Subject: Scope RFI Angled vs Straight, Zoom vs Fixed
Date: Aug 21 08:44:38 2003
From: Daniel Bastaja - dan at calivita.com


Hi Tom. This is Daniel Bastaja posting for Thursday August 21st, 2003. I
think the angled eyepiece may be a somewhat more comfortable viewing
position, but something to think about in the rainy Pacific Northwest is
that the straight eyepiece tends to get less raindrops on it if you are
out scoping in the rain.

I have always been somewhat rough on my equipment and, because of that,
I have generally been a proponent of the "less moving parts the better"
school of thought (because it means less things can go wrong). I will
admit though, that the quality of the high end zoom eyepieces (ie:
Leica, Swarovski, etc.) is such that reliability isn't a concern. But
you hit the nail on the head with regards to field of view. I have a
Swarovski 80 mm HD (High Definition) scope with both a zoom eyepiece
and a fixed 30X wide angle fixed eyepiece. I can set the zoom eyepiece
at 30X but there is a huge difference between that and the 30X wide
angle fixed eyepiece. At the same power, the wide angle eyepiece is so
much brighter and sharper. I can see much more detail and contrast on
distant birds than I can with the zoom. There is just no comparison.
Using the Swarovski 30X wide angle eyepiece I get a bit spoiled. The
quality of the image and field of view is so good that I hate to use the
zoom and only do so when it is urgent.

There are times when a higher power and zoom are very useful and for
that reason, the zoom eyepiece is always in the lockbox of the Jeep when
I am out birding. I can switch eyepieces in seconds, but I have found
the occasions where it was necessary to be very rare. For me the wide
angle fixed eyepiece is more than adequate probably 95% of the time.
Mind you, this is only my experience.

I would recommend buying both eyepieces. I mean why not? It's true that
it will add perhaps 15 to 20% on to the cost of the scope but the way I
look at it is that if you are going to spend that kind of money for a
top-end scope, why not go for the gusto? If you have both eyepieces, you
will be ready for anything, and can use whichever eyepiece you feel like
on that particular day. Believe me, the enjoyment and satisfaction you
will get from having that option for years and years of birding, will
dwarf the $300 or whatever extra you have to pay now for the extra
eyepiece. Do you think you will even remember that $300 five or seven
years from now?

Anyway, this is just my opinion. Go big!

Regards,
Daniel Bastaja
Budapest, Hungary
dan at calivita.com


-----Original Message-----
From: TWEETERS-owner at u.washington.edu
[mailto:TWEETERS-owner at u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Tom Rohrer
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2003 4:32 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Scope RFI Angled vs Straight, Zoom vs Fixed

Hi Tweeters - I'm considering the purchase of a
high-quality spotting scope for birding, but I'm but
having trouble deciding between an angled (45 degree)
and straight scope, and between a 20-60x zoom and a
fixed 30x or 45x eyepiece. I've been able to "try
out" various setups, but would like to hear opinions
from those who have more experience.

On the zoom vs fixed question, I'm confident that I
can get good optical quality in a zoom, but I'm
concerned that a zoom sacrifices field of view for a
given magnification. (Or I guess for a given field of
view, I could get more magnification with a fixed
eyepiece?)

Any insights would be appreciated, on or off list.
Thanks.

Tom Rohrer
Renton
texasbirdboy at yahoo.com


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