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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

£500 to spend - what should I get? (1 Viewer)

pduxon said:
the narrowness is not noticeable at low mags. the FOV at 13x is wider than many fixed eyepieces. at 40x yes it is comparively narrow but I tend to scan at 13x and then zoom in.
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Missed this thread, Pete, but Sancho has said all that's needed! For £500-00, the ED50 + zoom would be unbeatable in many ways.
 
Still think I'd upgrade my bins first!

£500 (or a little more) second hand would get you a pretty good pair of Leica/Swarovski etc and personally I think that you'd benefit more (unless you use your scope far more than your bins).
 
I've been looking through ebay, and have just found the most outrageous deal. Only problem is that the money is not likely to come for a few months, by which time the item in question will have gone, and a.t.m. my parents are not in a postion to lend me the money.
Don't use ebay much, but do Swarovski scopes usually go for £500?? :eek!:
 
The Firecrest said:
I've been looking through ebay, and have just found the most outrageous deal. Only problem is that the money is not likely to come for a few months, by which time the item in question will have gone, and a.t.m. my parents are not in a postion to lend me the money.
Don't use ebay much, but do Swarovski scopes usually go for £500?? :eek!:
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The last two similar to that one went for £711 and £855 respectively. The Nikon ed 78 gives at least as good an image as these scopes if not better and costs a lot less.
 
My experience is that birding optics on eBay fetch well above their real worth unless you are very lucky. I have sold items on eBay and have been truly amazed (and pleased) at the final price.

The Nikon scope would be a good buy - and there's enough for a decent tripod, too.
 
It isn't selling for £500 - that's the starting price, and below the "reserve" set by the seller.

Watch out for any bargain 'scope sales on Ebay - they are usually bogus - watch out for ones that read "email me before bidding" etc.

You can get good buys - but check out the seller, their feedback and ask questions that ownly the owner and user could answer - buyer beware and all that.
 
I see cleyspy have got some quality used scopes at the mo..

Kowa 821+32w and case for £389..

Nikon fieldscope 11,angled+zoom and case for £299..

Opticron HR66 ed +38HDFw and case for £375..(wouldn't mind this one myself)

www.cleyspy.co.uk

Matt
 
its the old model isn't it? called the RA80 over here i think. Not in the same league as the ED78 you were asking about.

you ought to go somewhere and try a few different scopes see what you think of the image quality. feel the build. feel the weight.....
 
The Firecrest said:
Can anyone tell me what they think of this?
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Not in the same league as the Nikon ED78 that is at the moment selling for £279 on ebay with 13 hrs left. I had one before I bought my ED78 and I would not go back to using one.
 
bill lord said:
Not in the same league as the Nikon ED78 that is at the moment selling for £279 on ebay with 13 hrs left. I had one before I bought my ED78 and I would not go back to using one.
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Missed it. :stuck: :C
 
Jyothi

the only drawback with an ED78 is that they aren't always very good at keeping out the water. Mine was a bit of a 'flask' until i taped it up and cased it. A sock with the end cut off helps too. It's fine now.

It's compact for a 'big' scope, and not too heavy. I usually used a smaller fluorite Kowa on a shoulder pod and will be getting an ED50 to use similarly but i do use the 78 (with a wide angle lens) and I find it as good as anything there is optically (remember they were over £1100 in 1995!) and people often see my scope and pull a face but then go rather quiet when they look through it.

For the price it has long been by far and away the best value available. If you can't find one i'd try and get an ED60 or Kowa 613 (or similar) second hand. There was a 611 non fluourite with a pod for £195 on ebay (with no bids) yesterday. Light and optically superb. Maybe even try the ED50? Size and magnification are very tempting when you're start out...
 
Just got back from birding with the ED50 and zoom. I'd rather have one of those than an old s/h scope anyday. At full zoom a distant peregrine was a treat for the eyes. CleySpy, nearly £500-00 for an EDII???? Whew! Second-hand scopes are a real premium, I reckon.
 
scampo said:
Just got back from birding with the ED50 and zoom. I'd rather have one of those than an old s/h scope anyday. At full zoom a distant peregrine was a treat for the eyes. CleySpy, nearly £500-00 for an EDII???? Whew! Second-hand scopes are a real premium, I reckon.
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yes strikes me as expensive. as I say I'd buy an ED50, the fact it is so light means you have no excuse not to have a scope AND it is optically excellent. And if you want a big scope you can get an ED82 AND you already have the lens!!
 
Mike Johnston said:
New straight Zeiss Diascope 65 w 23x eyepiece - 649 Euro (c £430).Waffen Schrum in Germany. Real bargain. Don't know how many are left, but definitely worth trying.
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Oh man, this has got to stop. My ******* browser won't let me look at that. Norten Internet Security, classed the sight as 'weapons'.

Keep the advice coming everyone, curently looks like it'll be a Nikon somethingorother, but still in the balance.
 
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