Hermann
Well-known member
Everyone knows bigger is better, at least when it comes to scopes. Big scopes have higher resolution, they allow the use of higher magnifications and have bigger exit pupils at low magnification making them easier on the eye. And, last but not least, some of the big scopes work with some clever accessories, for instance the Swarovskis with their binoviewer, or an extender to push the achievable magnification even higher. Unsurprisingly most introductions of new scopes were big scopes in recent years, and it looks as though the trend will continue. (A cynic might say big scopes also allow the manufacturers to make more profits than with smaller scopes.)
I just spent an enjoyable week birding at the Northsea coast with my mother. She is well over 80 (with over 70 years birding experience), but still sharp in the field and very keen. She can’t travel on her own anymore, so we did the trip together. I took two scopes, my Nikon ED82A and a Nikon ED50A with two DS eyepieces (16/24/30x, 27/40/50x) and the large Nikon zoom, a pretty sturdy Gitzo aluminium tripod with a Manfrotto 500AH video head, and a Monostat monopod. (I also took the Canon 10x42 IS which was a resounding success. I could kick myself that I didn’t switch earlier. But I digress.) My mother took her Nikon EDII with the 30x WF eyepiece and her Monostat monopod.
What we did was basically that we searched a largish area, checking for birds from the car, and only getting out of the car a hides or if there was anything interesting or concentrations of birds, especially shorebirds. We were a couple of weeks late, most arctic shorebirds had already left, so we needed to do quite a bit of searching. From the car my mother used her EDII on her Monostat, and I usually used the ED50 with the 27x DS eyepiece, also on my Monostat. (We find using monopods from inside a car is far more flexible than unsing window mounts.) Why not the ED82A? Simple – it’s too much hassle to move a big scope around with two people in the car, both in the front seats. It’s far easier to react quickly if something happens if you don’t have to be careful not to hit the other person over the head with a big scope. And let’s face it: A small, light and short scope can be moved around faster than, say, a Swarovski BTX with the 95mm module. A few times I had to get out of the car quickly to check on a bird, putting the scope on the car roof, and even that is simpler and faster with a short, light scope rather than a big scope. So I used either the ED50 or my mother’s EDII – and not the ED82.
When we set up near concentrations of birds I of course put up the ED82A. It’s the best of the three scopes we had with us, simply because it has got the biggest objective lens. And the difference is obvious, even at 30x magnification. However, the atmospheric conditions were such that high magnifications didn’t really work, 30x was about the maximum useable magnification. And to be honest – even though the ED82 had the best image, I could have easily identified every single bird the ED50 with the 27x eyepiece. In fact, the heat haze totally evened out the performance of the different scopes on most days, there was simply no more detail to be seen with the ED82, not even with the zoom eyepiece at higher magnifications.
Now, I don’t want to say big scopes don’t make sense. They clearly do – if and when the conditions are right. On a clear day with good seeing there’s nothing better than a (good) big scope, especially if there’s a rarity in the far distance. However, big scopes are, well, big. And heavy. And long. And slow. And in many situations simply inconvenient. On days or in situations where you can’t make use of the higher magnification or the superior resolution of a big scope, small scopes may show you all there is too see. And using them is, well, often a joy compared to maneuvering one the big boys around. A joy, and not hard work.
BTW, the next time I’m up at the coast I’ll definitely take the ED82 again. Just in case. You never know. I’ll leave the ED50 at home and take a straight EDIII instead. And I expect to use the EDIII well over 90 percent of the time. Simply because small scopes make life so much easier
I just spent an enjoyable week birding at the Northsea coast with my mother. She is well over 80 (with over 70 years birding experience), but still sharp in the field and very keen. She can’t travel on her own anymore, so we did the trip together. I took two scopes, my Nikon ED82A and a Nikon ED50A with two DS eyepieces (16/24/30x, 27/40/50x) and the large Nikon zoom, a pretty sturdy Gitzo aluminium tripod with a Manfrotto 500AH video head, and a Monostat monopod. (I also took the Canon 10x42 IS which was a resounding success. I could kick myself that I didn’t switch earlier. But I digress.) My mother took her Nikon EDII with the 30x WF eyepiece and her Monostat monopod.
What we did was basically that we searched a largish area, checking for birds from the car, and only getting out of the car a hides or if there was anything interesting or concentrations of birds, especially shorebirds. We were a couple of weeks late, most arctic shorebirds had already left, so we needed to do quite a bit of searching. From the car my mother used her EDII on her Monostat, and I usually used the ED50 with the 27x DS eyepiece, also on my Monostat. (We find using monopods from inside a car is far more flexible than unsing window mounts.) Why not the ED82A? Simple – it’s too much hassle to move a big scope around with two people in the car, both in the front seats. It’s far easier to react quickly if something happens if you don’t have to be careful not to hit the other person over the head with a big scope. And let’s face it: A small, light and short scope can be moved around faster than, say, a Swarovski BTX with the 95mm module. A few times I had to get out of the car quickly to check on a bird, putting the scope on the car roof, and even that is simpler and faster with a short, light scope rather than a big scope. So I used either the ED50 or my mother’s EDII – and not the ED82.
When we set up near concentrations of birds I of course put up the ED82A. It’s the best of the three scopes we had with us, simply because it has got the biggest objective lens. And the difference is obvious, even at 30x magnification. However, the atmospheric conditions were such that high magnifications didn’t really work, 30x was about the maximum useable magnification. And to be honest – even though the ED82 had the best image, I could have easily identified every single bird the ED50 with the 27x eyepiece. In fact, the heat haze totally evened out the performance of the different scopes on most days, there was simply no more detail to be seen with the ED82, not even with the zoom eyepiece at higher magnifications.
Now, I don’t want to say big scopes don’t make sense. They clearly do – if and when the conditions are right. On a clear day with good seeing there’s nothing better than a (good) big scope, especially if there’s a rarity in the far distance. However, big scopes are, well, big. And heavy. And long. And slow. And in many situations simply inconvenient. On days or in situations where you can’t make use of the higher magnification or the superior resolution of a big scope, small scopes may show you all there is too see. And using them is, well, often a joy compared to maneuvering one the big boys around. A joy, and not hard work.
BTW, the next time I’m up at the coast I’ll definitely take the ED82 again. Just in case. You never know. I’ll leave the ED50 at home and take a straight EDIII instead. And I expect to use the EDIII well over 90 percent of the time. Simply because small scopes make life so much easier
