Friends--As I recall, Leica "APO" means a Leica with a special coating to
enhance color perception. I bought a non-APO after carefully studying the Leica
APO and non-APO side by side using fixed 20xwide, fixed 32xw and the zoom. At
magnifications above 30-40x I could detect a slight chromatic distortion around
the circumference of the image with the zoom, but I had to look for it. Since I
intended to use the fixed eye-pieces primarily, I put my money into both the 20
and 32 rather than into the APO objective.

The equipment is, indeed, fantastic. Last Saturday I filled my field at 32x
with an American Golden Plover in full alternate plumage.

Yours,

Jim Barton
redwing1986 at mediaone.net
Cambridge, MA

PAGODROMA at aol.com wrote:

> I am just thoroughly delighted to announce the arrival of my brand spanking
> new Leica APO Televid spotting scope with 20-60X zoom today from Eagle Optics.
> The cost? '''...gulp...''' Oh well; why mess around?! :-) Good Lord! Look
> what I've been missing!! I set it up pronto on the first bird to hit the
> feeder, a Red-breasted Nuthatch. Whoaa -- not bad! And the perfect bird to
> debut this fine piece of optics on since it was, afterall, *the* Red-breasted
> Nuthatch back in that country hog yard pine grove so very long ago in
> northwestern Missouri that launched me into the lifelong mania of 'serious'
> birding. Up until that memorable cold November day decades ago, I had no idea
> how diverse the bird world really was. And now look what's happened to me...
> for better and yes, even sometimes for worse :-)).
>
> Next, I shifted over to the flicker on the suet feeder. Amazing! Such
> awesome detail; I never knew that a 'common' flicker *really* looked like
> that! And that one was just a female! :-) Finally, I just set up my lawn
> chair in the back yard and focused on the hummingbird feeder 15 feet away.
> Talk about close focus with this baby! Soon a female Rufous was hovering
> there happily sipping away while fully filling the field and showing all of
> the most minute detail in utterly crisp glory in brilliant sunlight. Jeepers!
> Outrageous! I can't stand it! Then out of the blue when I least expected it,
> especially since I figured that I'd probably not be seeing another one around
> here any time soon, a wee little female Calliope materialized and perched at
> the feeder for a good minute or so in such complete and thoroughly exquisite
> fine detail. Shimmering emerald green from the top of the head to the base of
> the short dark tail, plain streaky white throat, slightly buffed sides &
> flanks, short bill. This is the second Calliope here now in 3 days or maybe
> it's the same one. Anyone else seeing Calliope Hummingbirds around locally?
> BTW, all these assorted 'female' things are much more dazzling than I'd ever
> given them credit :-)))
>
> So, thanks everyone and to all who contributed to my quest and queries last
> February in regards to spotting scopes. Quite a lot of research and testing
> went into this grand final decision which I think I shall never soon regret.
> At least now, the next time I go forth over to Eastern Washington next winter,
> it will be nice to maybe stick some names to some of those little black dots
> that were otherwise just little black dots out in the middle of the Columbia
> River. Also, perhaps I can avoid any more wild goose (owl) chases like that
> fiasco last December when I went dashing out -- no, wrong word --laboriously
> trudging out across the deep snowy fields in the Okanogan to confirm what I
> was virtually certain was a distant Northern Hawk Owl, only to discover that
> it was something else (never mind what -- I'm too appalled to say). Had I had
> this handy little gizmo then, I could have just remained in the comfy confines
> of the car, in two seconds seen clearly that I *wasn't* looking at a Hawk Owl
> and not wasted all that time and energy.
>
> I don't know for sure if the extra quality of the APO version is really worth
> the 2X price over the regular version. Maybe not really as both seem to be of
> quite excellent quality, and I'm sure I could have easily learned to live with
> the non-APO and probably never even think about the difference. What I do
> need now though is a really good sturdy tripod and a decent car window mount.
> I hope all this is not interpreted necessarily as a commercial endorsement,
> but I was very pleased with the fast reliable service and the comparative
> better prices through 'Eagle Optics' overall. I wish now that I'd had all my
> wits about me after the 'Vancouver X-Files Incident' last November (scope,
> tripod, bins, camera, etc., my life; stolen) and had maybe replaced the scope
> right away. Varoom, varoom... look out world; here I come. I be a spy'n on
> you. 8-))
>
> Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
> 47.56N, 122.13W
> (Seattle/Bellevue, WA USA)