Opticron HR80ED or Nikon 80ED spotting scope

[Sherlock]

I currently have a couple of monoculars 8 x32 & 10 x 42 bga plus a mighty midget ed mm2 with zoom lens 12 - 36 all opticron, plus velbon fluid head tripod and velbon ball head monpod

As I live near the shoreline/salt marsh (Skern and Northam Burrows North Devon) I think its time for a scope with a bit more range and better low light performance.

The two models I am so far thinking of are as just about in my budget are

Opticron HR80ED angled with SDLv2 24 -72 zoom lens

Nikon 82ED Fieldscope angled with 25 - 75 zoom lens

If anyone has any pros and cons or likes/dislikes please do tell

If you had to downgrade from your Swarvo which would you choose?

Perhaps another model instead?

Thanks for your help.

I hope to try both at Infocus day at Exmouth soon but still need lots of advice.

[Tringa]

If the Exmouth InFocus is as good as the one at London Colney then I think the best you can do is decide on a budget and give them a visit.

I was in the LC InFocus for ages trying out 'scopes until I found one I like. No pressure at all to make a decision, they were happy to let me try as many as I wanted.

The best way is to try. As the guy there said, "You have to find what is best, for you."

Dave

[Hobjob]

Originally Posted by Tringa

If the Exmouth InFocus is as good as the one at London Colney then I think the best you can do is decide on a budget and give them a visit.

I was in the LC InFocus for ages trying out 'scopes until I found one I like. No pressure at all to make a decision, they were happy to let me try as many as I wanted.

The best way is to try. As the guy there said, "You have to find what is best, for you."

Dave

Excellent advice.

Don't forget to try looking at things in shadows as this often shows up deficiencies better.

[diggleken]

I always think Opticron , and others, concentrate more on bins n scopes than Nikon and other big camera makers and are thus more suited to birding needs.
Just my feelings, others will be different!
Been very happy with use, quality of image even at up to 60x and robustness of my Opticron scope for over 20 yrs - at the medium end of the market, they work very well.
Cheers
Ken

[Sherlock]

I went to the Exmouth InFocus field day on Tuesday. I was surprised that there were only 2 other people who turned up from 10.30 till when I left at 15.30 (not sure about the 30 minutes when I dragged myself away to have my packed lunch). This meant I had over 4 hours sole use of 4 tripods and 5 scopes -

Conditions bright but cold, looking North over the estuary.

I cant give any technical evaluations however -

The ES80ED & HR80ED from Opticron. These were great value for money.

Latest 80 Swarovski 20/50 WOW! wide field of view & nice to hold! (oh for another £1200 to spend) P.S. London Camera Exchange Exeter had one for sale with case and 25/50 for £2399

Kowa 883 - very very clear and very very nice - however - £1250 more

Nikon ED82 25-75 zoom that we came home with.
Narrow field of view but I`m used to that after using the Midget with HDF zoom. I chose the Nikon because it seemed to suit me (us) best. And having 3 small Opticron monoculars/mighty midget I think I wanted another brand.

Thanks to Keith of InFocus for his help.

[Tringa]

Good to hear you got what you wanted, Sherlock.

Also good that my InFocus experience I had was not a one off.

Until I leave London I can't myself going anywhere else.

Dave