just curious : re Nikon Fieldscope II ED60mm (1 Viewer)

[Earnest lad]

Sorry if it seems frivolous but please does anyone know approximately (a) what year this model was on sale new (b) what was it costing as a new scope?

 

[Swissboy]

Sorry if it seems frivolous but please does anyone know approximately (a) what year this model was on sale new (b) what was it costing as a new scope?

I got my EDIII which was very new then in 1999 or very early 2000. Not sure whether the ED II was still in production though. Don't remember prices, however.

 

[dwatsonbirder]

I can't really help with your enquiry, but I remember seeing photographs of twitchers on the IoS in the "golden age" (think this was '86 - '92) and there were a few EDII present amongst the masses. I believe it was available from the early 90's to about 1996. As for price when new, nearly £800! Hopefully somebody can give you more accurate information.

How are you finding it?

 

[Essex Tern]

An edited excerpt from the archives on this forum….

1981 Fieldscope

1989 Fieldscopes II / ED II

1992 Fieldscopes II A / ED II A

1994 Fieldscopes ED78 / ED78 A

1998 Fieldscopes III / III A / EDIII / EDIII A

2002 Fieldscopes ED III Black (Limited edition)

2003 Fieldscopes ED82/ED82-A

2005 ED50 Fieldscope

 

[henry link]

I found a couple of old price lists from the July 1991 issue of "British Birds". London Camera Exchange sold the angled Fieldscope EDII with 20-45x zoom for £549. Kay Optical's price for the same combination was £630.

A Christophers, Ltd.(US) price list from 1994 has the straight EDII body for $648.45, angled $689.69, 20x45x zoom eyepiece $184.54. 30X wide angle eyepiece 154.12.

 

[Earnest lad]

An edited excerpt from the archives on this forum….

1981 Fieldscope

1989 Fieldscopes II / ED II

1992 Fieldscopes II A / ED II A

1994 Fieldscopes ED78 / ED78 A

1998 Fieldscopes III / III A / EDIII / EDIII A

2002 Fieldscopes ED III Black (Limited edition)

2003 Fieldscopes ED82/ED82-A

2005 ED50 Fieldscope

Thank you. I guess the ED II would be available from when it first came out until the EDIII was released.

 

[Earnest lad]

I found a couple of old price lists from the July 1991 issue of "British Birds". London Camera Exchange sold the angled Fieldscope EDII with 20-45x zoom for £549. Kay Optical's price for the same combination was £630.

A Christophers, Ltd.(US) price list from 1994 has the straight EDII body for $648.45, angled $689.69, 20x45x zoom eyepiece $184.54. 30X wide angle eyepiece 154.12.

Thank you so much. That is v. helpful. Doing the math (& converting to GBP £) I think that comes to approx. 658 pounds. Using the following website to convert 1994 prices to 2021 prices the figure of £ 1,372.58 or $1878.38 is given
Obviously these were expensive items, although gather optics quality could be better these days.

Historic inflation calculator: How money's value changed since 1900

This historic inflation calculator uses official UK inflation data to show how prices have changed and what money used to be worth.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

 

[Earnest lad]

I got my EDIII which was very new then in 1999 or very early 2000. Not sure whether the ED II was still in production though. Don't remember prices, however.

I hope you are still getting good use out of ithe EDIII?

 

[Earnest lad]

I can't really help with your enquiry, but I remember seeing photographs of twitchers on the IoS in the "golden age" (think this was '86 - '92) and there were a few EDII present amongst the masses. I believe it was available from the early 90's to about 1996. As for price when new, nearly £800! Hopefully somebody can give you more accurate information.

How are you finding it?

I appreciate the lovely reminisce. The items were obviously high quality ones. The fact so many have survived is testimony to that I guess. I was hoping to try it out this weekend when I went birding, but partly due to the bad weather and other circumstances I didnt get round to using it. I have only tried it looking out from the house so far. First impressions are very good - very clear images. Unitl a few weeks ago I had never owned a scope). I will "report back" LOL after I have given it a good try out

 

[Earnest lad]

Thank you so much. That is v. helpful. Doing the math (& converting to GBP £) I think that latter quote comes to approx. 658 pounds. Using the following website to convert 1994 prices to 2021 prices the estimated 2021 equivalent figure of would be £ 1,372.58 gbp or ($1878.38 us dollars)
Obviously these were expensive items, although I presume optics quality would be better these days than they were a few decades ago.

Historic inflation calculator: How money's value changed since 1900

This historic inflation calculator uses official UK inflation data to show how prices have changed and what money used to be worth.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

 

[Alexis Powell]

For most of its time as a current model, the straight Fieldscope II ED with eyepiece, could be had for ~$650 in the USA. I remember because I recommended that scope to a very large number of people back in the day.

--AP