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Nikon Fieldscope III (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter sparky77
- Start date
shaunchandler
Guest
Hey Sparky,
I have owned a Nikon fieldscope III 60 for the last year and have been very happy with it.
I will say that when it comes to reliability, this scope has done me proud. This scope is extremely rugged and very water tight which I found out after leaving it in the back yard while running to the store for bird seed and having a thunder storm rumble through.
When I got back, the tripod had been blown over and the scope was laying in a puddle on the sidewalk six feet away from the tripod.
The scope sustained a very small scratch to the side of the body and that was all.
I have just received a Leica as an anniversary gift from my wife and was going to sell the Nikon but I have decided to keep it because apart from it being a tough little scope, it is a very good scope optically.
Shaun
I have owned a Nikon fieldscope III 60 for the last year and have been very happy with it.
I will say that when it comes to reliability, this scope has done me proud. This scope is extremely rugged and very water tight which I found out after leaving it in the back yard while running to the store for bird seed and having a thunder storm rumble through.
When I got back, the tripod had been blown over and the scope was laying in a puddle on the sidewalk six feet away from the tripod.
The scope sustained a very small scratch to the side of the body and that was all.
I have just received a Leica as an anniversary gift from my wife and was going to sell the Nikon but I have decided to keep it because apart from it being a tough little scope, it is a very good scope optically.
Shaun
Lewis
Well-known member
A little less than a month ago I purchased the Fieldscope III non-ED angled model, and the 20 x 60 zoom. As the summer in northern California is not a busy birding time, I can't say we've fully put the scope through its paces, but so far it is great. At or near its very highest power, the image is a little dark and therefore hard to focus on quickly and surely. I heard this would be the case before I got the scope and expected it. For the rest of the range of the zoom, meaning the remaining 92 per cent, the scope and lense perform wonderfully; the image produced overall is bright and clear and wonderful. I wanted a metal body. I liked the idea of the focus ring around the entire body of the scope, a pretty unique feature in scopes. I thought it would be wonderfully easy to use, better than using a small knob. This still may turn out to be true, but the jury is still out. In the end I might wish the focusing ring turned with more resistance and more slowly. There may also be variation in the feel of focus rings from scope to scope - I don't know. The vue thru case is the most amazingly complicated case ever made - it's kinda cool and kinda silly. You won't lose this that or the other section of the case, 'cause everything's attached to everything with cords and velcro and snaps and zippers. Unless I haven't learned how to use the case and scope together yet, I'll say my only true complaint is that the focus ring is cumbersome to find and manipulate while the case is on the scope. This should not be so.
I wrung my hands for weeks and months trying to decide on which scope to buy; it is by no means a high end scope, but it's high end for me. I am really, really happy with it. I say this with the qualifier that I did not try out and compare a bunch of scopes side by side. I made the choice by reading and searching for information obsessively. The only different choice I might have made would to have saved for a somewhat bigger objective lense. But the trade off would have been, the scope wouldn't fit in my backback.
Please feel free to contact me or ask any questions you think I might be able to answer. I would have loved to have someone with experience with the scope to interrogate. Would love to hear what you decide.
I wrung my hands for weeks and months trying to decide on which scope to buy; it is by no means a high end scope, but it's high end for me. I am really, really happy with it. I say this with the qualifier that I did not try out and compare a bunch of scopes side by side. I made the choice by reading and searching for information obsessively. The only different choice I might have made would to have saved for a somewhat bigger objective lense. But the trade off would have been, the scope wouldn't fit in my backback.
Please feel free to contact me or ask any questions you think I might be able to answer. I would have loved to have someone with experience with the scope to interrogate. Would love to hear what you decide.
Lewis
Well-known member
Congratulations! Did you try it out first, and/or compare it to others? Would be interested to know how you decided. Did you order it on line or get it at an actual shop? ED or non-ED? Angled or straight?
Ya git the thang and it's so cool if you are going to the right environment and have the correct transportation and want to take the time...not like grabbing binocs and heading out without a thought. It's like havin' a babby...
Ya git the thang and it's so cool if you are going to the right environment and have the correct transportation and want to take the time...not like grabbing binocs and heading out without a thought. It's like havin' a babby...
Steve Lister
Senior Birder, ex County Recorder, Garden Moths.
Here in the UK Nikon have announced a new version of the Fieldscope but it is not actually available yet- supposed to match Leica and Swarovski optically but in a much smaller and a fair bit less expensive scope. Maybe worth hanging on a month or two as the price of the III might come down.
I use an EDII angled, quite a few differences, but have been very happy with it fot the eight years I have used it. Just have to remember it is not waterproof, but I think the III is, isn't it? Use 20-45 zoom and 30x WA eyepieces, both very good.
Cheers
Steve
I use an EDII angled, quite a few differences, but have been very happy with it fot the eight years I have used it. Just have to remember it is not waterproof, but I think the III is, isn't it? Use 20-45 zoom and 30x WA eyepieces, both very good.
Cheers
Steve
It seems unusual that Nikon would market a new small Fieldscope. I could perhaps see Nikon bringing out 65 mm version as it is the new popular small size. However, the improvement in image going from 60 to 65 mm is miniscule-- theoretically somewhat better resolutions and somewhat brighter and possibly it can be seen in the field.
I've been a long time user of the Fieldscope III ED. While the new 65 mm Swarovski is perhaps better optically they are very close in my side by side looks. The major advantage of the Swarovski is that its zoom offers a little larger field of view and is more eyeglass friendly which is my major objections to Nikon's 20x60 zoom.
My comments do not pertain though to digiscoping, as I've not compared them for that use.
Bob
I've been a long time user of the Fieldscope III ED. While the new 65 mm Swarovski is perhaps better optically they are very close in my side by side looks. The major advantage of the Swarovski is that its zoom offers a little larger field of view and is more eyeglass friendly which is my major objections to Nikon's 20x60 zoom.
My comments do not pertain though to digiscoping, as I've not compared them for that use.
Bob
Lewis
Well-known member
The standard advertised price for the Nikon Fieldscope III non-ED angled with the their kwazy new vue-thru (tm) case in the states is $519. When I finally ordered my scope from B&H photo over the phone, I was given a price of $477 or thereabouts. I confirmed this was not a 'gray market' item and not a floor model and I did not make any attempt to talk the phone rep down.
On the B&H website and, I think, the Eagle Optics website, the III straight without the vue-thru case was very cheap, close to $400. Couldn't find the same deal for angled version.
Was the $450 scope angled or straight? With or without case? With or without Nikon U.S. warranty?
www.optics4birding.com has a great section on purchasing scopes, things to look out for, etc.
l
On the B&H website and, I think, the Eagle Optics website, the III straight without the vue-thru case was very cheap, close to $400. Couldn't find the same deal for angled version.
Was the $450 scope angled or straight? With or without case? With or without Nikon U.S. warranty?
www.optics4birding.com has a great section on purchasing scopes, things to look out for, etc.
l
It's been a while since the last post on this thread, but why not "rejuvenate" it. I assume the riddle about a new Nikon scope has been solved with the 82mm model?
Now for the 60mm: I have owned a ED III (straight, which I still much prefer) since 1999. It is mostly used for travels to far away areas, whereas I use a larger and heavier Leica 77 for those trips that are done by car. So the scope has not seen that much use. It will see more in the future, however, I hope. I still own the old 20-45x zoom which is not too good with eyeglasses. And it has also not performed too well under difficult light conditions when compared with a Leica Apo 77. It'll be interesting to see how the new 20-60 zoom will perform which I ordered. One thing I experienced pretty soon is that the sun shade does not have a good enough hold anymore when it is extended. It slides back when you look upwards. Has that happened to others as well? Finally, I much prefer the dual focussing of the Leica (and Zeiss). But at the time when I needed such a small and waterproof scope there was no choice. And, except for the problems outlined, it is a very good tool, especially when you consider weigt and dimensions as well.
Now for the 60mm: I have owned a ED III (straight, which I still much prefer) since 1999. It is mostly used for travels to far away areas, whereas I use a larger and heavier Leica 77 for those trips that are done by car. So the scope has not seen that much use. It will see more in the future, however, I hope. I still own the old 20-45x zoom which is not too good with eyeglasses. And it has also not performed too well under difficult light conditions when compared with a Leica Apo 77. It'll be interesting to see how the new 20-60 zoom will perform which I ordered. One thing I experienced pretty soon is that the sun shade does not have a good enough hold anymore when it is extended. It slides back when you look upwards. Has that happened to others as well? Finally, I much prefer the dual focussing of the Leica (and Zeiss). But at the time when I needed such a small and waterproof scope there was no choice. And, except for the problems outlined, it is a very good tool, especially when you consider weigt and dimensions as well.
Jane Turner
Well-known member
I still use an EDII and I still love it. Yes there are bigger better scopes....but they are...erm bigger! Net result I can't be bothered to carry them most of the time, whereas my little battered Nikon comes out with me on most birding trips on a shoulder pod.
normjackson
Well-known member
Do a search on "fieldscope" in gallery, Joe. Some good examples by rb_stern.
Glen Tepke
Oceanodroma
normjackson said:
And jmorlan. Glen