Tiny spotting scope. (1 Viewer)

[Pepitogrillo]

Hello,
It seems that there are some small models that have proven quality.
I've been looking at a few too, like the Celestron Regal 65mm and the Svbony ED 65mm, both of which take 1.25" eyepieces...has anyone tried them?

Thanks.
PG.

 

[Jkloz]

Hello,
It seems that there are some small models that have proven quality.
I've been looking at a few too, like the Celestron Regal 65mm and the Svbony ED 65mm, both of which take 1.25" eyepieces...has anyone tried them?

Thanks.
PG.

I have the Regal . I have the Baader Hyperion zoom mark iv , baader 8mm and the Celestron excel 18 mm … all these eyepieces work great . The bh zoom is awesome and improves the scope tremendously . The 8 mm fixed gives a brighter and slightly sharper image that the zoom set at 8 mm And the excel 18 mm gives a wider afov at lower power than the bh zoom . I also use these eyepieces in the Hummingbird 56ed and they all work great . (Imo the excel lense feel like its custom made for the hummingbird ) If you had to buy one eyepiece buy the Baader Hyperion zoom mark iv , the image quality is excellent and is awesome for phonescoping .

 

[Pepitogrillo]

You have compared the Celestron Regal 65mm and the Celestron Hummingbird 56mm?

 

[Jkloz]

You have compared the Celestron Regal 65mm and the Celestron Hummingbird 56mm?

Yes , i have both of them and as a beginner ( 1year ) im very happy with them. The Regal is the better of the two . They both produce an excellent ca free and distortion free image . The eyepieces work in both which is nice . The Regal has the better multicoating that Celestron uses on their telescopes and one element of its objective is florite so its really bright for its size. The factory supplied zoom that comes with the Regal is very good but gets a little soft on the high end . The Regal also has a dual focus which works really well compared to the ring focus on the Hummingbird . The factory supplied zoom on the hummingbird isnt is as good as the regal real small fov at lower power and soft on the high end . I got 3 quality eyepieces . The Baader hyperion zoom mark iv - the only eyepiece you really need- This eyepiece focuses sharp throughout its entire range and produces a excellent image and it improves the quality of photographs alot . The 18 mm Celestron excel gives me around 22x in the Regal and 11x in the hummingbird with a 60 degree afov . This wide angle is great for catching birds in flight with the Regal but it is really awesome in the hummingbird , just completly immersive and a great wide view . I think the excel series is great with the hummingbird from what ive read and having one …. The 8 mm baader hyperion is a massive beast of an eyepiece that works perfect in each scope without any adjustments out of the box . Its the same 68 degree afov i get from the bh zoom But it is brighter and a little bit sharper than the bh zoom at 8 mm .. The hummingbird is a good lightweight scope and is better than the kowa 501 i had previously . But if i had to choose between the Hummingbird and the Regal , i would get the Regal by far . Any ?’s

 

[mbb]

Yes , i have both of them and as a beginner ( 1year ) im very happy with them. The Regal is the better of the two . They both produce an excellent ca free and distortion free image . The eyepieces work in both which is nice . The Regal has the better multicoating that Celestron uses on their telescopes and one element of its objective is florite so its really bright for its size. The factory supplied zoom that comes with the Regal is very good but gets a little soft on the high end . The Regal also has a dual focus which works really well compared to the ring focus on the Hummingbird . The factory supplied zoom on the hummingbird isnt is as good as the regal real small fov at lower power and soft on the high end . I got 3 quality eyepieces . The Baader hyperion zoom mark iv - the only eyepiece you really need- This eyepiece focuses sharp throughout its entire range and produces a excellent image and it improves the quality of photographs alot . The 18 mm Celestron excel gives me around 22x in the Regal and 11x in the hummingbird with a 60 degree afov . This wide angle is great for catching birds in flight with the Regal but it is really awesome in the hummingbird , just completly immersive and a great wide view . I think the excel series is great with the hummingbird from what ive read and having one …. The 8 mm baader hyperion is a massive beast of an eyepiece that works perfect in each scope without any adjustments out of the box . Its the same 68 degree afov i get from the bh zoom But it is brighter and a little bit sharper than the bh zoom at 8 mm .. The hummingbird is a good lightweight scope and is better than the kowa 501 i had previously . But if i had to choose between the Hummingbird and the Regal , i would get the Regal by far . Any ?’s

Thank you for sharing your experience!
(I have what I need now with my Opticron,but it is good to know the options,also for others looking for such compact setups.)
The possibility to use astro eyepieces seems to make these scopes interesting. I had to look it up, but I can image the 8mm looks huge on those scopes.
Could you share a picture of the Baader zoom on the 56mm Humingbird? How much do they weight together? Do you know which magnification and FOV they have together? I am wondering how they match for a compact setup.

You mention also that it is better than the Kowa 501. I assume the current tsn-501 (not the old ts-501)? The Kowa is very cheap of course,thus maybe not a fair comparison, but still: could you share more on how they compare?

 

[Pepitogrillo]

Thank you Jfloz for Your reply!!
PG.

 

[Jkloz]

Thank you for sharing your experience!
(I have what I need now with my Opticron,but it is good to know the options,also for others looking for such compact setups.)
The possibility to use astro eyepieces seems to make these scopes interesting. I had to look it up, but I can image the 8mm looks huge on those scopes.
Could you share a picture of the Baader zoom on the 56mm Humingbird? How much do they weight together? Do you know which magnification and FOV they have together? I am wondering how they match for a compact setup.

You mention also that it is better than the Kowa 501. I assume the current tsn-501 (not the old ts-501)? The Kowa is very cheap of course,thus maybe not a fair comparison, but still: could you share more on how they compare?

The weight should be 24 ounces , i dont have a scale so i did some math with the weights listed in b h photo stats and my guess should be on the heavy side . The magnification is 9x to 27x (24 mm to 8 mm) and fov 48 degrees to 68 degrees. The 68 degree afov is the same on the fixed 8 mm and the zoom 8 mm and it is huge ! The fixed 8 mm is slighty sharper and brighter than the zoom at 8 mm . The Kowa tsn 501 was my first scope and its a quality scope for the price . The afov is very narrow and the eye relief is pretty bad (12-14mm) The optics are excellent though , especially for standard glass and it produces a good image throughout its 20x - 40x range ..the fixed factory supplied zoom eyepiece is the major drawback of the kowa . With the Hummingbird zoom though , the supplied eyepiece is a drawback , to narrow fov and soft focus on the high end . The Kowa has a better focusing mechinism ( fast and slow knobs ) than the hummingbird ( tube ring) The hummingbird feels like its built tougher than the kowa . Even with the negetives on the Kowa it would be a much harder decision between the two if the Hummingbird had a fixed eyepiece . (which the less expensive versions of it has ) . The ability to switch eyepieces on the hummingbird is its greatest feature . The Baader zoom is an excellent eyepiece and transforms the Hummingbird and the Regal m2 into a different level scope . The fixed eyepices do the same and cover the areas where the zoom is weak . both produce a huge image with excellent clarity and no ca or distortion . The Baaders are excellent eyepieces but heavy . Im also really impressed by the performance of the 18 mm (12x) Celestron Excel Lx which produces an excellent wide image . They are lightweight and the same design style as the hummingbird like they are custom made for it . I have read they are good up to 7 mm in the hummingbird . I know that the 5 mm excel will work in the Hummingbird as i tried it and returned it but it is to much power and dim .