I've just ordered a PF-65ED (angled) from Optics 4 Birding. I got the body only, since (though I've heard it's a great lens) the XF 6.5-19.5 zoom just doesn't seem to have adequate eye relief for eyeglass wearers such as myself. Instead, I took Jay Young's advice (in a thread below) and ordered a 15mm Superview from Owl Services for $35. I'm also getting a Celestron Ultima 2x barlow ($60).
I figure this should give me a good all-around wide-angle 26x eyepiece, with the ability to double this to 52x (7.5mm, still with decent eye relief and a wide 65degree field) when needed -- I'm hoping to get some astronomical use of this scope, and I suspect the 52x will come in handy for that.
I'm still on the fence about getting a zoom. I was thinking about getting the Apogee 7.4-22mm zoom, which was incredibly cheap ($50) and had some very positive word of mouth; unfortunately, it has just been discontinued. I may try and find a used Tele Vue 8-24mm. However, I'm an inexperienced birder and I suspect the wide-field of the fixed 15mm eyepiece may make it easier for me to 'get on the bird' than the narrower field of view offered by a zoom. On the other hand, I may be understimating just how awkward and relatively time-consuming it may be to take out the eyepiece and put in the barlow each time I want a closer look at a bird -- and the bird of course may not cooperate and wait around while eyepieces are being exchanged. If I get the zoom, I could also use it with the Barlow to get higher magnfications for astronomical viewing.
This scope will get a lot of use in open areas; I'm planning on taking it on a trip at the beginning of April to watch the Spring waterfowl migration, and will be in an area that also has lots of raptors. I realize questions regarding the utility of zooms have come up many times in these forums, but do people think I'll be ok relying primarily on a wide view fixed 26x eyepiece?
Zack
I figure this should give me a good all-around wide-angle 26x eyepiece, with the ability to double this to 52x (7.5mm, still with decent eye relief and a wide 65degree field) when needed -- I'm hoping to get some astronomical use of this scope, and I suspect the 52x will come in handy for that.
I'm still on the fence about getting a zoom. I was thinking about getting the Apogee 7.4-22mm zoom, which was incredibly cheap ($50) and had some very positive word of mouth; unfortunately, it has just been discontinued. I may try and find a used Tele Vue 8-24mm. However, I'm an inexperienced birder and I suspect the wide-field of the fixed 15mm eyepiece may make it easier for me to 'get on the bird' than the narrower field of view offered by a zoom. On the other hand, I may be understimating just how awkward and relatively time-consuming it may be to take out the eyepiece and put in the barlow each time I want a closer look at a bird -- and the bird of course may not cooperate and wait around while eyepieces are being exchanged. If I get the zoom, I could also use it with the Barlow to get higher magnfications for astronomical viewing.
This scope will get a lot of use in open areas; I'm planning on taking it on a trip at the beginning of April to watch the Spring waterfowl migration, and will be in an area that also has lots of raptors. I realize questions regarding the utility of zooms have come up many times in these forums, but do people think I'll be ok relying primarily on a wide view fixed 26x eyepiece?
Zack