Looking for the best value midrange (Opticron)? (1 Viewer)

[ExploradorIntrepido]

Good afternoon, first of all I am sorry if there are language errors because I am using a translator.

I have been searching the market for weeks to purchase a terrestrial telescope for viewing birds and fauna in general.

I ended up buying a Svbony 406P 80 ED that has such good reviews in this and other forums. Which I used for a month and I really liked it, but I came to the conclusion that if I could get that quality for €400, I would like to go for something better that I could enjoy for years, so I returned the Svbony to the store. (I would especially like to improve the FOV and image quality/brightness above 40x)

Unfortunately I can't afford to buy an alpha scope and I have been looking for the highest performance with a budget of about €1000.

After many hours of comparisons, the best value in my budget seems to be the Opticron MM4 77 ED + SDLv3 18x-54x (about €1300 in my country), but...
The FOV does not seem like it will be better than that of the Sbvony.

1. Will I get better image quality on the MM4 77 than on the Svbony 406P 80mm? Is the improvement evident in a product 3 times more expensive?

2. Is the MM4 77 more usable above X40 magnification?

3. How does the Opticron MM4 77 ED compare to alpha scopes (Swaro, Kowa) including Vortex Razor or Nikon Monarch?

4. Finally, do you consider a better scope in this price range? Vortex Viper 20-60X85, Kowa TSN-82sv, Kite Optics SP 82 ED...

Thank you all, you are a great community

 

[Nethero]

I can only speak to the MM4 50 and 60, but both were excellent. I wrote a write up comparing them to a Nikon ED 50, Kowa 554, and a Nikon ED III 60mm scope.

With all things considered, my experience with Vortex scopes (razor is much improved over the viper and the razor gen 1 is better than razor gen 2 in my opinion), experience with swaro ATS and ATX, and experience with the Nikon Monarch scope, the MM4’s hold their own.

I believe they outclass everything vortex. They will not outperform the swaros but won’t be substantially different either. Their closest competitor might the Nikon Monarch and it would be best if you could compare them to each other.

With having said that, you might find a great deal on a closeout Kowa 77 series that would perform similarly to the swaros… Otherwise looking for used opens the door up. You might find a Meopta S2, swaro, Zeiss victory all within that price range.

 

[GrampaTom]

You may find these of interest

Advice for first spotting scope (+ tripod)

Hi all, I would like to buy my first spotting scope and am looking for some advice. Found the advice in this post very useful: Moved to a seaside area: Need to get a spotting scope We like to hike now and then and usually take one pair of cheap binos with us. Been to birding places...

www.birdforum.net

Check out #17, 18 and 19.

One year in, I very much like my Opticron MM4 77 with that same eyepiece. I claim no special expertise in scopes having sort of grudgingly bought that one. It has served way beyond what i thought it might, before owning. I do begrudge the blasted tripod/scope combo carrying-wise. But such is life. To get the views/information I want, beyond binos in open terrain
its been worth every penny of money spent and effort expended. If you read especially 17 and 19 you can see more of my process, what I hoped to accomplish. As a recovering gearhead my knee jerk is to go straight to the best, whatever that is. Because I was a reluctant, skeptical buyer I was very open to the possibilities of the MM4 77, vs 50, Nikon ED 80, Kowa 77. I found a great shop, described in those posts, who set these up outside the shop and let me compare. Id love to repeat that experience today as I might know a bit more of what to look for, but that day through those, the Opticron optically was the equal orf each to my eyes as a dedicated birder. Im not looking back, tho the new Kowa 66 needs a look-see. Ha!

 

[Gzoladz74]

Good afternoon, first of all I am sorry if there are language errors because I am using a translator.

I have been searching the market for weeks to purchase a terrestrial telescope for viewing birds and fauna in general.

I ended up buying a Svbony 406P 80 ED that has such good reviews in this and other forums. Which I used for a month and I really liked it, but I came to the conclusion that if I could get that quality for €400, I would like to go for something better that I could enjoy for years, so I returned the Svbony to the store. (I would especially like to improve the FOV and image quality/brightness above 40x)

Unfortunately I can't afford to buy an alpha scope and I have been looking for the highest performance with a budget of about €1000.

After many hours of comparisons, the best value in my budget seems to be the Opticron MM4 77 ED + SDLv3 18x-54x (about €1300 in my country), but...
The FOV does not seem like it will be better than that of the Sbvony.

1. Will I get better image quality on the MM4 77 than on the Svbony 406P 80mm? Is the improvement evident in a product 3 times more expensive?

2. Is the MM4 77 more usable above X40 magnification?

3. How does the Opticron MM4 77 ED compare to alpha scopes (Swaro, Kowa) including Vortex Razor or Nikon Monarch?

4. Finally, do you consider a better scope in this price range? Vortex Viper 20-60X85, Kowa TSN-82sv, Kite Optics SP 82 ED...

Thank you all, you are a great community

I own 2 x Opticron scopes and 2 x Opticron binocs...they are very good for what they cost...but they are not alphas. The issue is that sometimes their marketing/sales spill try to convince themselves that they are, as opposed to focusing on what they really offer: a very good optical instrument for its price range.

My 2 scopes are an MM360 (first gen) and an HRGAED80 that I bought used and it has been discontinued for several years. My 2 eyepieces are and SDLv2 and an SDLv3. The iq in both is similar (very good for the category), but the with a narrow FOV, in particular the SDLv2 is very narrow. Both are usable across the whole zoom range, but off course you get your usual compromise the more you zoom in.

I have had to have one of them serviced and I found them very good. On the flip side, I spent years trying to get "numbers" (specifications) to their marketing spill via this forum and directly and never got an answer i.e. what is the fov of this eyepiece in that scope, etc....

You can't go wrong with Opticron in that price range, but you may want to consider a second half alpha for around the same money.