Te-10 vs te-11 eyepiece (1 Viewer)

[Aaron Elphick]

Hi all,
I am currently in a situation of buying a kowa 773 scope, I have seen two options. One scope is used and includes a te-10 20-60x eyepiece looks to be in good condition, or to just buy a new 773 which would cost me about £450 more which includes the te-11 25-60x wide angle eyepiece.
I’ve heard people really like the te-11 would I regret buying a kowa with the te-10 eyepiece instead?

 

[Tringa45]

Hi Aaron,

First of all, welcome to birdforum.
I have no experience of the TE-10 but believe the apparent field of view is rather narrow at the lower magnifications. I do however have an 883 with the TE-11WZ, which is a truly excellent eyepiece. Its eye relief is adequate for glasses wearers and it is virtually free of field curvature, astigmatism and rectilinear distortion, i.e. it has almost perfect edge sharpness.
I have measured the AFoV as 57° @ 25x, 66° @ 40x and 68° @ 60x.
The 883 is not that much heavier or more expensive than the 773 and you would never wish for more.

John

 

[Aaron Elphick]

Hi Aaron,

First of all, welcome to birdforum.
I have no experience of the TE-10 but believe the apparent field of view is rather narrow at the lower magnifications. I do however have an 883 with the TE-11WZ, which is a truly excellent eyepiece. Its eye relief is adequate for glasses wearers and it is virtually free of field curvature, astigmatism and rectilinear distortion, i.e. it has almost perfect edge sharpness.
I have measured the AFoV as 57° @ 25x, 66° @ 40x and 68° @ 60x.
The 883 is not that much heavier or more expensive than the 773 and you would never wish for more.

John

Thanks for the reply John! I’m going to have a hard think about getting the 883 I had heard it is a significant improvement over the 773.
Could I ask out of curiosity what tripod and tripod head you use for your set up, looking into all the different heads and tripod is all a bit confusing!
Aaron.

 

[Tringa45]

Aaron,
Here a few links:-

A Tripod Primer

Requests for advice on tripod purchase are often posted on birdforum and frequently I am surprised that birders are prepared to spend large sums on a scope but try to scrimp on a tripod and head. A scope not only magnifies the subject but it also magnifies angular disturbances. With an...

www.birdforum.net

Novoflex TrioPod Modular Tripod System

Some months ago I purchased a Novoflex TrioPod as a lighter alternative to my Sirui M-3204. I was also attracted by Novoflex' standard of manufacturing, which in my opinion is unequalled in this sector. Heart of the tripod is the TrioPod base, actually the apex, which has three leg stubs...

www.birdforum.net

Berlebach Report Wooden Tripod

I think most of us would be well served by a decent 8x42 and if our interests (waders, ducks etc.) demanded it, by the addition of a medium-sized scope and tripod. However, nearly all of us are afflicted with NAJS (new acquisition justification syndrome), typically: "I need a new binocular for...

www.birdforum.net

John

 

[paperweight]

For a while, I used both the TE-10 and and the TE-11 W on my 883. For observation, I preferred the TE-11 due to its wider field of view. For digiscoping, the TE-10 was imho the better tool because the TE-11 W tends to show a certain lack of sharpness in the corners.
I sold my 883 together with the TE-10 to buy the 99A and the TE-80 and kept the TE-11.

 

[Tringa45]

For digiscoping, the TE-10 was imho the better tool because the TE-11 W tends to show a certain lack of sharpness in the corners.

This was a surprise to me so I just set up my 883 with TE-11WZ indoors viewing small print at a distance of 6 m.
There was indeed a small loss of edge contrast at all magnifications but viewing a cross-hatched (black on white) pattern I was still unable to detect any field curvature or astigmatism. Finally, an "Amsler-Gitter-Test" (white on black) revealed the astigmatism.
There was no visible astigmatism through my Swarovski ATM65 HD with 30x W eyepiece, but the latter has a reputation for being one of the best fixed focal length eyepieces ever designed for a birding scope.
The TE-11WZ is still excellent for a zoom eyepiece.

John