do enjoy the little kowa, but i'm an all weather person, and want the piece of mind that my stuff wont be ruined in the rain.

Thanks for any help

Firstly, I can assure you the ED50 is extremely waterproof; apparently a reviewer decided to test it by immersing it in 10 feet of water, and it was untroubled by it, so a little rain is no problem! I've not tried the water trick with mine, but I have used it in serious rain [ wring out the case rain ] and suffered absolutely no problem other than raindrops on the eyepiece - no matter how careful I am, they always get through!
The zoom is a very nice piece of kit, though the fov is restricted and not everyone gets on with the eye relief, it gives more mag than the competition in a tiny package. Personally, I mostly use the 20x eyepiece, but I use my ED50 with a shoulderpod or handheld when I don't want to lug a tripod around; with a tripod, higher mags work better.
In terms of quality, Nikon are up there with the top end - with the 20x eyepiece, my ED50 is better in low light than my Dad's Swarovski 10x42EL's and focusses almost as close [ less than 3m ]. The ED50 is a light scope - comparable to the Mighty Midget and so on - but it punches way above its weight; you could put 'Leica' or 'Zeiss' on the side and people wouldn't be disappointed.

I'll second all that The Kerrerran said. The ED50 is obviously not as bright or sharp as the ED82, but it's way above what you would expect from a "Travelscope"...I've had the MM2 and the Kowa TS501, and they just don't rate alongside the ED50, which can substitute for a "full-size" scope on most outings. I use 27x ep, the zoom is fine but narrow and darkens significantly above 35x. I've had mine out in all weathers, no SOC, it's got soaking wet with no ill-effects.

Thanks very much for the info - I gather that the eyepieces are sealed. 2nd hand Kowa Ts614's go for a lot of money (regularly £400+ at infocus) so that should go a long way if i decide to purchase 1.

Any more views and experiences would be great.