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Message: <blockquote data-quote="johnf3f" data-source="post: 3325687" data-attributes="member: 96841">That's the same scope as I use Roy. It's old but was top of the range in it's day and is pretty good now! I use an Opticron SDL V2 eyepiece on mine and it makes a pretty good combo at a very reasonable price.I use the Manfrotto 701 HDV head which I find very good but I think it is now discontinued. It has now been replaced by the 500 series I believe.I have tried a few of the Alpa scopes and, to me, the Kowa 883 was the pick of the bunch, however the new 85mm Searovski wasn't available then. In good light I don't find a major difference between scopes so long as they are of good quality but in adverse conditions the best modern scopes show their superiority, especially when the subject is backlit.I don't know what tripods you have but I have found my old TSN 4 to be more demanding of tripods than even the biggest camera lenses (I currently use the Canon 800 F5.6 L IS). It always pains me to see the local birders with some beautiful optics on top of cheapo tripos/heads. They often find that they can get a far better view from my old Kowa simply because it is so much more stable on top of a decent tripod - just some food for thought.Hope you enjoy your time with your friend's scope.</blockquote>