Beginner to birdwatching seeks advice on first spotting scope - Helios Fieldmaster any good? (1 Viewer)

[jonnymorris]

I'm no stranger to telescopes of the astronomy kind, wildlife spotting scopes seem to share some attributes (mainly seems to be refractors) but it definitely appears to be it's own ecosystem with manufacturers offering proprietary pieces.

At present I'm looking at the Helios Fieldmaster ED 20-60x ED Triplet spotting scope (UK), trying to find negative points in reviews and forums but coming up blank - if this is such a nice budget scope why isn't there more of a buzz about it online? It seems to tick a lot of boxes for me.. I like the metal casing, the included case, the price isn't crazy like those scopes I see a lot at bird watching sites (maybe one day I'll have one like that!), and it shouldn't be much trouble for me to handle to my local bird watching site. This scope comes in at a little under 2kg so I'd also need a suitable tripod and head to go with it, I have a heavy duty tripod which works well but is rather on the heavy side so not ideal, any suggestions there (sub-£200 please) would be most welcome too.

 

[jring]

Hi Jonny,

first of all, welcome to BF!

The Helios scopes are indeed a bit under the radar... Helios seems to be just a trade mark to peddle various MiC optics - they don't even have a full line up of sports optics like other MiC resellers.

As for the scope, please note that only the 82mm version seems to have a triplet objective, the 85mm is a doublet. I found one thread on it here:

Helios Fieldmaster ED82-DS Triplet

Hello, I just saw in a web of optical material the Helios Fieldmaster ED82-DS Triplet spotting scope, does anyone know anything about them? A triplet looks good, and more at this price ..., I think it includes the zoom eyepiece. Regards, Al

www.birdforum.net

So, if you can get it from a reputable online store and are able to star-test it inside the return period, why not try it and please let us know how it turned out...

Joachim

 

[Ratal]

A) I had the 60mm version many moons ago. It was called Theron Saker. Brilliant, light and sharp. Well worth it.

B) If you are paying the 599 £ original asking price for the model you are looking at, may I suggest the Hawke Endurance ED for just £50 more. For what you get with the Hawke image wise AND reliability/ backed up by brilliant service, I wouldn't hesitate to go for the Hawke. And yes, I have one. Its exemplary. Hawke Endurance ED 25-75x85 A Spotting Scope - Green

 

[wllmspd]

The fieldmaster might take the APM made bayonet eyepiece adapter (also fits Swarovski and thus open the door to using 1.25” ep (which all astro types know give much wider nice sharp fields of view than most supplied zooms). Not many scopes can be 1.25” adapted and info is quite sparse. With some careful research you should be able have a view (almost) as nice as the green (?envy) swaro scope brigade for a good deal less.

I can see the attraction of a dedicated spotter, easier to carry than an astro refractor (my 66mm apo weights >2kg…. in spotter land I could have 100mm for the same weight).

I use a manfrotto 190 with a mvh501 fluid head, works fine upto 4kg binoculars.

Peter