What generation of Fieldscope to buy (1 Viewer)

[nlundin]

So I have been window-shopping the large variety of scopes out there, and I think in the end I am just going to go with Nikon because of its reputation and long standing place in optics. This would be my first scope and I do have a P950 I enjoy in the right situations.

But I am not entirely sure which generation I should ultimately aim for. I do need something waterproof as it rains a good amount here, so unfortunately I don't think an EDII would work.

The new Monarch scope can be had for ~$1,100 refurbished which seems like a good deal, and also the upper end of what I want to pay. One concern with refurbished is the Nikon warranty is only 90 days whereas brand-new is a limited lifetime non-transferable warranty.

I have also seen many good things said about the ED82 with a 25x-75x MCII zoom piece. Only runs about ~$700 on eBay. I guess one question is are the O-Rings to be trusted to stay water proof for this long? Not like I want to be in an inch an hour of rain fall but I don't want to worry about a 10 minute shower ruining a scope.

Same concern with an EDIII's water proofing, these seem to be harder to find anyway and the optical pieces being a bit more on the rare side?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Richard D]

Yes the EDII lacks waterproofing. I'm not aware of issues over long-term waterproofing with the EDIII. Optically the EDIII still stands up well with current scopes (albeit with a slightly lower FoV on most eyepieces).

 

[Hermann]

I still use the original Fieldscopes (50mm, 60mm, 82mm), and I quite like them. So much so that I don't think I'll switch in the foreseeable future.

However, you've got to be aware of their limitations, and there are quite a few:

• The zoom eyepieces are narrow by today's standards, and they don't really work well with glasses.
• The WA eyepieces are very difficult to find nowadays, and the DS eyepieces are a bit big and unwieldy.
• The Fieldscopes have been out of production for quite some time, so nobody knows how long Nikon will provide service for the EDIII and the ED82 - if indeed they still do. From all I know the older Fieldscope II/EDII and the ED78 aren't supported by Nikon anymore.

If I were you, I'd probably go for the Monarch. It's an excellent scope (you'll probably know Henry's review), it's up-to-date and if something bad happens Nikon will repair it even if you have to pay for it.

Hermann

 

[Hermann]

Optically the EDIII still stands up well with current scopes (albeit with a slightly lower FoV on most eyepieces).

This is correct with regard to the zoom eyepieces. They are optically excellent but very narrow by today's standards. The WA (or WF, as Nikon called them) and the DS eyepieces have all got a wide field of view (AFOV 72 degrees).

Hermann

 

[nlundin]

I still use the original Fieldscopes (50mm, 60mm, 82mm), and I quite like them. So much so that I don't think I'll switch in the foreseeable future.

However, you've got to be aware of their limitations, and there are quite a few:

• The zoom eyepieces are narrow by today's standards, and they don't really work well with glasses.
• The WA eyepieces are very difficult to find nowadays, and the DS eyepieces are a bit big and unwieldy.
• The Fieldscopes have been out of production for quite some time, so nobody knows how long Nikon will provide service for the EDIII and the ED82 - if indeed they still do. From all I know the older Fieldscope II/EDII and the ED78 aren't supported by Nikon anymore.

If I were you, I'd probably go for the Monarch. It's an excellent scope (you'll probably know Henry's review), it's up-to-date and if something bad happens Nikon will repair it even if you have to pay for it.

Hermann

I didn't know they would repair outside of warranty, good to know! Pushes me towards the refurbished Monarch. Thank you!