How good/sharp are your 25-75x on ED82? (1 Viewer)

[The Kingfisher]

Hi!

I have owned the ED82 for about 3 years now, and the 25-75x for about 1 year. But I´m not very pleased with it I must say (at high powers). It´s really good at low powers, but at higher powers it become dim. It´s even dim when the weather seems to be as perfect as it can be. I can only remember one or maybe two times when it have been sharp att 75x. I have compared the Nikon zoom (at 60x) with Zeiss 85 and Kamakura SP-83 side by side and I think both Zeiss and Kamakura are better than my Nikon at 60x power. They are clear, my Nikon is dim. It feels like my Nikon scope is very sensitive to particles in the air - more than the Zeiss and Kamakura I compared it to.

I have read some threads here on birdforum and many of you seems to be pleased (an understatement..) with the zoom at high powers. Sharp right up to 75x power many says. Maybe it´s my scope that isn´t perfect? Or can it actually just be the eyepiece? How about the coatings..maybe it´s not intact?

Sometimes I feel like there is something (like fingerprints) on the front lens wich disturbing the view. I have cleaned the glass of course..

What do you think?


/Jonas

 

[kabsetz]

Jonas,

Do a search for "star testing" on this site, and then try to perform one as well as you can. It sounds like you may have a rather poor sample.

Kimmo

 

[SUPPRESSOR]

Jonas,
Sorry to hear your not so pleased with your ED82.I have owned most of the top scopes over the years,for the last year or so I have settled on the ED82 with the 25x75 zoom and when conditions allow it gives lovely views at full power with the x15 difference over x60 very noticeable.
Can you find someone with the same setup to compare? On a good specimen in good seeing conditions it should be pin sharp.
fiddler.

 

[The Kingfisher]

Jonas,

Do a search for "star testing" on this site, and then try to perform one as well as you can. It sounds like you may have a rather poor sample.

Kimmo

Thank´s Kimmo. I will take a look at this "star testing". Maybe it can give me an answer if I have a bad sample or not.


/Jonas

 

[Sancho]

Hi Jonas, I back up Fiddler. I don´t use the 25-75 ep often, normally preferring the 30xw. But in clear conditions I find the zoom excellent right up to the max. Of course it loses some light and definition above 60x, but it sounds as if you have a poor sample. Hope you can get the situation resolved.:t:

 

[The Kingfisher]

Jonas,
Can you find someone with the same setup to compare? On a good specimen in good seeing conditions it should be pin sharp.
fiddler.

Soon I will travel north (north of Sweden) for birding. Along the way I´m going to make a stop to visit the shop from wich I bought my sample. So it should not be a problem to do a side by side test against another Fieldscope.

BUT, if the test shows that I have a poor sample..do you think it´s possible to get a new scope (for free) from Nikon?


/Jonas

 

[Pileatus]

Hi!

I have owned the ED82 for about 3 years now, and the 25-75x for about 1 year. But I´m not very pleased with it I must say (at high powers). It´s really good at low powers, but at higher powers it become dim. It´s even dim when the weather seems to be as perfect as it can be. I can only remember one or maybe two times when it have been sharp att 75x. I have compared the Nikon zoom (at 60x) with Zeiss 85 and Kamakura SP-83 side by side and I think both Zeiss and Kamakura are better than my Nikon at 60x power. They are clear, my Nikon is dim. It feels like my Nikon scope is very sensitive to particles in the air - more than the Zeiss and Kamakura I compared it to.

I have read some threads here on birdforum and many of you seems to be pleased (an understatement..) with the zoom at high powers. Sharp right up to 75x power many says. Maybe it´s my scope that isn´t perfect? Or can it actually just be the eyepiece? How about the coatings..maybe it´s not intact?

Sometimes I feel like there is something (like fingerprints) on the front lens wich disturbing the view. I have cleaned the glass of course..

What do you think?


/Jonas

Jonas,
How is it with your 30X? Also, did your lens pen, in any way, mar the coating on the objective?
John

 

[stuart C smith]

lens pen !!! no way on gods earth would i use a lens pen, i think you might as well use fine sandpaper. and yes, i have had a [nikon] lens pen, i binned it after using it once. to open to grinding dust into the lens.

 

[Sancho]

Whoops! Thanks for that, Stuart, I have a lens pen and use it occasionally (after blowing and brushing). But I shall dispense with it forthwith.....I didn´t know they were a liability!

 

[The Kingfisher]

Jonas,
How is it with your 30X? Also, did your lens pen, in any way, mar the coating on the objective?
John

Thank´s for your inputs in this thread!

The 30x is just fine! But, actually..I prefer the 25-75x zoom at 25x. I wear glasses, but still I get a more natural view with the zoom I think. It´s easier to use at 25x than the fixed 30x eyepiece.

YES..I have used the Nikon LensPen some times. And YES..I can remember (at least) one time when I could see a "purple hin" when using the lens pen. I don´t know if this is the coating or not.

Any ideas what to do now?

 

[Maryland Flicker]

There's no doubt that it's dimmer at 75x. I rarely go up to 75x with hopes of having an easier time identifying a bird. It's usually easier to zoom out, having a clearer and brighter image, and identify the bird. From 25x-50x, the view is spectacular, but it's really not worth going higher than that most of the time.

 

[The Kingfisher]

There's no doubt that it's dimmer at 75x. I rarely go up to 75x with hopes of having an easier time identifying a bird. It's usually easier to zoom out, having a clearer and brighter image, and identify the bird. From 25x-50x, the view is spectacular, but it's really not worth going higher than that most of the time.

Yes, a scope, of course, is not as sharp at 75x magnification as for instance: 30x, but also at 60x magnification is my ED82 less sharp than, for example, Kamakura SP-83 set to 60x. Yesterday, I made a comparison with another ED82 with 25-75x. The equipment that came from a local shop was found to be significantly sharper at higher magnification than my own. We did, inter alia, a test against a board. With the store's equipment, was the smallest figures sharp while my scope was completely blurred. The salesman was very much in agreement with me on this! He thought I would send the scope to Nikon for a complaint. No hesitation on according to him ..

Ps: My English is not always the best, unfortunately. Therefore, I tried this time to write most of the above text using the "google translator." It would have been interesting to hear how many errors there are in the text ..? :-O

 

[kabsetz]

I won't comment on your English (which is plenty good enough), but will on the scopes.

I'm not at all surprised that you saw a clear difference between the scopes. From what you had said before, it sounded like you did, unfortunately, have a rather weak specimen, and contrary to what many people would like to believe, the differences between good and less good specimens is easy to see when the magnification is large enough. I do hope Nikon will agree to replace your scope. Even a good ED 82 does, of course, get dimmer as the magnification is increased (as does any scope) but the image can be very sharp and easy on the eye even at 75x.

Kimmo

 

[The Kingfisher]

I did a second test against another ED82 for some days ago..and also that one was clearly sharper on higher magnifications than mine. Now I have sent my scope to Nikon! I think it can take some weeks (or even a few months) before I see it again. Then I´ll hope it will be sharp even at 75x in good weather conditions. Worth waiting for, I hope..

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

hope nikon will rectify the problem of your scope jonas

 

[The Kingfisher]

Now I've got a new specimen of the scope from Nikon. Good service, I must say. Unfortunately I am not fully satisfied with this specimen either. It's not unsharp, but it lacks that "wow factor". It's not as crispy as it should be I think. I compared it against my ED50 and it showed that the ED50 is sharper and has this crispy sharpness.

Today, I contacted my salesman about this. If I wanted, it is ok to visit the store and choose another specimen. I will do that even if I have to go 250 km (one direction) to do it!

Anyway, both Nikon and the seller has been very accommodating. Such truly appreciated!


/ Jonas

 

[kabsetz]

Jonas,

Let us know how it goes. If you set up two scopes side by side and view with maximum magnification, you should immediately see which one is better. Then, by always keeping the better one as a reference you can rather quickly go through a number of them and end up with the best. If in doubt, you can re-check the "second best" or the most uncertain looser against the final choice. If you are unsure, it is good to do a couple of quick back-and-forths between the two mounted scopes and take the one that just "feels easier" to your eyes. If you cannot see which of two is better, it probably doesn't matter.

Also, remember that the weather is getting colder now. So, if you take scopes outside, they will need to reach thermal equilibrium before image quality is at its optimum. If it is not below 10 centigrade, that should not matter much, but if you are closer to zero or below, you should allow for at least 10-15 minutes to be sure.

Kimmo

 

[The Kingfisher]

Jonas,

Let us know how it goes. If you set up two scopes side by side and view with maximum magnification, you should immediately see which one is better. Then, by always keeping the better one as a reference you can rather quickly go through a number of them and end up with the best. Kimmo

Thanks for the tip! It seems to be an easy way to find the best specimen. At least if you only looking for the sharpest one. I will let you know how it goes!

 

[The Kingfisher]

Jonas,

Let us know how it goes.

Now I've got a new scope. But I could not compare the way I had planned because the store had only one specimen in stock. Luckily, it appears to be a very good specimen (with the "crispy sharpness" even at 75x). So now I'm finally happy! . The real "field test", however, takes place tomorrow..

 

[Hermann]

Now I've got a new scope. But I could not compare the way I had planned because the store had only one specimen in stock. Luckily, it appears to be a very good specimen (with the "crispy sharpness" even at 75x). So now I'm finally happy! . The real "field test", however, takes place tomorrow..

Try using it for longer periods of time at high magnifications, say between 60x and 75x. If you feel at ease using it at these magnifications for longer periods of time, it's most probably a good scope.

I feel that's the acid test for scopes. We've got three Nikon EDII's in our family, and I have used all of them with the 20-60x zoom quite a lot over the years. I feel really comfortable with two of them at high magnifications, but not with the last one. I feel it isn't really sharp, the image just doesn't have the kick of the others, and I've often felt I had to lower the magnification to feel comfortable with the scope.

This difference isn't obvious at lower magnifications, say at 30x or less, and it isn't even always immediately obvious when using the scope at high magnifications. But it's always obvious when I try to use that scope over an extended period of time at high magnification.

Hermann