KorHaan
Well-known member
Well, so far I've been happy with the zoom eyepiece, let's get that straight to begin with. I've used it in all circumstances, even seawatching, within the whole zoom range. At 45x it got dim, but I didn't mind that. It also got shaky views, and I did mind that.
I used it in all weathers, even downpours, without any trouble. Boy, did I love the good views I had with this thing.
Then I bought a new pair of specs, which was very necessary. When seawatching one day last week, I noticed a deterioration of the FOV. Even at mag 15 did I no longer have the wide view I was used to. Of course the cause was my new specs, with a much more robust frame than my old ones.
Sadly my new much more intellectual look had seriously handicapped my hobby, so I ordered a 23x WA fixed eyepiece online. Eye relief of the fixed eyepieces is better than on the zoom, I knew that much from Birdforum experts, and I reckoned it would be needed here.
It took a month before I received the eyepiece ( I was beginning to fear they had been discontinued by Zeiss, but apparently not ), but today I got it.
It's good, it's splendid, I got my old wide FOV back instantly. Edge sharpness is definitely better than on the zoom EP, the FOV reminded me of the old days with my old specs and the zoom on 16x. It got even better when I noticed that the view itself was sharper than on the zoom EP, and delightfully bright for an exit pupil of 2.82 mm.
I put the zoom back on instead and noticed the blurry edge of the 15x mag for the first time. Zooming in, the tunnelview was now very noticeable, only to get better above 40x, but at the high end the zoom is dim.
I put the 23x EP back on and enjoyed splendid bright views of leaves and branches, Starlings on rooftops, aeroplanes in the late afternoon sun. When the light faded in the early evening I could still see sharp details, though less bright of course.
The 23x EP is 11 mm shorter than the zoom EP, so I had to adjust the selfmade sighting device I had put on the scope ( see in the general Spotting Scope forum under " Make your own simple .... " by Kabsetz ), and the EP is also 100 grams lighter than the rather chunky zoom EP. Believe me, it's noticeable when carrying the scope on the tripod, it definitely feels lighter.
The pros and cons of a fixed eyepiece are a matter of personal preference. I think I can say after a short tryout that the 23x will be a permanent fixture on my scope, the quality of the view is that much better for me I don't care if there are times I might be going to miss the bigger mags of the zoom.
I will probably not be able to clinch ID's of very distant birds, but there's always the Zeiss tripler to put on my wishlist.
I'll get back on this thread if I decide what to do with the zoom EP; it won't stay in the cupboard.
Greetings, Ronald
I used it in all weathers, even downpours, without any trouble. Boy, did I love the good views I had with this thing.
Then I bought a new pair of specs, which was very necessary. When seawatching one day last week, I noticed a deterioration of the FOV. Even at mag 15 did I no longer have the wide view I was used to. Of course the cause was my new specs, with a much more robust frame than my old ones.
Sadly my new much more intellectual look had seriously handicapped my hobby, so I ordered a 23x WA fixed eyepiece online. Eye relief of the fixed eyepieces is better than on the zoom, I knew that much from Birdforum experts, and I reckoned it would be needed here.
It took a month before I received the eyepiece ( I was beginning to fear they had been discontinued by Zeiss, but apparently not ), but today I got it.
It's good, it's splendid, I got my old wide FOV back instantly. Edge sharpness is definitely better than on the zoom EP, the FOV reminded me of the old days with my old specs and the zoom on 16x. It got even better when I noticed that the view itself was sharper than on the zoom EP, and delightfully bright for an exit pupil of 2.82 mm.
I put the zoom back on instead and noticed the blurry edge of the 15x mag for the first time. Zooming in, the tunnelview was now very noticeable, only to get better above 40x, but at the high end the zoom is dim.
I put the 23x EP back on and enjoyed splendid bright views of leaves and branches, Starlings on rooftops, aeroplanes in the late afternoon sun. When the light faded in the early evening I could still see sharp details, though less bright of course.
The 23x EP is 11 mm shorter than the zoom EP, so I had to adjust the selfmade sighting device I had put on the scope ( see in the general Spotting Scope forum under " Make your own simple .... " by Kabsetz ), and the EP is also 100 grams lighter than the rather chunky zoom EP. Believe me, it's noticeable when carrying the scope on the tripod, it definitely feels lighter.
The pros and cons of a fixed eyepiece are a matter of personal preference. I think I can say after a short tryout that the 23x will be a permanent fixture on my scope, the quality of the view is that much better for me I don't care if there are times I might be going to miss the bigger mags of the zoom.
I will probably not be able to clinch ID's of very distant birds, but there's always the Zeiss tripler to put on my wishlist.
I'll get back on this thread if I decide what to do with the zoom EP; it won't stay in the cupboard.
Greetings, Ronald