So, I have a Vortex Razor 85mm, which is decent. But I want a lighter and more compact spotter for the 100yd range.
Note that I have very poor vision, -12 and -10 nearsightedness. Used to be corrected to 20/20, but as of the last year I am developing slight cataracts, and my whole life I’ve had tons of floaters and astigmatism. Corrected I’m at 20/30 or 20/40.
I could buy a cheap POS and it would probably work. But I often shoot at the range in the winter under floodlights, so lighting isn’t ideal. The Razor, as mentioned, works decently and well enough, it’s just large and heavy.
I’m aware of the Maven and Athlon 60mm spotters. Their eye relief/weight is 17mm/40.4oz and 16-19mm/50oz, respectively. Since my big razor clocks in at 16.7-17mm/65.6oz they’ll probably work, but…
What about the Pentax? ED glass, 20mm eye relief with the fixed XW7 eyepiece (equals 55.5x) and with that eyepiece, about 51.45oz. Their XW ep’s are world class, I read.
I’m a bit concerned about how tight everything gets on a scope when at max zoom. At 45x, the Maven/Athlon would probably be like my Razor at 60x, where eye relief shortens and the image gets dark. I need to check, but I believe I use the Razor at 40-50x at 100yds to spot .22 holes.
But fixed eyepieces are a different animal. I am a very experienced photographer and know a fixed lens is easier to make better, and when compared to zoom lenses (esp similar physical size) the fixed lens tends to be much brighter.
Anyhow, for my purpose, I think the Pentax may be the best size/weight/magnification combo. Birders don’t really use the combo I am looking for, as they tend to either use 20-30x fixed EPs or 80mm+ objectives with higher mags.
Thoughts?
(The Kowa 553, while light/small/sharp, doesn’t have a rotating collar, is stupidly expensive, can’t swap out EPs, and sounds like it has a tight eye relief at 45x. The Opicron MM4 and Leupold GR 12-40 HD are also in the running.)
Edit: and I’ve always wanted to try that huge Pentax PF-100ED. With the XW7 = 90x mwhahahah!
Note that I have very poor vision, -12 and -10 nearsightedness. Used to be corrected to 20/20, but as of the last year I am developing slight cataracts, and my whole life I’ve had tons of floaters and astigmatism. Corrected I’m at 20/30 or 20/40.
I could buy a cheap POS and it would probably work. But I often shoot at the range in the winter under floodlights, so lighting isn’t ideal. The Razor, as mentioned, works decently and well enough, it’s just large and heavy.
I’m aware of the Maven and Athlon 60mm spotters. Their eye relief/weight is 17mm/40.4oz and 16-19mm/50oz, respectively. Since my big razor clocks in at 16.7-17mm/65.6oz they’ll probably work, but…
What about the Pentax? ED glass, 20mm eye relief with the fixed XW7 eyepiece (equals 55.5x) and with that eyepiece, about 51.45oz. Their XW ep’s are world class, I read.
I’m a bit concerned about how tight everything gets on a scope when at max zoom. At 45x, the Maven/Athlon would probably be like my Razor at 60x, where eye relief shortens and the image gets dark. I need to check, but I believe I use the Razor at 40-50x at 100yds to spot .22 holes.
But fixed eyepieces are a different animal. I am a very experienced photographer and know a fixed lens is easier to make better, and when compared to zoom lenses (esp similar physical size) the fixed lens tends to be much brighter.
Anyhow, for my purpose, I think the Pentax may be the best size/weight/magnification combo. Birders don’t really use the combo I am looking for, as they tend to either use 20-30x fixed EPs or 80mm+ objectives with higher mags.
Thoughts?
(The Kowa 553, while light/small/sharp, doesn’t have a rotating collar, is stupidly expensive, can’t swap out EPs, and sounds like it has a tight eye relief at 45x. The Opicron MM4 and Leupold GR 12-40 HD are also in the running.)
Edit: and I’ve always wanted to try that huge Pentax PF-100ED. With the XW7 = 90x mwhahahah!