Kowa TSN 823m (1 Viewer)

[geordie121]

Does anyone have this scope or know anything about it. I have seen one second hand for £600 with 32X eyepiece and Stay on case.I was going to save up and try and get a nikon 82ed but dont know if if this is to good to pass up on. Any thoughts? ThnaksB

 

[Paul Jarvis]

That sounds a pretty good deal to me my friend even the older model can be bought for £100 pounds less at some places and I think you will enjoy the view from the kowa. Saying that it is always best to test.

 

[geordie121]

Thanks for the reply, i do want to try one but im also still tempted by the nikon. I found found one of these also secondhand so they are out there. ill keep seaching.......

 

[Keith Dickinson]

I have been using the 823 for about 7 or 8 years now and have been well pleased with it's performance. Not too heavy, reasonably robust given the polycarb body, and the waterproofing is great (I was caught out once mid way between Holme and Hunstanton in an absolute downpour and the scope was totally okay, no water penetration at all...which is more than could be said for my waterproof jacket).
I use the 32x eyepiece most of the time and have the 50x for when I need a closer look.

 

[geordie121]

Would you say its just as good as the nikon 82 ED? i suppose i need to try them side by side. Is the fluorite glass on the kowa the same as the ED glass on the nikon?

Thanks

 

[Keith Dickinson]

I can't see any difference between them, having tried one at a reserve when there was a field demo of scopes. At the time I bought the Kowa the Nikon wasn't around so there wasn't a contest. I think the Nikon is cheaper than the Kowa (brand new) but a second hand Kowa will be about the same price. One thing is the weight difference between them, the Nikon is by far the heavier.
If I was in the market for a new scope and had limited funds then I think I would still get the Kowa. I'm currently saving the money to get the TSN883 from Kowa, now that is a great scope.

 

[geordie121]

Thanks for that, im in two minds now. Ill have to make an effoert to try them side by side. the lighter Kowa sounds appealing and the fact that i can probably get one second hand. thanks

 

[kabsetz]

I don't have the specs in front of me right now, but if my memory serves me at all correctly, the Kowa 823M with a zoom eyepiece is not lighter than the Nikon ED 82 A with a zoom eyepiece.

Kimmo

 

[dipped]

Your memory does serve you right Kimmo. A fairly quick trawl on the net shows the Kowa at 1565g + 244g for zoom eyepiece 1809g total and the Nikon at 1575g + 150g for zoom total 1725g.

Neville

 

[Jaff]

If we're on the subject of zooms then one might give the 823 more consideration as it has a better zoom than the Nikon (despite Nikon's going up to 75x).

 

[geordie121]

I was thinking that as ive heard the nikon has a narrow FOV on the zoom, but ive also heard that nikon may be bringing out a new zoom??

 

[Jaff]

Where did you hear that then?
The current Nikon zoom does indeed have quite a narrow FOV and it's zooming mechanism is different than other zooms, a lot more fiddly. Like you say if Nikon manage to bring out a nice chunky zoom that can also be used for digiscoping then I imagine the ED82's will enjoy a sudden boost in sales!

 

[iporali]

I was thinking that as ive heard the nikon has a narrow FOV on the zoom, but ive also heard that nikon may be bringing out a new zoom??

Neither the 823M or the ED82 zooms are very wide-angled at low end. The Kowa has a wider true field-of-view due to having less power. It also has slightly longer eye-relief, which IMO is even more important. BUT what actually makes the Kowa more versatile for *digiscoping* are the fixed eyepieces: the 21x wide and the 27xLER. Optically and mechanically the Nikon might have a slight edge, but both are so good that the you can safely choose whichever you like better... and for whatever reasons.

From the point of view of digiscoping, the Kowa offers a good zoom and excellent 21x, 27x and 32x eyepieces. The Nikon has a usable zoom and outstanding 30xDS and 38xMC eyepieces (and 50x and 75xDS). If the zoom is what you will need, IMO the Kowa suits better for digiscoping. If you need higher powers, the Nikon is probably better - but for digiscoping the powers above 50x are actually quite useless. A wider Nikon zoom would indeed be very welcome for many, but I don't think any BF member can tell when such a wonder will materialize.

HTH,

Ilkka

 

[henry link]

Ikka,

A new Nikon zoom eyepiece with a wider field is said to be coming in the first half of 2008 according to what I've heard second hand from a source at NikonUSA. It is supposed to be available in Europe before the US. I couldn't get any details.

Henry

 

[geordie121]

hmmm all very interesting.