Well I now have the Pentax, with zoom, and have spent a bit of time comparing it to an excellent scope, my TV 85 with 9mm Nagler eyepiece. Yes, the TV equipment is better. The Pentax does show some CA, and some of it is in the eyepiece, because I put the zoom in the 85 and there it was. The Pentax, at 60x, does have slightly less contrast then the TV combo, and just perceptably poorer resolution. BUT, I paid 3x as much for the TV, and it's weight and lack of waterproofing make it difficult (or impossible) to use in the field. After trying the Pentax zoom in the 85, I was extremely pleased by its performance (the CA was very slight, not at all bothersome). So I won't be using my TV eyepieces with the Pentax - I'll be perfectly happy with the Pentax combo for birding. When I put it on a Carbon Gitzo tripod (which I also use for my camera), the total package weight is very acceptable. I would have to guess that I got a 'great' sample of both scope and eyepiece, because I would be surprised if any of the other top scopes could come much closer to matching the TV combo, and the price differences make me smile every time I visit the bank! So all of you Pentax users should be smiling too...