Pentax PF 65 ED vs Minox MD 62 ED, or other??.. Mid range spotting scope..

Long story short, I,ve got a pair of 10x42 Leupold Mojaves, really like them, pro guide model, my eyes like the glass, think I found the wall as far as their limitations go last weekend. Could make out some bright white spots on a ridge across the way, thought they might be mountain goats, had to get up a ways higher and closer, to be able to start making out some details and get a positive ID. Quite a ways off, think it lit a fire under my butt for some bigger optics. Not ready, able or willing to spend big bucks on alpha glass at this time, pretty sure that would have me banished to the couch. Looking for the next logical step in optics. price wise, the Minox 50 is appealing, and light. Got a funny feeling I would run into it,s limitations sooner rather than later.I live in South East Alaska, crappy weather, and you,re either going up the mountain or down most times, think the 80 mm scopes would be too much of a good thing. Doing a little research online, at this point the two likeliest suspects are the Minox MD 62 or the Pentax PF 65. I think the Pentax has the edge price wise, but the Minox seems to have, at least with the zoom eye piece, the edge for eye relief..
And with the Missus wearing glasses, and me wearing contacts, eye relief is important to me. Budget wise, think I can get away with something up to or around 1200, not including tripod. Tryna buy once, cry once, at least for a few years. In theory, I like the idea of a straight scope, but anytime I,ve looked through them, I,ve always liked the angled better.
And one more piece to complicate things, like the idea of being able to do some digiscoping with it. Olympus TG 4, seems like the Tines Up adapter ring would be the easiest route, so that,s also a consideration.

Pretty long winded Christmas wish list, thought I,d see what thoughts, opinions or recomendations you all might have?? The Leupold Gold Ring is appealing, but straight eye piece and lower power..
Looking for
1. Good optics
2.Good eye relief
3.Light and packable enough to throw in a pack and carry up and down the hills.
4.Budget some where around the neighbourhood of 1200 bucks. Don,t mind spending less.

Thanks in advance!

Vortex razor hd 16-48?

Just picked up a Kowa 664 with a new 20-60 zoom and could not be happier, shouldn't need to upgrade, ever. You can still find the note discontinued gray models for a deal if you look hard.
Nick

I have about 6 months of use on a Kowa 663M and I think it performs pretty well and am happy with it. I have the Te-9z eyepiece on it although I hear great things about using a fixed power eyepiece. btw there is a te-9z eyepiece in the classifieds right now for a pretty good deal.

I'm a huge fan of my new 664. I've only had it on one scouting trip and a few range days, but so far I'm very satisfied. I originally ordered both the WA 30x and the 20-60x zoom, but after a day with the WA, I cancelled the order for the Zoom, I may order it in the future, but for now it's everything I wanted and more.

How is the eye relief on the Kowa?

Muttly said:

Doing a little research online, at this point the two likeliest suspects are the Minox MD 62 or the Pentax PF 65. I think the Pentax has the edge price wise, but the Minox seems to have, at least with the zoom eye piece, the edge for eye relief..

Click to expand...

I owned a Minox 62 ED with the LER 21-42x zoom. Frankly, it stunk. Eye relief was great, and optics were ok, but build quality was not good. Basic construction is a multi-piece plastic body with no armor. Eyepeice leaked on a flyout hunt, and the body actually unscrewed in the middle another time. Finally got rid of it after the threaded ocular cover jammed on so tight, I had to send it back to the factory the third time.

Yikes! That exact setup was the Minox candidate. Not confidence inspiring..

The Kowa 663 is sounding better and better.. Anybody using the Pentax?.

I use the Pentax. Snyd does as well.

I'm not a gear or optics guy and would rather spend my money on going hunting (charter flights, time off work, etc) than on fancy gear. I bought it because it was a mid-range price ($700 or so?), decent weight for backpacking and got great reviews from birders and hunters alike. I don't have a depth of experience with other brands to give feedback on quality.

If you want pics, or actual weights or other info on the actual spotter, PM me and I can help. I could also tell you what I have and haven't been able to see through it at varying distances. It has been on 3 extended mountain hunts now.

edit: I think I remember Stid used to use one too.

Leupold Goldring 12-40x60 HD is a decent scope with great eye relief. I sold mine and got a 20-60x65 angled Swaro HD for sheep hunting, but did like the Leupold fine. It certainly never fell apart, was very good optically, and backed by a great warranty that was never needed by me or to-date by my buddy who bought it from me 4 years ago.

Appreciate the feedback!! Eliminated the Minox, still considering the Pentax, at this point the Kowa 663 is the front runner! Lot of reasons for me to like the Leopold, but at this point, want to stick with an angled eyepiece.
And the fact that the Missus likes the look of the Kowa doesn't hurt!
My first thought is to go with a zoom eyepiece, but wonder about the merits of a fixed, wide angle instead, to start??
And tripod, I,m guessing light, stable, AND cheap is pretty unlikely.. Any suggestions for stable, reasonable weight??

I like a zoom better than a fixed power spotter. It allows you to select maximum magnification for the conditions such as heat waves, poor light, wind shaking the tripod, etc. Also backing out to the lowest power allows you to locate things fast that you found in your binos.

I've got a Swaro 20-60X eyepiece for sheep hunting and use the entire range, often in the same glassing session. I also have a Nikon ED50 with a fixed 27X and a 13-30X eye piece. The zoom gets all the work. I should sell the fixed lens, which is actually a hair bit clearer but not as practical for hunting use in my opinion.

As per a tripod, I use a Slik Sprint ProII with the center extension post removed. It comes in around 2#s with the nylon case and stock ball head. Set up with the legs angled out on the second notch to increase the basal footprint width, and only extended one or two extensions (tripod has 3, but is too flimsy fully extended) used sitting it is very good. I've thought about an Outdoorsman, but really find this tripod works fine for me. I even used it laid out "flat" to the ground with the angled Swaro turned down to glass sheep over a ridge "periscope" fashion. Worked out well, even though the rams didn't measure up to legal age/length.

So in summary in the tripod, an inexpensive Slik (was <$100 4 yrs ago) with two leg extensions, (not three like mine) and a ball head can be used effectively by a sitting or laying down hunter. I have not researched them recently so no model #s to suggest. If you glass standing you need a better tripod. I have a Bogen aluminum tripod with Manfrotto pistol grip head I bought used ($75) that is great for that purpose but weighs around 8#s and it doesn't get too far from the pickup or quad.

Further research today: There were 12 California bighorn rams about 1200 yards up the mountain above my house. Lighting conditions were decent given the sunny conditions contributing to a few heat waves this morning at 10:30 AM. I set up the angled Swaro 20-60x65 HD and the straight Nikon ED 50, both on big solid tripods you stand behind. Comments on each below:

- Swaro @ 48 ounces is great as we suspected. Heat waves limited viewing to about 40X max today. Zooming above that magnification didn't help determine anything new about the rams. I really like the angled scope better than the straight scope and it sets up 4-6" lower on the tripod. The ergonomics are great when looking up hill, and you can turn it for sideways or downhill viewing to prevent neck strain.
- The Nikon ED 50 is a decent scope, especially with the 27X Wide Angle eye piece (23-1/2 ounces). In the good light at 27X power it did not give up a lot to the Swaro set at 27X. That fixed eye piece weights about 6-1/2 ounces and is 3-1/2 ounces heavier than the 13-30X zoom so doubt I'd carry both, even though they change out quickly. The zoom is good, just not as sharp as the fixed lens. Since I wear eye glasses, the minimal eye relief on the Nikon limits my field of view with either eye piece at higher power. Both are decently clear to the edge, although not quite as good as the Swaro. Turning the zoom down to 10X increases the eye relief making it a pleasure to use. I'd like to carry this scope sheep hunting but need more power to age rams that may be legal at 8 or or more rings, but are short of full curl. It definitely is a nice scope to carry and glass deer, moose, bears, elk. I am on the fence over which eye piece I'll use in the future since the fixed 27 power showed up so clear today.

- I also have a 1987 Leupold Gold Ring fixed power 20X50 that weighs 21 ounces in the case (no armor on it). I hauled it out at the end and set it up on the Manfrotto head. It is dark compared to the other two scopes but the clarity is good right to the edge. You definitely could use it to tell if any of the rams where approaching full curl. The eye relief is outstanding. It is a decent small package scope for the deer, elk or moose hunter despite being 28 years old.

As a side note, I compared our 13 year old Swaro EL 10x42s (30 ounces) with one year old Swarovision EL 10x42s (33 ounces). The new ones are sharp right to edge versus the old units only being clear in the center without refocusing. I've grown to really like the Swarovisions after using them a lot, even though they seemed to take a bit of getting used to last year. My other pair of "tree-stand and elk calling" binos are 10 year-old 21 ounce Leica Ultravid 8x32s (not HD). They also aren't clear to the edge without refocusing and give up a fair bit to the Swaro 10Xs for glassing sheep. They sure carry nice and are provide decent clarity in the middle of the viewing area however.

Note that this is all to my eyes and done in excellent light. Your eyes will tell you what you like and your wallet what you can afford.

Thanks for all the replies! Gave me a lot of food for thought, a different option came up. Decided I,m going to go with a Kowa 663, angled eyepiece. Should be in the ballpark budget wise, maybe over by a bit. Haven't quite decided on the eyepiece, probably zoom to start, expand if necessary...
Tripods, still gotta figure that one out...