>>> I too have a Kowa scope. I have both the 20-60mm zoom eye piece and the
30mm wide angle eye piece. Initially I used the zoom a great deal, but
I have found that the 30mm wide angle holds a great advantage. The
added light/brightness of the wide angle acutally improves field
identification. <<<<

Kathryn, I have been thoroughly converted to the 30x WA eyepiece on a Kowa
TSN-4. In fact, folks here are probably tired of my saying so.<G> It is only
under the most favorable conditions (extremely rare) that I find the 40x to 60x
portions of the zoom eyepiece useful. Invariably, I get a more ~useful~ image
with the 30xWA, even with birds at a long distance. The 30xWA's field of view is
50% wider than the zoom's at ~20x~! And the image is ~always~ brighter and
crisper.

I recently had a chance to use a Swarovski 80mm with zoom extensively, alongside
my Kowa. In all cases, the Kowa 30xWA provided the more useful image - useful
meaning bird ID.

Jerry Blinn


E-mail from: Jerry Blinn, 15-Jan-1997