OpticsBlog – Thoughts and reviews of binoculars, telescopes, scopes, sights, and much more - birdwatching, astronomy, target shooting - pretty much anything related to optics, nature, and life!

We are proud to announce that we will be working with Corry Suddarth, a master in optical repair and restoration. I've seen pictures of what he can do and it is truly amazing. If you have an optical instrument that needs a breath of new life, you can contact Cory at 1-918-650-9087 or email him at binofixer@aol.com.

Just to prove that Nebraska is more than just football, you should check out this site for Seven Hills Observatory. There's enough here to keep you busy for quite some time, especially if you enjoy nice photos. Of course, it you want to buy products and get started in astronomy, you should check our OpticsPlanet.com website. That's where I come in. On our website you'll find a couple of articles I have written with the beginner in mind. The first article is How to choose right Telescope and the second is all about using a telescope now that you've bought it. It's called Telescopes FAQ - How to Setup & Use a Telescope. Visit all these links and you'll quickly learn that astronomy is more than something you do when the sky is clear.

Okay, I've kept this a secret long enough. Most birders tend to think of a spotting scope as a tool for groups such as raptors, marsh birds, waterfowl, gulls, shorebirds and open country sparrows and their allies. What many birders don't realize, however, is that a spotting scope equipped with a low-power, wide angle eyepiece can be used much closer work on popular songbird groups such as warblers, thrushes and woodpeckers.

The key is to use an eyepiece with a seriously wide field of view. On my Kowa 663, I have used both the TSE-14WD 30x wide-angle eyepiece and the TSE-21WD 20x wide angle eyepiece with great success on woodland groups.

The 20x is my favorite for this work. With a field of view of 173' @1000 yards and an eye relief of 20mm, it's about as easy an eyepiece to use as you can find on a spotting scope. At 20x, I often get enough detail on even partially visible birds to cinch an ID. For example, at 8x, the yellow rump on a Yellow-rumped Warbler is sometimes elusive, but not at 20x. Better yet, when the whole bird is visible at 20x in a good scope like the Kowa, the view can't be beat!

I have been asked to by several customers to give my opinion on an "easy" to use telescope, so the discussion usually leads to computerized telescope versus non-computerized telescope. Which is really better for the beginner?

I wish I had an easy answer. If I feel the customer is dedicated and will stick with astronomy, I usually recommend a Dobsonian such as the 6" Celestron Starhopper as a beginner scope. It's big enough to be a serious telescope and it's a no brainer for ease of operation. The Dob is definitely one of my favorites.

If the customer just wants to get out and "see" stuff and be entertained, I usually tend to steer them to a computerized, GOTO model such as the Meade ETX 90AT or ETX-90PE with all the latest bells and whistles. That way they can let the computer do all the navigating (actually the fun part for me). It's just too hard to explain to many beginners what a thrill it is to find objects on your own the old-fashioned way with a star map under a clear night sky.

I tested two binos today over lunch and found the comparison interesting. First was the Zeiss Conquest 8x40. Optics were certainly good, but I picked up some annoying edge distortion as I panned back and forth across the landscape. I could live with that, but the focusing on this unit was terrible. It was rough and gritty and inconsistent from one end of the focusing range to the other. Worse yet, it took two fingers to even move the knob. Okay, so I'm not Superwoman, but a roof prism should be a little easier to focus.

By comparison, the Kowa 8x42 BD42 C3 focused like a dream. It was butter smooth, consistent and effortless, very much like some of their spotting scopes I have used. It was also very good optically, with less distortion at the edge and about the same resolution as the Zeiss. Bottom line is that it was one of those binoculars that was hard to put down. With a price hundreds of dollars less than the Zeiss, that makes the Kowa 8x42 BD42 C3 a great buy in my book.

I have been missing my old Leica Trinovid 8x20 compact binocular so much lately that I am planning on trying the new Leica 8x20 Ultravid. I sold the older 8x20 Trinovid this summer to pay for some medical bills and I can't believe how much I miss it. For so many years it was my constant companion and with it, I added many birds to my life list. Unlike my old Trinovid compact, the new 8x20 Ultravid BR is waterproof and has a much improved focusing knob. Optics are supposed to be better, but I will report back on that one. If it does as well as my old Trinovid, I will be happy, indeed.

I have been selling a lot of compact binoculars lately, especially the reverse prro prism types. This design is not as compact as a roof prism, but when we're talking about $120 or less, the reverse porro is a much better choice optically. Best sellers here have been the waterproof versions such as the Nikon Prostaff 8x25, the Pentax 8x25 UCF WP, and the Bushnell 8x26 Legend. For those not needing something waterpoof, the best sellers have been the Pentax UCF X II 8x25, the Nikon 8x25 Travelite and the Bushnell 8x24 Legacy. In my opinion, any of these will qualify as a best buy for the dollar in a compact binocular.

We've just added two new Meade telescopes to our website. Meade is now offering the same LNT module which earlier appeared on their LX90 and ETX-PE scopes on their less expensive DS telescopes. This means you can now get the automatic north and leveling features on a more affordable scope. You can choose between the DS2080LNT, an 80mm refractor or the DS2130LNT, a 5 inch reflector. I have no doubt the LNT module will be added to other Meade telescopes in the future.

After fighting with my old klunky HP 2.1MP digital camera this last weekend, I have vowed to replace it with one of the new breed of digital cameras on the market.

One serious contender for my attention will be the new Canon SD550. Though we don't carry it on our website yet, I can personally attest to its performance since my friend carried one on our recent outing. She purchased hers last week and we were both blown away with its great optics and 7+ MP resolution. It's also about the cutest little camera I have ever seen and that, of course, is important. Who wants an ugly camera? (I will do my best to get this one on our website.)

Leica is also unveiling a new digital point and shoot which I have seen and it is also very cute. Correction. Make that cute and expensive. But what the heck? It is a Leica. More on this one later.

In my haste to get out of town last week for my vacation in northern Wisconsin, I made a decision which haunted me for the entire trip. There on the table sat my full-size Nikon Premier SE. Should I pack it or not? I'd be hiking and climbing in some canyons and gorges along some rivers to view waterfalls. Moisture would definitely be present and the Nikon Premier SE, as good as it is optically, is not waterproof.

Since I had recently sold my little 10x25 Premier LX to pay some bills, all I had to fall back on was my little Nikon HG monocular. That's asking a lot of a monocular, but I decided not to risk my Premier, should I encounter rain or snow (which I did) or, worse yet, take a dunking (which I did not).

The monocular, however, did very well. A partial list of birds seen with the Nikon HG includes Snow Buntings, a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song Sparrows, Juncos, Sandhill Cranes, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, Kestrel, Belted Kingfisher, Cedar waxwings to name just a few. Not bad, considering my trip was more about photography and hiking than it was about birding.

Don't get me wrong; I am not advocating a monocular as a primary birding optic. If my finances could have taken the strain, I would have added the excellent Leica 8x20 Ultravid BR compact and been in heaven. Of course, I would also take a look at the Zeiss Victory and the Swarovski 8x20B, though the Swarovski is a bit short on eye relief.

Will I take a bino on my next trip? Absolutely. Will I also take my Nikon monocular? Again, absolutely. In fact, I suspect I will be buried with it.

I spent this last weekend in northern Wisconsin and Michigan photographing waterfalls along the lower reaches of the Montreal and Copper rivers where they flow into Lake Superior. The area had recently received record heavy rains and the falls were in superb shape and flowing mightily.

Several times I found myself wishing for a little better optical zoom with my old HP digital camera. In a moment of inspiration, I held my Nikon HG monocular up to the lens and was delighted to see an excellent 5x optical image. I took a a dozen pics over the course of the weekend this way with some doubts as to the result. What the heck, though. I was shooting digital, so I figured I had nothing to lose.

When I got home, I was able to actually salvage some decent pics with a lot of photo editing. I'm not ready to publish anything, but it was fun. It was the digiscoping back to its roots, but on a smaller scale. Guess I'll just have to add it to my ever growing list of things to do with the little Nikon.

I will be heading up to Wisconsin to see some of the fall colors and taking a long weekend to do it. Hope to get some nice pics, but I will still enjoy my little mini vacation even if I don't. Of course, I will also do some birding, but I suspect I may miss a lot of the action here since they are predicting some snow up in the farthest reaches of the state. Then again, with birds, you never know. See everyone on Monday.

The percentage of riflescope questions I have been getting has taken a sharp spike upwards in the last week. To me that is as sure a sign of fall as the changing color of the leaves.

Many of the questions are concerning mounts to attach a particular scope to a particular gun. This can sometimes be a challenge over the telephone or internet. It's no big deal in a store where the gun, scope and mounts are sitting on the counter in front of you, but it's a little different over the phone, especially when the customer is in a big hurry to get his gun ready for an upcoming hunt.
I have to accept on blind faith that the information regarding make and model of rifle supplied to me is correct and then we often have to "guesstimate" if the clearance will be sufficient with any given combination of rifle scope and rifle.

Selling over the phone and internet is definitely exciting, but there is still something to be said for retail.