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Piccolo scope upgrade (1 Viewer)

Hi all,

Happy New Year!

I have a Piccolo scope, which helps me find birds but the quality is not great - I know it was only a cheap unit, bought a few years ago now. Is it worth trying to improve what I already have by maybe adding a better eyepiece or would my money be better spent on a better scope? If the upgrade is worth doing what would you recommend I look to buy?

Many thanks.

Paul.
 
Hi Paul, welcome to the forum.

An upgrade would certainly be worthwhile, as I am unsure if the piccolo had multi coated lenses, and technology has moved on a bit since the scope was available.
If you are able to give an indication of your budget, I'm sure there are some suggestions that can be made.
All the best,
 
Hi Paul, welcome to the forum.

An upgrade would certainly be worthwhile, as I am unsure if the piccolo had multi coated lenses, and technology has moved on a bit since the scope was available.
If you are able to give an indication of your budget, I'm sure there are some suggestions that can be made.
All the best,
Hi Daniel,

Thanks for your reply.

I have just looked at my Piccolo again and it says “fully coated”, so thats good. I am limited on budget but perhaps up to £100. If a bit more was needed, I might be able to stretch!

Best wishes,

Paul
 
Hi Paul,

No problem. Upgrading the eyepiece could be worthwhile, perhaps one of the HDF eyepieces around 25x - 30x would get the best performance.

Looking at scopes within that price range can be a bit tricky, as the old Opticron scopes are well built, and as such I'd advise looking at used options to get better value for money.

If you were happy with the piccolo, here is an ED version for £99 - if yours has standard glass, it may be a bit sharper.

Should you want an angled scope, and didn't mind something a bit more compact, this little Celestron could be a good option at the same price, and it has the added bonus of being armoured and waterproof, in addition to being compatible with 0.25" eyepieces, giving you options for different magnifications/eye relief etc.

If you could stretch your budget up to £160, I'd recommend this Viking scope - probably the best buy overall, as it is basically the same as an Opticron ES80 ED. It's fair to say it would be a noticeable step up from all the above scopes, and may offer all you ever need from a scope! Here is some more information if required.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.
 
Hi Paul,

No problem. Upgrading the eyepiece could be worthwhile, perhaps one of the HDF eyepieces around 25x - 30x would get the best performance.

Looking at scopes within that price range can be a bit tricky, as the old Opticron scopes are well built, and as such I'd advise looking at used options to get better value for money.

If you were happy with the piccolo, here is an ED version for £99 - if yours has standard glass, it may be a bit sharper.

Should you want an angled scope, and didn't mind something a bit more compact, this little Celestron could be a good option at the same price, and it has the added bonus of being armoured and waterproof, in addition to being compatible with 0.25" eyepieces, giving you options for different magnifications/eye relief etc.

If you could stretch your budget up to £160, I'd recommend this Viking scope - probably the best buy overall, as it is basically the same as an Opticron ES80 ED. It's fair to say it would be a noticeable step up from all the above scopes, and may offer all you ever need from a scope! Here is some more information if required.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.
Hi Daniel,

Many thanks for all your suggestions, I have looked at these. At the moment, I can’t do anything as unemployed. However, maybe later in the year I will be able to sort out. I like the Viking scope as better spec than mine and a slightly larger body.

Best wishes,

Paul.
 
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