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

Zeiss Diascope successor (1 Viewer)

thanks for the link Henry,
nice photos,
very light, 1700g, even lighter than the swaro ATS80,
just wonder why not start the zoom range at 25x...
FOV will suffer a bit from it,
brightness will probably be fine anyway, but still a bit annoying..
nice with the astro-adapter though,
 
Where in the UK can I see the new Gavia in August (I'm in London) I'm thinking of selling my 85 Diascope I like the idea of it being lighter
 
Tom,

Thanks very much for the photos, video and information.

If you still have the scope I wonder if it would be possible for you to give us more detail about its performance? I'm thinking in particular of measuring the resolution using a standard resolution chart like the USAF 1951 and conducting a high magnification star-test using a real or artificial star. You appear to be well equipped to digiscope star-test diffraction patterns (perhaps 4 or 5 rings out of focus in both directions), which should give us a good idea about the level of spherical aberration and reveal any other defects.

I'm curious about the focuser. Is there a moving focusing lens or a moving prism? If a lens, does it move forward or backward when changing focus from close to distant? Do you turn the focusing collar clockwise or counterclockwise from close to distant? Also, do you observe any deterioration in image quality at close focus compared to distant?

Thanks,

Henry
 
Thanks Tom, that is a scope that is definitely on my radar as a potential future purchase. Love the look of it, and the name is spot on.
 
Henry, I don't have the scope any more, I had to send it back. About the performance: I also had a Kowa Prominar TSN 883 which delivers stunning images. It's pictures are really sharp, crisp and brilliant. The Zeiss Conquest Gavia 85, which is cheaper, offers a very good image but was not quite on the same level. I could see a little chromatic aberration. Not much, but it was there. Many would not see the difference, but experients users would notice it.

As far as I understood it, the Zeiss Conquest Gavia 85 is not meant to be a successor of the Zeiss Victory Diascope 85, but belongs to a seperate product line in the upper middle class. Compared to the Victory Diascope it is cheaper and offers a smaller zoom factor with the kit-eyepiece.

Compared to a Pentax PF-80EDa I would rate the performance of a Zeiss 'Conquest Gavia 85 to be on the same level. It is a lightweight spotting scope with a very good image quality and I like the T2 thread at the eyepiece, because it makes digiscoping easier. Buy a cover for your smartphone, glue a T2 Adapter at it and there you go. The value for money is very good.

Some more info from Zeiss about this scope:

http://www.zeiss.com/corporate/en_d...ress-releases.html?id=ZEISS-Conquest-Gavia-85


Tom
 

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Henry, I don't have the scope any more, I had to send it back. About the performance: I also had a Kowa Prominar TSN 883 which delivers stunning images. It's pictures are really sharp, crisp and brilliant. The Zeiss Conquest Gavia 85, which is cheaper, offers a very good image but was not quite on the same level. I could see a little chromatic aberration. Not much, but it was there. Many would not see the difference, but experients users would notice it.

As far as I understood it, the Zeiss Conquest Gavia 85 is not meant to be a successor of the Zeiss Victory Diascope 85, but belongs to a seperate product line in the upper middle class. Compared to the Victory Diascope it is cheaper and offers a smaller zoom factor with the kit-eyepiece.

Compared to a Pentax PF-80EDa I would rate the performance of a Zeiss 'Conquest Gavia 85 to be on the same level. It is a lightweight spotting scope with a very good image quality and I like the T2 thread at the eyepiece, because it makes digiscoping easier. Buy a cover for your smartphone, glue a T2 Adapter at it and there you go. The value for money is very good.

Some more info from Zeiss about this scope:

http://www.zeiss.com/corporate/en_d...ress-releases.html?id=ZEISS-Conquest-Gavia-85


Tom

Thanks for the response. I'm sure we will find out more in due course.

We can deduce something about the optical design from the the specification of a "roof prism", which I assume means a Schmidt. That eliminates a moving prism focuser. If we assume the usual doublet focusing lens plus fixed triplet that would be the same design as the Diascope and most other high end scopes. If that guess is true I can't see why a good specimen wouldn't be just as good as a good specimen of the Diascope in spite of the lower price.
 
... If that guess is true I can't see why a good specimen wouldn't be just as good as a good specimen of the Diascope in spite of the lower price.

I think that there should be a small difference in performance to justify the lower cost of the Zeiss Conquest Gavia 85. Perhaps there is none with another eyepiece.

Tom
 
Kunibert,
Did it say "Made in Germany" on the scope, or was something else written on the scope? I ask it, since I saw a Japan made telescope that looks very much te same.
Gijs van Ginkel
 
I noticed that too, Gijs. I asked about the focuser direction just to see if it matched the almost unique reversed direction of some recent Kamakura scopes. There wouldn't be anything wrong with this being a Japanese scope. Of course, it could be largely Japanese made with just enough value added in Wetzlar for a "Made in Germany" label to be legal.

Henry
 
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Spec differs a bit from the Kamakura EDV 81 (see photo) the EDV has a 80mm front lens,
but is heavier. The the flattened prism housing looks similar to the Gavia.

Haven't tried the latest gen of these Kamakura scopes,
though they are sold here in Sweden, price is a bit cheaper than the Gavia.

There are cheaper scopes made in Europe, like the Meopta S2 and ATS65,
so I wouldn't bet on that it's completely Japan made...
and perhaps the eye piece can be manufactured in Germany but not the scope..
or vice versa or just some components etc.
Intersting to see if Zeiss will claim made in Germany.
 

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I didn't see a "Made in Germany" label on the Zeiss Scope. The eyepieces of the Viking 80 mm ED Pro Scope and the Kamakura EDV 81 magnify 25-55x. The Zeiss goes from 30-60x. The scopes look very similar. A side by side comparison would be nice.

I couldn't find a website of Kamakura. Is there any?


Tom
 
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I couldn't find a website of Kamakura. Is there any?


Tom

Kamakura is mainly an OEM manufacturer whose products are sold under other names, so it doesn't have much of an online presence.

I think it's pretty well established that Kamakura has a large role in manufacturing the Conquest binoculars, so it's not too far fetched to suspect a link to the scope. IMO Kamakura is just as likely to produce a good scope as Zeiss.

Henry
 
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