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Subject:

Spotting Scope

From:

Frank Boyle

Reply-To:

Frank Boyle

Date:

Wed, 23 Mar 2005 02:35:24 -0500

Ron,
 
I recently purchased a scope for a friend of mine, the Nikon Fieldscope III
with ED coating.  I can honestly say that of all the scopes I've used (small
& large) this one is the best, hands-down.  The quality of Nikon glass is
superior to just about anything else out there.  It's a 65MM scope, with the
45 degree eyepiece.  Fully waterproof, it also comes with a great field
case/cover that is very functional, except for the fact that with it on you
can't traverse the eyepiece (my only complaint).  
 
Colors pop out at you through these scopes - I have looked at birds through
Kowas, Swarovskis and Leicas and there is just no comparison!  At over half
the price, to boot.  
 
I also have an old Celestron C90 that I love despite the snickering of my
birding friends.  It has lots of drawbacks - not a bit waterproof, clunky
tripod head attachment, and the brightness of the image is surprisingly dark
for such a large (90MM) scope.  But, it has adapters for my film cameras,
and it's just odd enough (like me) that I can't seem to part with it.  The
new C90 has lots of improvements like rubber armoring, some degree of
waterproof-ness, and a wider variety of eyepieces are now available.  These
scopes use mirrors to magnify, and they're not for everybody.  C90s are very
reasonably priced in the $300-400 dollar range.  One bonus - I stargaze with
mine all the time!!
 
The Nikon Fieldscopes are very reasonably priced, and there are packages,
with Bogen tripod(s) available at places like B&H Photo in NYC that you can
order for about $600-800 depending on sales, etc.  We got ours at Eagle
Optics and paid more for the ED glass and a very nice Bogen tripod head, but
we have always loved Eagle's customer service, which we are willing to pay a
bit more for.
 
Whatever you choose, get the ED coating on the objective lens for color
correction and brightness of the image.
 
Hope this helps!!  Good birding.
 
 
***************************
Frank Boyle
Rohrersville, MD

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