Alternative eyepiece for a Nikon Fieldscope ED III or just get something newer? (1 Viewer)

[BigBadTrevsy]

I have a Nikon Fieldscope ED III 60mm with a 20-60x zoom. I have really missed the wide view offered by my old scope, so I'm considering getting a fixed, wide eyepiece for the Nikon and would welcome your views on my options.

1. Has anyone bought one of the lower cost wide Nikon eyepieces sold on eBay from Japan and, if so, was it genuine and any good? (I'd also be interested in what the percentage tax hit was that had to be paid to customs?)

2. Has anyone had any luck with non-Nikon eyepieces on a Nikon III fieldscope? I believe the thread sizes are fairly consistent across brands, so could there be more cost effective eyepieces available? A new Nikon wide view is about £280-320 in the UK.

3. The scope is still in outstanding condition, but would I be better off selling it for around £350, and buying a much newer, mid-range, easy-travel scope? If so, what would you recommend as a more modern alternative with a vivid, wide view?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Tringa45]

I'm sure one of the Nikon afficionados (Hermann) will step in here with some advice on eyepieces, but just because your scope is somewhat older dön't assume that it is in any way inferior. The ED III enjoys an excellent reputation and one of the current mid-range scopes would almost certainly be a step backwards.
Unfortunately there is now a very limited choice of wide angle eyepieces although some of the modern zooms are acceptable.
The only compact scopes that occur to me which might offer a minor improvement are the Swarovski ATC (17-40x), Swarovski ATS (25-50x) and the Kowa 66A with either 25-60x zoom or 35x ultra-wide angle, but all >€2000.

John

 

[Hermann]

1. Has anyone bought one of the lower cost wide Nikon eyepieces sold on eBay from Japan and, if so, was it genuine and any good? (I'd also be interested in what the percentage tax hit was that had to be paid to customs?)

No, I didn't. Most of the WA eyepieces for the Nikon Fieldscopes are pretty hard to find nowadays. Maybe Alexis can chime in.

However, the DS eyepieces are still available, and they work extremely well for visual observation. Get the 16x/24x/30x DS eyepiece for general birding, and keep the zoom in case you need high magnification. You might also try to find one of the wideangles on the used market, e.g. the 24x WA or the 30x WA. Even the old versions without screw-up eyecups are very good indeed.

2. Has anyone had any luck with non-Nikon eyepieces on a Nikon III fieldscope? I believe the thread sizes are fairly consistent across brands, so could there be more cost effective eyepieces available? A new Nikon wide view is about £280-320 in the UK.

The thread sizes are NOT fairly consistent across brands. In fact, AFAIK there are no non-Nikon eyepieces that fit.

3. The scope is still in outstanding condition, but would I be better off selling it for around £350, and buying a much newer, mid-range, easy-travel scope? If so, what would you recommend as a more modern alternative with a vivid, wide view?

If your EDIII is still in good condition, you won't find anything much better on the market. The "old" Fieldscopes can still compete with basically anything on the market. Switching to a "newer" scope just isn't cost effective. Even the EDII, the predecessor of your EDIII, is still an excellent scope.

BTW, if you really want to spend some serious money on a new scope, you might want to consider the Nikon Monarch 60mm with the 24x-48x eyepiece (MEP 30-60) in addition to the scopes John mentioned.

Hermann

 

[Essex Tern]

I bought a scope from Japan for the purposes of obtaining the eyepiece it came with, the coating is visually slightly funky, but otherwise I’m glad I bought it as it completed the set of wide eyepieces for me - the wide fixed eyepieces are definitely worth the effort in sourcing.

 

[Richard D]

The DS wide eyepieces can be picked up from Japan quite easily - as well as ebay keep an eye on amazon.co.jp who will calculate tax and shipping for you. Finding the later MC eyepieces will be a challenge but with patience they do crop up. The earlier fixed eyepieces lack the latest coatings but are much easier to find and the coatings don't make a huge difference IMO - still excellent performers. To get a better performing set up you're talking serious money.

 

[BigBadTrevsy]

Thank you everyone, that's really helpful and reassuring advice.
Hermann - I really don't want to spend serious money!
Richard D - great tip on JP Amazon 🎉. I've just ordered a used 24x DS piece in good condition for £122 inc delivery etc. I hope it fits and will let you all know. 🙏

 

[BigBadTrevsy]

Hi all. Just to report that the wide eye piece from Amazon Japan arrived in five days and at £120 it's a great buy. I previously had an old Opticron scope with a wide, convex eye piece that provided many wonderful sights over the years. I've been missing it. This new Nikon eye piece more than makes up for it. Thank you all for your much-appreciated helpful advice.