Spotting scopes

[Tim Singleton]

I've been in the back and forth stage for a while on a new spotting scope.
It would be used for short range 100-200 yard. I really like the kowa 88 series with 25 to 60 zoom

I read a thread somewhere and can't find it now that was talking about the eye piece being the critical or most important piece. That a guy could buy a less expensive spotting scope and put say the kowa or another of that quality eye piece on and be golden
What do you guys think?

 

[Switchbarrel]

I read a thread somewhere and can't find it now that was talking about the eye piece being the critical or most important piece. That a guy could buy a less expensive spotting scope and put say the kowa or another of that quality eye piece on and be golden
What do you guys think?

I believe it's Normmatzen you're looking for...

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/th...ting-scope-for-f-class.3900350/#post-36754028

-Rick

 

[sfldiver]

I read a thread somewhere and can't find it now that was talking about the eye piece being the critical or most important piece. That a guy could buy a less expensive spotting scope and put say the kowa or another of that quality eye piece on and be golden
What do you guys think?

I did what you're seeking. I bought a Celestron Ultima 80 spotting scope (appprox. $180) and replaced the eyepiece with a Baader German eyepiece (approx. $300). The view is a bit wider than what we need for shooting, but the quality of the image is very sharp - I've been very happy with the results.

Adrian

 

[Tim Singleton]

What type of engagement does the Celestron take? just a slip in 1.25"
Or does it slip in and twist?
That's one of my fears is a compatible eye piece

 

[sfldiver]

What type of engagement does the Celestron take? just a slip in 1.25"
Or does it slip in and twist?
That's one of my fears is a compatible eye piece

The Baader eyepiece I bought slips in and screws into place. Attached are a few pics that show the original Celestron eyepiece and the new Baader eyepiece - the wider eyepiece is the Baader:

 

[sfldiver]

Btw, from my experience, if your goal is to use the spotting scope at 100 and 200 yards only, then you may not need to upgrade the eyepiece. I upgraded mine because I was looking to increase the quality of the image at 600 yards. I've recently gotten into mid-range F/TR matches, and at that distance, image quality really helps. However, at 200 yards or less, most decent quality stock spotting scopes should get the job done for you.

 

[Tim Singleton]

Btw, from my experience, if your goal is to use the spotting scope at 100 and 200 yards only, then you may not need to upgrade the eyepiece. I upgraded mine because I was looking to increase the quality of the image at 600 yards. I've recently gotten into mid-range F/TR matches, and at that distance, image quality really helps. However, at 200 yards or less, most decent quality stock spotting scopes should get the job done for you.

What is the power range of this eye piece? Do you know the eye relief?

 

[sfldiver]

What is the power range of this eye piece? Do you know the eye relief?

The Celestron Ultima 80 has an 480mm focal length and the Baader eyepiece has an 8 to 24m focal length. Therefore, 480/8 = 60 magnification. The eye relief is low on the Baader eyepiece - the specs list it at 12 - 15mm. Personally, I usually lift my shooting glasses when I look through the eyepiece, because I find the low eye relief requires me to get in very close.

 

[sfldiver]

Tim, if you're looking for more detailed information regarding spotting scopes, my suggestion would be to spend some time on the bird watching forums (i.e., Birdforum.com). When I was researching mine, I found the bird watchers to be experts at spotting scopes and found several reviews of people who had modified their scopes with new eyepieces.

 

[Tim Singleton]

Tim, if you're looking for more detailed information regarding spotting scopes, my suggestion would be to spend some time on the bird watching forums (i.e., Birdforum.com). When I was researching mine, I found the bird watchers to be experts at spotting scopes and found several reviews of people who had modified their scopes with new eyepieces.

Thanks I'll do that. Great information

 

[Liven The Dream]

2 cents ! As a Prone Shooter out to 1000 yards. The Fixed power 25 or 27 long eye relief eye pc. is best.
Kowa is hard to beat.

 

[sfldiver]

2 cents ! As a Prone Shooter out to 1000 yards. The Fixed power 25 or 27 long eye relief eye pc. is best.
Kowa is hard to beat.

I hear you Don. I'm just getting into prone matches, and when I set my scope on the outrigger next to my rifle, having significant eye relief on the eyepiece is a real advantage when trying to quickly read the wind and the mirage. I bought my scope long before realizing I was going to shoot prone matches. I'm at the stage where I'm evaluating whether I can make my existing scope work effectively; if not, a change may be in my near future - thanks for the suggestion!

 

[bpm990d]

I've had a Kowa TSN1 77mm for about 25 years. It's a great scope with a LER eyepiece. About two years ago I got a Celestron Regal M2 80mm with a 27X LER eyepiece. The Celestron is a hell of a scope and better optically than the Kowa. Side by side the difference was very apparent. I think that is mostly due to the ED glass element in the Celestron. The Kowa is an achromat with crown & flint glass. Is the Celestron going to last 25 years? I don't know, they do have a limited lifetime warranty.

B

 

[normmatzen]

The eyepiece I put on my Celestron Ultima was not the expensive zoom lens mentioned above but a simple combination that gave me about 25-30X and a little more eye relief. I needed a $32 adapter and an $88 Baader ortho eyepiece.
The zoom eyepiece mentioned above was made by Baader specifically for the Celestron Ultima which does NOT accept normal 1 1/2" eyepieces.
Turns out, in addition to making lens sets and eyepieces, Baader also is the German distributor for Celestron! So, they made a new zoom eyepiece for the Ultima series.

Don't bother asking Celesteron for optics help, they seem to be mainly marketing folk. The guys at Baader know their stuff!

 

[Hollywood]

The eyepiece I put on my Celestron Ultima was not the expensive zoom lens mentioned above but a simple combination that gave me about 25-30X and a little more eye relief. I needed a $32 adapter and an $88 Baader ortho eyepiece.
The zoom eyepiece mentioned above was made by Baader specifically for the Celestron Ultima which does NOT accept normal 1 1/2" eyepieces.
Turns out, in addition to making lens sets and eyepieces, Baader also is the German distributor for Celestron! So, they made a new zoom eyepiece for the Ultima series.

Don't bother asking Celesteron for optics help, they seem to be mainly marketing folk. The guys at Baader know their stuff!

What adapter did you get and where did you get it? Did you use one of these eyepieces?
https://www.telescopes.com/products/baader-planetarium-hyperion-telescope-eyepieces?view=cro-test

 

[normmatzen]

Hollywood,

No, I didn't use one of these eyepieces. I used a "Classic Ortho 18mm Eyepiece" BCO-18/ 2954118. And the adapter was "LAR Expanding Ring" NX4?ETX on SC 2" thread #2958500A.4.
I don't remember who I ordered it from, I think I got it on ebay so give it a try. Also, the eyepiece box has a label saying, "Distributed by Agena AstroProducts www.agenaastro.com"

The key identifier is the 295xxxx part number.

 

[Hollywood]

Hollywood,

No, I didn't use one of these eyepieces. I used a "Classic Ortho 18mm Eyepiece" BCO-18/ 2954118. And the adapter was "LAR Expanding Ring" NX4?ETX on SC 2" thread #2958500A.4.
I don't remember who I ordered it from, I think I got it on ebay so give it a try. Also, the eyepiece box has a label saying, "Distributed by Agena AstroProducts www.agenaastro.com"

The key identifier is the 295xxxx part number.

I shot an email to Baader and they responded within 24 hrs. Same info you gave, needing M35 adaptor (Or number 2958500A) using the ortho EP. The hyperion EP won't adapt to the celestron. He gave me this sight to order parts from www.alpineastro.com. I don't see a listing for the thread adapter. I'll be sending them an email to see if they have it just listed some other way.
Also wondering if the Q Barlow lens could be used in our setup if desired. A 2.25x magnification increase over what the scope is putting out already would be cool.

 

[Hollywood]

Heard back from Baader, the Barlow can not be used with the celestron. Here is the link to all the eye pieces. http://www.alpineastro.com/Eyepieces_Accessories/Eyepieces_Accessories.htm#Zoom. They list a 6mm, 10mm, 18mm, and 32mm EP. The magnification works out to be 6mm/80x, 10mm/48x, 18mm/26x, and 32mm/15x.

The adapter ring is listed on http://agenaastro.com/baader-sct-adapter-etx-nexstar4-c90.html.

 

[Cakes]

I've been using the Celestron Regal 65F-ED for many years at 1000yd. f-class and find it a top value and also very competitive against many top of the line spotters. I am mainly a mirage reader and use it predominately during matches. At times I find it tough to pick up the subtle mirages and decided to upgrade the eyepiece. Ordered a 1.25" Baader 8mm Hyperion (HYP-8) in the hopes it will give me that extra sharpness needed for those tough days. I find that my scope stays @ 48X (8mm) most of the time so hopefully this will plug right in. I'll give a comparison report soon. Eric in DL

 

[flatlander]

I've owned a Kowa TSN-661 for probably 15yrs, using it primarily in NRA XC, MR, & LR HP matches. Always appreciated how compact & light it was compared to the larger Kowas, but at the same time, proved to myself several times that those larger Kowas were better at picking up very faint mirage. Bought a Celestron M2 Regal 80mm w/20x-60x zoom eyepiece late last year and feel it's at the very least on par with 82mm Kowas, aside from the short eye relief of the zoom eyepiece. Bought a 27x LER Celestron eyepiece when I found them on sale a couple months after getting the scope, but found that the rubber cushion is too long to give anywhere near full field of view on this scope. I need to trim about 3/4" of that rubber cushion off so that it can be used, but in the meanwhile, have been using the Celestron with the zoom eyepiece while scoring for shooters in steel practical/tactical matches, and going back to my Kowa 661 during HP matches.