Compared to what? I heard the old Diamondbacks were quite good, is this compared to them?Maybe a little late but I tried one a couple of months ago and returned them pretty quickly.
Not so bright, not so sharp, glare, and most of all terrible ca. I'd say they are not much usefull for birding.
I don't know if the Vipers are any better, they don't seem to cost a lot more
There isn't an 82mm version. The older version was 80mm, the new HD version is 85mm.I bought one last year, the 82mm version. Is that to the new one you are talking about? if so, I can give you my opinion
You may want to audition the Svbony SV406P. There are several happy owners of the 80mm version on this forum, including me. The 65mm version was just announced recently and I have not seen any reviews, but it appears to be exactly the same, just scaled down, so the odds are good that optical quality has been maintained.Thanks, Nivado. I'll probably save up for a more expensive scope.
The 65mm SV406P is also sold on Lazada and explicitly shown there to have a removable eyepiece:The 65mm Svbony doesn’t explicitly say the eyepiece is removable unlike the 80mm model. Be worth asking them to clarify. Also we’ve not had any more news of the imminent sv401 “apo” spotter or whether it’s eyepieces can be swapped for 1.25”…. Know better about SA401 85mm APO spotting scope
Peter
Thanks, it sounds interesting, I'll look into it.You may want to audition the Svbony SV406P. There are several happy owners of the 80mm version on this forum, including me. The 65mm version was just announced recently and I have not seen any reviews, but it appears to be exactly the same, just scaled down, so the odds are good that optical quality has been maintained.
It comes with a 7.2-21.6mm zoom (16-48x), but takes standard 1.25" astronomical eyepieces, so you can use different eyepieces if you want a wider field of view, higher magnification etc. One obvious accessory is the 23mm aspheric eyepiece, less than US$10 but gives a good wide (57 degrees) low power view. A more premium eyepiece is the UFF 18mm (available under many brands, the Svbony version is the cheapest), excellent 65 degree field of view.
Buy from a place like Amazon that allows easy returns.
According to Svbony the 65mm scope has a “Standard 1.25 inch Eyepiece Port” SV406P 16-48x65 ED Dual Speed Focusing Spotting Scope.The 65mm Svbony doesn’t explicitly say the eyepiece is removable unlike the 80mm model. Be worth asking them to clarify. Also we’ve not had any more news of the imminent sv401 “apo” spotter or whether it’s eyepieces can be swapped for 1.25”…. Know better about SA401 85mm APO spotting scope
Peter
So does the Viper take other eyepieces besides those provided by Vortex?The SA401 is by all appearances a clone of the Vortex Viper 85mm scope ie removable but proprietary eyepieces. One of my friends asked his contact at Svbony... apparently the contact had heard of the SA401 since last year, so perhaps it is delayed (or may never arrive). Quite possibly, the higher cost might require a price point that the brand cannot support at this point. After all, if it cost $700 many people would just buy the Vortex ($900) for the better warranty and resale value.
I have not come across any discussions that suggest the Viper takes non-Vortex EPs. The Razor supposedly takes some Swarovski EPs, but it's priced significantly higher than the Viper.So does the Viper take other eyepieces besides those provided by Vortex?
Maybe a little late but I tried one a couple of months ago and returned them pretty quickly.
Not so bright, not so sharp, glare, and most of all terrible ca. I'd say they are not much usefull for birding.
I don't know if the Vipers are any better, they don't seem to cost a lot more