Follow up Review KOWA TSN-82SV

[mysticplayer]

The snow has melted and the sun is out. This is a follow up to the review from another post asking about spotters for F class.

I have now spent a few days shooting with the KOWA TSN82SV w/ LER25X at 600m and "1000yds".

For me, the main goal of my optics is to see the air NOT the bullet holes. F class targets are scored and there is that big orange disk showing the result.

The spotter is to help me increase my field of view and show me as much detail as possible about the mirage and/or flags. Show me that detail as quickly as possible and for as long as possible.

So how do I feel about the 82SV? Very happy..... When there is no mirage as in winter dry cold air, the optical clarity with this eyepiece is stunning and I was able to see incredible details further then I have been successful at before.

BUT, this glass does pick up mirage very quickly and that degrades clarity of distant objects.

The field of view is really nice and wide and there is real sense of depth in the image. Colour is neutral and contrast is comfy. Subtle details of the mirage are more prominent then in my Sightron 10-50 scope. It is simply easier to see mirage and to get a better feel for its changes.

As an aid to seeing the air, it is working very well. BUT because it sees mirage well, it will fuzz out objects quickly so this is not your spotter if you want to glass and resolve objects at distance in a mirage day.

If hunting, you will see very far... if there is little mirage.

Eyepiece works well. Eye position it not too critical. Eye relief is very comfy and I wear glasses.

Ergonomics and adjustment are very convenient and easy to use in position.

My other experience was with the KOWA-663. I do not have them to compare side by side. From memory, the image quality of the 663 is better. you can see the mirage AND the target clearer. The objects don't fuzz out as much. It is also smaller and more compact.

Costs more but you will get more.

For a sub $1k (some sale prices are really good on this unit) spotter WITH superb eyepiece, the TSN82SV gets my nod. If you can spend more, KOWA 663 (around $1260). If you have way too much money, Leica Trinovid.

I will try and compare to the Pentax 80ED's at upcoming matches. Very similar in size to the 82SV and similar costs to the 663. I know the Pentax offers very nice image quality and their eye pieces have long eye relief.

Season is ramping up. Hope this helps you with choosing a suitable spotter.

Jerry

 

[watercam]

As an owner of a Pentax 80ED I can assure you their eye-pieces do NOT have long eye-relief. Average but not long. I was able to use a Kowa 25X LER eye-piece on my Pentax spotter and have the best of both worlds. While the Pentax utilizes a 1.25" telescope mount and the Kowa is a bayonet, I found that it will fit inside the Pentax mount and can be locked in with the locking collar. I adapted a basic telescope adapter to accept the Kowa mount using a Dremel and some filing to cut out tabs where the bayonet lugs can be inserted. But one does not really need it.
Also, the new-ish Celestron Regal/25X LER scope (as offered by Creedmoor Sports) is an excellent alternative to the Kowa. I looked at two at a long range regional recently and the optics were for all intents and purposes equal to
the Kowa for under $700 complete.

 

[Rtheurer]

For me, the main goal of my optics is to see the air NOT the bullet holes. F class targets are scored and there is that big orange disk showing the result.

The spotter is to help me increase my field of view and show me as much detail as possible about the mirage and/or flags. Show me that detail as quickly as possible and for as long as possible.

BUT, this glass does pick up mirage very quickly and that degrades clarity of distant objects.

The field of view is really nice and wide and there is real sense of depth in the image. Colour is neutral and contrast is comfy. Subtle details of the mirage are more prominent then in my Sightron 10-50 scope. It is simply easier to see mirage and to get a better feel for its changes.

As an aid to seeing the air, it is working very well. BUT because it sees mirage well, it will fuzz out objects quickly so this is not your spotter if you want to glass and resolve objects at distance in a mirage day.

If hunting, you will see very far... if there is little mirage.

Eyepiece works well. Eye position it not too critical. Eye relief is very comfy and I wear glasses.

Ergonomics and adjustment are very convenient and easy to use in position.

My other experience was with the KOWA-663. I do not have them to compare side by side. From memory, the image quality of the 663 is better. you can see the mirage AND the target clearer. The objects don't fuzz out as much. It is also smaller and more compact.

Costs more but you will get more.

For a sub $1k (some sale prices are really good on this unit) spotter WITH superb eyepiece, the TSN82SV gets my nod. If you can spend more, KOWA 663 (around $1260). If you have way too much money, Leica Trinovid.

Seems your contradicting your self here. Your goal is not to see the detail of the object like bullet holes as you are shooting F class, but instead you want to see every detail of Mirage that there is which yo u say you can, more so than the Scope on your rifle.
Like you I shoot prone and need to see all the details of the mirage. I could give a rats butt about late evening light gathering or color rendition. I want to see the Mirage even if its so soupy i cant see the target. That is how i read and adust for the next successive shots. Or more important ly those cool days where there is very little mirage to see. Everyone else cant see it and you can that is a HUGE advantage as they will just be chasing the shot spotter across the target.
I looked through Nancy Thompkins 82SV while we were in Australia and it was a wonderful tool. I compared it directly to my old 821M. I could see Mirage more defined in her scope as compared to mine. Plus it was more compact so that was also an advantage to folks who travel abroad to shoot. It may be my next upgrade.

 

[mysticplayer]

It may seem like an oxymoron but some glass allows you to see BOTH. I have no idea what the engineering terms are or why it happens but it does.

So to clarify, when I said I could see very high clarity and resolution at LR, this in the winter ie very dry cold air. Mirage was zip. The image quality was stunning and I enjoyed glassing deer on hills on the other side of my town.

let's just say it is wider then 1km

When the air warms up and gets moister, the mirage gets thicker, more syrupy, the object clarity quickly slides BUT the information from the mirage goes up.

As you have noticed, you can pick up mirage even when other optics can't. For me, this is the whole point of my spotter for F class.

It would not be my choice if I were a sheep hunter looking for that ram in late Aug.

This effect is very common in scopes too. In that same cold dry air, my Sightrons are pretty darn close in clarity and resolution to my friends March. However, as mirage picks ups, the Sightrons pick up the mirage faster in the day vs the MARCH or others like Schmidt and Bender.

On a heavy mirage day, the image is pretty soupy with the Sightron. The march being more clear at the same mag.

When I was shooting without a spotter, the Sightron gave me lots of info. But I wanted more and this KOWA will fill that need very nicely me thinks.

What has sealed the deal for me, was picking up mirage BEFORE my Sightron on a patchy cloudy day with light going in and out... with it the mirage.

The wind was pretty consistent and mirage similar WHEN you could see it. As the light went and with it the mirage, there was a time of "blindness" - flags were still doing the same thing so I knew the air was moving the same. You just lost the mirage.

In this light, I saw the hints of the mirage before my scope and then got more information as it intensified. That was exciting and as you say, gives you a head start on figuring out where to aim next.

I hope that this will help me improve my scores this season...

Jerry