Best fixed eyepiece for Diascope 65? (1 Viewer)

[Mike Johnston]

If one were buying one fixed wide-angle eyepiece for the Diascope 65, which would be most useful for general birding (not digiscoping), the 23x or 30x? (And yes, I know the zoom is great!). Thanks.

Michael

 

[iporali]

Michael,

Of course this is just my opinion, but the larger exit pupil of the 23x makes a big difference in brightness and viewing comfort.

Ilkka

 

[Jaff]

I would say that for general birding the 30x might be better as the increased mag. would certainly be more useful for I.D.ing those distant birds with little loss in overall performance and that's why everyone who has more of a preference for birdwatching than digiscoping have zoom lenses. As with Ilkka this is just an opinion and not the gospel truth.

Regards Michael.
Jaff

 

[Chris Oates]

I would hate a 30x eyepiece, I've been using a 12-36x zoom (not Leica) and it spent most of it's time nearer 12 than 36 - easy to find things - pefect.
Lately I'm using a 20-60x zoom and while stunning at distance it's a PITA to locate anything quickly and that's at 20x.
I would never buy a fixed eyepiece ever - zooms are just too useful.
I would like to go back to a 12-36x but there isn't one available for my 80mm scope.

 

[JohnnyH]

I would hate a 30x eyepiece, I've been using a 12-36x zoom (not Leica) and it spent most of it's time nearer 12 than 36 - easy to find things - pefect.
Lately I'm using a 20-60x zoom and while stunning at distance it's a PITA to locate anything quickly and that's at 20x.
I would never buy a fixed eyepiece ever - zooms are just too useful.
I would like to go back to a 12-36x but there isn't one available for my 80mm scope.

Chris,

Your 12 -36 is the same as the 20 -60, the focal length of the scope determines the magnification. I agree that zooms are flexible but the view through a fixed wide angle is far better in my opinion, each to their own I guess.

John.

 

[scampo]

If one were buying one fixed wide-angle eyepiece for the Diascope 65, which would be most useful for general birding (not digiscoping), the 23x or 30x? (And yes, I know the zoom is great!). Thanks.

Michael

I have the 30xW for my Apo85 but I find that I use it far less than I imagined because the Zeiss zoom eyepiece offers a wide view itself. I'm not sure what the different fields of view are - the 30xW must be wider, but not enough to make me want to use it very often.

I think, therefore, that I'd certainly agree with Illka and go for the 23xW (which is, in fact, the 30x eyepiece on my scope). This offers a useful power for general birding and, with its extra eye relief, should be great to use.

 

[Steve Jones]

When I got a Zeiss 65 earlier this year I tried the 30x fixed, but at the time felt it would be a waste of money as the zoom was so good. I'm sure it must give a better FOV than the zoom at the same mag, but the difference was not so obvious.
I'd think that 23x would give a nice image, but would miss being able to zoom in on the birds, which are easy to find at the 15x mag. My previous Kowa scope was at its best at 20x fixed, but I often felt it was underpowered.

 

[John Russell]

I chose the 23x eyepiece over the other two, when I bought my Diascope 65 and am still very satisfied. The difference between the two fixed eyepieces is comparable to the difference between 8x and 10x bins so the gains and losses of one against the other are fairly marginal.
As an aside, I was out on a survey recently with a friend, who was using the zoom on his Diascope 85. I don't think he really considered the eyepiece alternatives, when purchasing and he was very impressed with the 23x (30x on his scope) when we swapped eyepieces. I still did not like the zoom with its tunnel vision (despite being wider than the competition) and poor edge sharpness. Its fov at 15x is hardly better than the fixed at 23x and when set to 23x is considerably worse. At magnifications above 30x the small exit pupil IMHO limits its usefulness.

John

 

[scampo]

I chose the 23x eyepiece over the other two, when I bought my Diascope 65 and am still very satisfied. The difference between the two fixed eyepieces is comparable to the difference between 8x and 10x bins so the gains and losses of one against the other are fairly marginal.
As an aside, I was out on a survey recently with a friend, who was using the zoom on his Diascope 85. I don't think he really considered the eyepiece alternatives, when purchasing and he was very impressed with the 23x (30x on his scope) when we swapped eyepieces. I still did not like the zoom with its tunnel vision (despite being wider than the competition) and poor edge sharpness. Its fov at 15x is hardly better than the fixed at 23x and when set to 23x is considerably worse. At magnifications above 30x the small exit pupil IMHO limits its usefulness.

John

I can see that if you are used to a wide angle eyepiece then any zoom would be poor in comparison in terms of field of view and eye relief at higher magnifications. I find the Zeiss zoom a good compromise on these counts but would agree with your overall comments.

 

[John Russell]

I can see that if you are used to a wide angle eyepiece then any zoom would be poor in comparison in terms of field of view and eye relief at higher magnifications. I find the Zeiss zoom a good compromise on these counts but would agree with your overall comments.

Yes, Steve, it's all down to personal preference again.
I have had some wonderful viewing experiences with the scope but ran into its limitations today, when I went to do my monthly count of water birds on the local pond. It's only about 1km in circumference and I usually do one lap to count the mallards (over 300 last month) and a second lap to count everything else. Today I was feeling lazy and pressed for time and set up the scope on the bank but the limited fov and depth of field actually made the job harder than footing it with the bins.

John

 

[scampo]

Yes, Steve, it's all down to personal preference again.
I have had some wonderful viewing experiences with the scope but ran into its limitations today, when I went to do my monthly count of water birds on the local pond. It's only about 1km in circumference and I usually do one lap to count the mallards (over 300 last month) and a second lap to count everything else. Today I was feeling lazy and pressed for time and set up the scope on the bank but the limited fov and depth of field actually made the job harder than footing it with the bins.

John

You mean using the zoom? I've never done a "count" of that kind. I have a friend who does them for our local birding club - I don't know what he uses.

 

[John Russell]

You mean using the zoom? I've never done a "count" of that kind. I have a friend who does them for our local birding club - I don't know what he uses.

No, that was using the 23x WA eyepiece.

 

[Lou H]

It might be worthwhile to point out that with Zeiss's astronomical eyepiece adapter, many high-quality wide-angle astro eyepieces can be used to good effect with the Diascopes. I've used Tele-Vue and Meade wide angle and super wide angle eyepieces with my 85. The longer fl eyepieces give beautiful lower power views with much less distortion and wider field than the Zeiss Vario at low power.

 

[KorHaan]

Are they waterproof? I use the zoom on my Zeiss 65 for seawatching and almost everything else, I know it's waterproof ( or at least showerproof, never had any problems).

Greetings, Ronald

 

[scampo]

I have no experience of them but have read that they are not waterproof.

 

[Lou H]

Are they (astro eyepieces) waterproof?... Greetings, Ronald

Definitely not waterproof. I thinks it's fairly unusual to do astronomical observing in the rain. Har! Of course, unlike zoom eyepieces, there is no mechanism, just a few lenses rentained in a barrel. As long as they don't get soaked or submerged, they fair OK.

By the way, The Zeiss Vario is not waterproof unless it is attached to the scope, where an o-ring in the end of the eyepiece seals against the inside diameter of the eyepiece receptacle. The scope body is waterproof, with or without an eyepiece attached. I don't know about the Zeiss fixed eyepieces.

 

[KorHaan]

Definitely not waterproof. I thinks it's fairly unusual to do astronomical observing in the rain. Har! Of course, unlike zoom eyepieces, there is no mechanism, just a few lenses rentained in a barrel. As long as they don't get soaked or submerged, they fair OK.

By the way, The Zeiss Vario is not waterproof unless it is attached to the scope, where an o-ring in the end of the eyepiece seals against the inside diameter of the eyepiece receptacle. The scope body is waterproof, with or without an eyepiece attached. I don't know about the Zeiss fixed eyepieces.

OOOPS! Har! indeed! You got me there...

 

[Steve Babbs]

In my experience it isn't waterproof on the scope - my let in water in heavy rain in scotland.

Definitely not waterproof. I thinks it's fairly unusual to do astronomical observing in the rain. Har! Of course, unlike zoom eyepieces, there is no mechanism, just a few lenses rentained in a barrel. As long as they don't get soaked or submerged, they fair OK.

By the way, The Zeiss Vario is not waterproof unless it is attached to the scope, where an o-ring in the end of the eyepiece seals against the inside diameter of the eyepiece receptacle. The scope body is waterproof, with or without an eyepiece attached. I don't know about the Zeiss fixed eyepieces.

 

[scampo]

Hmm - it's supposed to have a rubber "O" ring seal, I think (I haven't looked at mine though!).