Queries about 60mm Fieldscopes (1 Viewer)

[Nick Leech]

I am thinking of getting a second hand cheapish (£300-£500) Nikon 60mm Fieldscope (straight version) to compliment my Swarovski angled scopes. I will still mainly use my Swaro scopes, but I would use the straight Nikon scope for viewing from the car window and in hides where an angled scope can be a pain. A few queries:

1. Is there much difference in image quality between the ED and non-ED versions of the 60mm Fieldscopes?
2. Is there much difference in image quality between ED60 II and ED60 III ?
3. What eyepiece would you recommend? MC vs DS versions?

• something like x24 wide, x30 wide or x40 ?
• are the zoom eyepieces any good - I heard the 20x-60x one is better than the 15x-45x one, is that correct?

This Fieldscope III 60mm at Cley Spy looks OK for £299.

Nikon Fieldscope III - FO211221 | Buy Online at CleySpy

The quality Nikon Fieldscope III - FO211221 is available from CleySpy with a wide range of accessories (other filter)- buy online at fantastic prices

www.cleyspy.co.uk

But it appears to be the non-ED version. Any good? The eyepiece is described a x24 wide - not sure which version of eyepiece this is - any good?

Any other advice?

Many thanks,
Nick

 

[PYRTLE]

It is a non ED body ( no red ring ) but appears to have the older fold back eyecup x 24 lens. Okayish as a back up scope only imo.... reflected in the low rice.

 

[Nick Leech]

Here is an ED II version with x20 eyepiece on sale for only £245.

nikon field scope ED- 11- D=60 p with x20 eyepiece optics good | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for nikon field scope ED- 11- D=60 p with x20 eyepiece optics good at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

I wondered whether it was more important to have an ED version than a Mark III version. I read somewhere that the main advantage of the MkIII over the MkII was waterproofing and that image quality is not so different. I am not too bothered about waterproofing. I thought this EDII was quite a good buy and maybe upgrade the eyepiece later?

Would a 20x-60x zoom eyepiece fit an EDII ? Would x30 wide be another good choice?

 

[dwatsonbirder]

I used the EDii with 24x MC for a while (I was skint after 3 months of travelling and had to sell my Swarovski) and tbh, I was pretty amazed by the image quality. I used it overseas including in the jungles of Thailand, and it didn't once let me down. If you wear glasses, I'd recommend the DS over the MC eyepieces.
I notice that Cley Spy have both an EDii (£199) and an ED78 (£299) both of which would undoubtedly be optically superior to a non-ED Mkiii.

Hope this helps!

 

[jring]

Hi,

with the classic Nikon Fieldscope ED series the fun is certainly with the great fixed wide EPs. The zooms are ok (the small mag one) to good (the large mag one), but they are both quite narrow and also not much eye relief.

Both the EDII with 30x (was there a non-wide 30x option for 60mm bodies?) and the ED78 with 38x wide mentioned by Daniel seem preferable to me.

Joachim

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Both the EDII with 30x (was there a non-wide 30x option for 60mm bodies?) and the ED78 with 38x wide mentioned by Daniel seem preferable to me.

Yes good point, worth bearing in mind that the e/p will have a combination of 2 (for 60mm and 78/82mm) or 3 (50mm/60mm/78/82mm) magnifications on the basis of the focal length of the body; 16/24/30x, 20/30/38x, 27/50/70x are the most common (and useful!).

 

[Nick Leech]

THanks for the replies guys - very useful.

As regards x30 fixed eyepieces, there seems to be two types for the EDII /EDIII 60:

A newer one (MC type?) with screw-up eye cup , labelled "20/30/38x" which will be x30 on a 60mm Fieldscope, and an older one just labelled as x30 with the fold-down rubber eyecup. Then is there a x30 DS eyepiece as well?

Is there much difference in image quality beween all these x30 lenses on an EDII 60?

 

[PYRTLE]

The MC is multi coated, DS also multi coated but designed for digiscoping so no eye cup as such. I don't think the older fold down eyecup version is as wide a field of view as the others.

 

[jring]

Hi,

the latest DS series do come with an attachable rubber eyecup for visual observation. But the MC series are better for that.

As for the older 30x EP with the rubber eyecup as shown here:

30WF eyepiece

Hi, Can anyone tell me anything about a fieldscope eyepiece simply marked 30WF and nothing else? I have tried to load a photo but can’t seem to do it on my iPhone.. it is not an eyepiece I am familiar with and I suspect it is an older model. Many thanks Mark

www.birdforum.net

I think, it's still a wide EP but obviously not have the latest coatings.

Joachim

 

[Alexis Powell]

Big difference between ED and non-ED, esp. above 40x.

I would take an EDII over non-EDIII any day for better overall optical performance despite more multicoating, better waterproofing of latter. I also prefer the foot position of the EDII since it allows holding/operating the focus similar to a big telephoto for SLR.

My favorite eyepiece is 30/38x WF just because I find 30x suitable for 95% of birding. I also like the 24/30x WF (or the bulkier but optically identical MC) at 24x which is also good for most purposes. The 16/24/30x DS is also a good 24x but it is a huge eyepiece on this scope body.

I don't like the zooms for the reasons jring gave above, but they will fit and work. The EDII will fit all pre-EDG and pre-Monarch eyepieces in the Fieldscope line. It is only the original Fieldscopes that can't take most eyepieces.

Yes good point, worth bearing in mind that the e/p will have a combination of 2 (for 60mm and 78/82mm) or 3 (50mm/60mm/78/82mm) magnifications on the basis of the focal length of the body; 16/24/30x, 20/30/38x, 27/50/70x are the most common (and useful!).

The last one is actually a 27/40/50x. There is also a 40/60/75x but it is of limited use on any scope.

As regards x30 fixed eyepieces, there seems to be two types for the EDII /EDIII 60:

A newer one (MC type?) with screw-up eye cup , labelled "20/30/38x" which will be x30 on a 60mm Fieldscope, and an older one just labelled as x30 with the fold-down rubber eyecup. Then is there a x30 DS eyepiece as well?

Is there much difference in image quality beween all these x30 lenses on an EDII 60?

The 30/38x WF and 20/30/38x MC are basically the same optical design and in performance but the coatings can be a bit better on the latter. The MC is more bulky. There is an even older version of the 30x WF as jring linked to above--see Hermann's comments on that thread. All of these eyepieces have the same FOV. However, there is another, physically much shorter 30x eyepiece that also has a folding eyecup like the WF but is not wide field and has shorter eye relief.

--AP

 

[rdfish1]

I will admit, I am far from an expert on the subject and have learned what I know from experts on this site but as someone who owns both the MC 24/30 and the 24/30 WF fold down ep, I have compared these two side by side and I can not see the difference in fov or brightness between the two ep. Perhaps a more discriminating eye can see a difference but I tried, and I don’t see it.

 

[Hermann]

Big difference between ED and non-ED, esp. above 40x.

I would take an EDII over non-EDIII any day for better overall optical performance despite more multicoating, better waterproofing of latter. I also prefer the foot position of the EDII since it allows holding/operating the focus similar to a big telephoto for SLR.

Absolutely. The difference is quite obvious, even at lowish magnifications. Above 40x I'd consider the non-ED as almost unuseable. Too much chromatic abberation, loss of contrast and so on.

My favorite eyepiece is 30/38x WF just because I find 30x suitable for 95% of birding. I also like the 24/30x WF (or the bulkier but optically identical MC) at 24x which is also good for most purposes. The 16/24/30x DS is also a good 24x but it is a huge eyepiece on this scope body.

Agreed. There is some difference between the 24/30x WF and the MC because of the more modern coatings on the MC, but it is slight. The DS eyepieces are optically excellent but they're definitely on the large (and heavy) side for the ED50 and the 60mm scopes. I mainly use them on the ED82.

I don't like the zooms for the reasons jring gave above, but they will fit and work. The EDII will fit all pre-EDG and pre-Monarch eyepieces in the Fieldscope line. It is only the original Fieldscopes that can't take most eyepieces.

That's where we differ. I find the zoom eyepieces very usefl because I often user higher magnifications. BTW, most of the "small zooms" (20-45x on the 60mm scopes) around are the older version. The newer MC version is quite clearly more contrasty. That's about the only Nikon eyepiece where there is such an obvious difference between the older and the multicoated versions.

The last one is actually a 27/40/50x. There is also a 40/60/75x but it is of limited use on any scope.

The 27/40/50x can be quite useful on the ED78 and the ED82 when scanning flocks of shorebirds at large distances. The 40/60/75x is ... well, pretty useless. If I need 75x on the ED82 I always use the large zoom.

The 30/38x WF and 20/30/38x MC are basically the same optical design and in performance but the coatings can be a bit better on the latter. The MC is more bulky. There is an even older version of the 30x WF as jring linked to above--see Hermann's comments on that thread. All of these eyepieces have the same FOV. However, there is another, physically much shorter 30x eyepiece that also has a folding eyecup like the WF but is not wide field and has shorter eye relief.

The last eyepiece you mentioned, the 30x non-WF, is one of the rarer eyepieces. It's OK, I think, but the WF eyepieces are quite clearly better.

Hermann

 

[Nick Leech]

OP again here. I got a second hand EDII 60mm scope (straight) with both the fixed x30WF and zoom 20x-60x MCII eyepieces. Been using it for a few months and quite liking it for use in hides with a hide clamp.

I am now wondering whether to upgrade the scope body from an EDII to an EDIII model? (using the same eyepieces). Is there any increase in Image Quality (eg contrast) in going from EDII to EDIII? Or am I only getting superior waterproofing?

I don't use my EDII in the rain much, so would only upgrade to EDIII for an uplift in IQ.

Any comments from folks who have used both?

 

[Hermann]

I am now wondering whether to upgrade the scope body from an EDII to an EDIII model? (using the same eyepieces). Is there any increase in Image Quality (eg contrast) in going from EDII to EDIII? Or am I only getting superior waterproofing?

My mothers's been using an EDII for many, many years, I've got an EDIII, an EDIIA and an EDIIIA. I think there's some difference between the EDII and the EDIII. Contrast and transmission are definitely slightly better in the EDIII. AFAIK the EDII wasn't fully multi-coated, the EDIII is.

Is the difference worth upgrading to the EDIII? I don't know. Depends on you. I personally could live with the EDII quite happily.

As an aside: The eyepiece also makes a difference. If the 30x WF is the old version, with the rubber eyecup, that is also somewhat less contrasty than the newer version with the screw-up eyecup. Coatings, coatings ... BTW, the 20-60x MCII is probably better optically than both versions of the 30x. Better contrast. But a lousy field of view.

I don't use my EDII in the rain much, so would only upgrade to EDIII for an uplift in IQ.

I wouldn't use the EDII in any kind of rain. Leaks like a sieve, especially if you focus the scope. The EDIII is a heck of a lot better than the EDII.

Hermann

 

[b-lilja]

I had an ED2 from new in 1993 to about 2010 - then moved to the ED3 82 (more recently a Kowa 884). During the ED3 82 time I also had an ED3 60. I think the ED2 and 3 60 are not that far apart - to me the benefit of the ED3 is not only waterproofing but the ability to wash it off under light tap water - a huge advantage in my book to get rid of dust/grit/occasion (horrors) sand. Both are wonderful, old school scopes - one of the great values in optics. I would recommend keeping your eyes open for an ED3 and jumping on it - they pop up fairly regularly.