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ED-50 brilliant but a little dim with the 27x (1 Viewer)

W

Wolf Bjelke

Member
I recently bought the ED-50 with a 27x w (MC) eyepiece. I love it but now that winter is approaching i think it is a little too dim on cloudy days. I´m considering buying the zoom or the 20x. From the specs i understand that the zoom is brighter than the 27x on it´s widest setting, but I wonder on which setting is it equally bright as the 27x?

I understand that some here at BF has both eyepieces, do you know about this? Do you find the 27x a little dim too?

Wolf
 
I looked through the Zoom eyepiece before I purchase the 50ED and settled on the 27x. I don't recall the Zoom being brighter, and frankly preferred the 27x by a wide margin. I wear glasses and had a problem with the change in eye relief as power changed when using the zoom.



Mike
 
No, at 27x the fixed eyepiece should be brighter. I'm curious whether the zoom is brigher at 20x, if so it could be used at this setting on overcast days.
 
The zoom will be just as bright at 27x and brighter at magnifications below this. The only fixed eyepiece in the Nikon range of wideangles which has equally good light transmission to the zoom is the lowest magnification one (20x/24x/30x). However, the zoom might seem less bright because the field of view is so much narrower. With a wider field of view, more light falls on the retina spread out over a larger area, but the light intensity from any given object within the field is no greater. In practice all the Nikon Fieldscope eyepieces (including the zoom) have such a high light transmission that only the magnification (i.e. exit pupil) influences image brightness.

Kimmo
 
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I have been using the zoom on my ED50 for digiscoping and general viewing. I decided to get a fixed eyepiece as well, mainly for digiscoping and the longer eye relief.

I bought a 27x wide MC but when I tried it at home it was quite a bit darker than the zoom at its minimum magnification. It also seemed a bit fussy about camera placement so I exchanged it for the 20x wide MC. This is a nice, bright eyepiece and works well with the camera. The longer eye relief is better if you wear glasses but occasionally I have wished I had the extra reach of the zoom, even if it does darken slightly at the 40x setting.

Personally, I think the zoom is a very good lens. It is very bright at the lower magnifications and the only draw backs are the shortish eye relief and slightly narrow field of view. At about 27x magnification I don't think it would be any brighter than the 27x fixed eyepiece though. The only real answer is to try one and see what you think.

Ron
 
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Thanks for the info. Very informative. I will either try to get used to the darker view during winter months or buy a zoom and use it with a lower magnification.

Maybe I should add that I´m used to bird with a big Leica APO Televid, but sold it due to its bulky size (especially with the tripod). So I´m a little spoiled with bright views... Don't regret the switch, though.

Wolf
 
I´ve got the 20x, the 27x, and I had the zoom too till I lost it searching for my errant dog. (Long story). After getting the fixed eps, I found I used the zoom very little...in fact, not at all. The brightness wasn´t an issue, but the narrow FOV in the zoom was. I wouldn´t bother replacing the lost zoom unless Nikon were to bring out something wider. The 20x is very bright, a delight to use. Over marshes, etc., the 27x gives great kick for the size of the scope, and is also bright IMHO. Try them all. Best of Luck.
 
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Is the concensus that the 27x is the best overall ocular for the Nikon 50mm and better than the 13-30x zoom lens? This looks like a great light 16.6 oz! scope.
 
Phaethon said:
Is the concensus that the 27x is the best overall ocular for the Nikon 50mm and better than the 13-30x zoom lens? This looks like a great light 16.6 oz! scope.
Click to expand...

Ah, Phaethon, "consensus"....you´re asking for a lot!;) I generally leave the 27x on mine as an all-rounder. The 20x is an "extra", which doubles as a 38x on my ED82A. On this, the all-rounder is the 30x. So I get pretty much the same mag from my ED82A as I do from my ED50. The larger scope stays at home most of the time, IMHO the ED50 really is that good. But it´s a personal thing....I like to avoid lugging around a big scope and tripod, and only use these for seawatching. Do try before you buy, and consider what you´ll be most using your scope for.
 
Sancho said:
Ah, Phaethon, "consensus"....you´re asking for a lot!;)
Click to expand...

Indeed! I picked the 20x over the 27x for my ED50, as to me it gave a slightly better image, and its brightness and field of view outweighed the magnification. I like the 13-40x zoom, and find it easier to use as a spectacle-wearer [everyone's different lol] It lives on my ED82 as the reach 75x gives me is more useful in the situations I use the big scope [wildfowl, waders, and seabirds, mostly]. The 20x lets me use the ED50 handheld or with a shoulderpod, I only use the zoom when I know I'm likely to a need long reach, as getting on birds with the smaller field of view is even trickier [I've still not mastered it with the 20x on erratically flying pipits etc...]. I think a consensus is possible on Sancho's last point - try them out and buy the one that works best for your eye, and what you want to use the scope for.
 
I do find, though, that the 20x works ok on a shoulder-pod, or a monopod, but I really need a lightweight tripod for the 27x.
 
I have an ED 50 with a 27x being shipped to me. This will be my first scope. With your experience, which would be your choice for a 2nd eyepiece, the 20x fixed or the 13-40x zoom?
 
Bandmaster said:
I have an ED 50 with a 27x being shipped to me. This will be my first scope. With your experience, which would be your choice for a 2nd eyepiece, the 20x fixed or the 13-40x zoom?
Click to expand...

Firstly, let me welcome you to the Nikon club! |:D|
You're going to be using it with a tripod? If so then I'd definitely recommend the 13-40x - the 20x can do pretty much what the 27x can, the differences between them are a trade in slightly better magnification vs. slightly better brightness and field of view. The zoom is a different animal, very flexible, though you lose brightness at high magnification and it has a narrower field of view than the wide angle eyepieces. Some people also cannot get on with it - not me personally, I love mine - but enough to make the advice "Try before you buy" worth heeding. Also, there are rumours Nikon may bring out a wide angle zoom 'soon', if so it'll be worth waiting for! My advice would be to get to know your new scope, have fun with it [easy with this one!], and only after a while try out different eyepieces. Getting used to using a scope takes a while, so don't worry about second eyepieces too much until you've got the hang of the thing, know how you use it, and so what you need.
Hope I've helped!
 
i tried all the eyepieces fixed and zoom on the e.d. 50 in a hide before i bought them , for me 20x is the best with the back up of a 27x. i think some people are expecting miracles from just 50mm . i have now sold my kowa 663 and tripod , to heavy to carry now , so now its small and light for me with no regrets.
 
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Bandmaster said:
I have an ED 50 with a 27x being shipped to me. This will be my first scope. With your experience, which would be your choice for a 2nd eyepiece, the 20x fixed or the 13-40x zoom?
Click to expand...
I´d heed The Kerreran´s advice, there...20x and 27x are really too close to each other in function to warrant both (I´ve got the ED82A as well, that´s why I have extra eyepieces....also I have no sense, least of all financial). I´m waiting a year to see if Nikon really are bringing out a new wider angle zoom. To be honest, I think you´ll find the 27x covers 99% of requirements! Congratulations on your new scope, have many happy years of birding with it!
 
Bandmaster said:
I have an ED 50 with a 27x being shipped to me. This will be my first scope. With your experience, which would be your choice for a 2nd eyepiece, the 20x fixed or the 13-40x zoom?
Click to expand...

Use your scope with the 27x for long enough to know how well it meets your needs. If there is a use for which it consistently lets you down, then consider what you might buy to add the desired functionality (if physically possible and available).

Personally, I don't see much point to using any eyepiece other than the 27x on the 50 mm ED if you are using for looking at birds rather than digiscoping, and you are using it on a tripod. The 20x is somewhat brighter, the 40x somewhat more powerful, but these differences are of little practical significance in my experience. If the 27x doesn't do it for you, you probably need another or different (larger) scope.

--AP
 
Thank you all for the great advice. Since I made my original entry the ED50 deal fell through for the time being but found a great deal on a Nikon reconditioned 82mm ED straight. Wanted the angled but at 1/3 rd the price of a new one, couldn't pass it up. My question now is "Does this change any of the advice given above now that the scope is larger? Keep in mind that the eyepiece is 27mm.
 
Bandmaster said:
Thank you all for the great advice. Since I made my original entry the ED50 deal fell through for the time being but found a great deal on a Nikon reconditioned 82mm ED straight. Wanted the angled but at 1/3 rd the price of a new one, couldn't pass it up. My question now is "Does this change any of the advice given above now that the scope is larger? Keep in mind that the eyepiece is 27mm.
Click to expand...
The eyepiece that gives 27x on an ED50, gives 50x on the ED82. That´s just too much for normal use, and the DOF is very tight, requiring constant fiddly focussing. The 20x eyepiece on the ED50 gives 38x on the ED82, which is lovely, a lot of BF people with far more experience than I swear by it. On my ED82, however, I prefer to use a 30x as standard (this eyepiece gives, I think, 16x on the ED50). I then use the 20x/38x as back-up on the ED82.
 
Just come in from watching a red tail hawk on a utility pole about 400 yds away with the 82 ed & x 38 ep .The view was great .
Also watched him thru my Vixen 80 BT binos at x60 .
The view was even better .
They are not very portable tho unfortunately.
Brian.
 
Yes, it changes my advice a bit. Rumor has it that Nikon may come out with a new (wider field? longer eye-relief?) zoom in the near future. If by some miracle it fits the current scopes, it might be worth waiting for and getting. A zoom eyepiece is a slightly more attractive option with the big scope because it goes to 75x. The 40x max of the zoom on the little scope just isn't different enough from 27x for me to I consider it worthwhile on that one.

As Sancho pointed out, the 27x for the 50mm scope gives 50x on the 82mm. I used to use that eyepiece on those rare occasions when I wanted more power than the 30x that I use over 95% of the time (get the 30x for sure!). For high power, I like the 50x better than the zoom because it has a much wider FOV and better eye-relief (I wear glasses). However, now that the 50x lives on my 50mm ED as a 27x, I've taken to carrying the 25-75x zoom (I bought it a while back but never used it much) with the big scope for those rare instances when I want higher power. It's more convenient to bring it along than switch the 50x back and forth, and I use higher powers than 30x so rarely that its deficiencies are tolerable, and the availability of 75x compensates a bit for the loss of FOV and eye-relief.

--AP
 
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