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Kite APC 60 17-35x WA stabilised spotting scope (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter John Cantelo
- Start date
binomania
Well-known member
Good evening everyone! Here's my review
Full article: Incredibile Kite Optics APC Stabilized 60 ED - Il telescopio da osservazione stabilizzato che vi farà abbandonare il vostro amato treppiede
Watch the video: YouTube:
dwatsonbirder
Well-known member
Thanks for the review Pier, it looks an interesting device! The image quality seems very good (some spherical distortion at higher powers?) with the IS function working well!
Appreciate your reviews, although subjective it is very helpful to see the phone/camera images through the optics.
Appreciate your reviews, although subjective it is very helpful to see the phone/camera images through the optics.
François Doyen
Well-known member
I've no experience of the product myself but interesting video (in French) of the scope in windy seawatching condition with on/off stabilisation comparison. Seems like a really interesting product!
I received a call this afternoon from an excited friend who currently has a preproduction unit in his possession. He had doubted the device's capability to keep the image stabilised at 35x, but was astonished to find that yes, he was indeed able to handhold this little scope with a genuinely stable image at 35x magnification.
Sounds, to me, like a game changer.
Sounds, to me, like a game changer.
Hermann
Well-known member
That's very interesting. Sounds like the Kite works.
However, I'm not sure it is a game changer, at least not for many folks. Because I, and I suspect many others, use scopes to watch a bird or birds for an extended period of time, and I can't imagine hand holding a scope for more than a few minutes. For instance, yesterday I watched a pair of Kingfishers excavating a breeding tunnel for almost an hour. I can't imagine doing that with a hand held scope. Or I use it to scan e.g. a flock of shorebirds to find something "interesting", often for half an hour or more.
In addition, I personally wouldn't be satisfied with 35x magnification, I often use higher magnifications.
Hermann
Hermann
Well-known member
BTW, people interested in this scope should definitely download the manual. There's an interesting piece of information in there: "This product incorporates a built-in rechargeable battery that cannot be replaced, other than by an authorized KITE OPTICS workshop." What? So you need to send the scope to Kite to have the battery replaced when it dies? They must be joking.
Quite frankly, that's a solid reason not to buy it. At least for me. Why not use some standard battery, like an 18650?
Hermann
Quite frankly, that's a solid reason not to buy it. At least for me. Why not use some standard battery, like an 18650?
Hermann
Yes, I'm coming from a very different angle to you, Hermann, because I'm not a scope carrier/user, having no desire to carry around the additional paraphernalia (tripod etc). My stops are momentary, for the most part, so setting up a scope on a tripod works against my habit of being constantly on the move.
On the basis of my viewing habits, I'm probably not the best judge of a scopes' worthiness for experienced or regular scope users. However, I might (personally) use this device, as it would give me the extra reach I would sometimes like, in a handheld format which can be very quickly deployed.
So yes, probably not the 'game changer' I suggested, but on a personal level, it is a scope which might just encourage me to actually carry a scope and work very well for my own application.
James
Hermann
Well-known member
Yes, that makes a lot of sense, James. For your viewing habits a scope like the Kite would work well. For mine it wouldn't. I've actually got a stabilized scope (Zeiss 20x60S Mono) that I hardly use. Doesn't fit my viewing habits.
Proves once again that there's no binocular/scope fits all. The viewing habits and individual preferences are just too different. A shame there are so many people (more in the Binoculars Forum than here though) who don't seem to understand this. Or who don't want to understand.
Hermann
Travelers seem the most logical market segment. The scope's cost looms less large when seen against the overall cost of a major trip.
A relatively small high performance scope that dispenses with the need for a tripod is a winner, imho, especially with older and wealthier birders.
I also read in the manual that you're not supposed to carry the scope by the tripod mount, which is a shame for a device that should be perfect for handholding and carrying with a sling (much like a camera).
It's a really cool scope, but in the end I don't like the idea of having electronics with a limited warranty (5 years) in a device that should hopefully last much longer, the non-user-replaceable battery and the weak tripod mount.
It's a really cool scope, but in the end I don't like the idea of having electronics with a limited warranty (5 years) in a device that should hopefully last much longer, the non-user-replaceable battery and the weak tripod mount.
DRodrigues
Well-known member
It will compete with the Kowa TSN-55S and the Swaro STC 56. Stabilised but with less zoom range.
The battery question is a non issue for younger birders. All new mobile phones don't have removable batteries and my daughter phone is almost as expensive as the Kite body...
I'm interested in a binocular version of it, if will have central focusing!
I don't ask for central zooming, to not make it too expensive...
The battery question is a non issue for younger birders. All new mobile phones don't have removable batteries and my daughter phone is almost as expensive as the Kite body...
I'm interested in a binocular version of it, if will have central focusing!
I don't ask for central zooming, to not make it too expensive...
BTX eye pieces with Harpia zoom should keep costs down.It will compete with the Kowa TSN-55S and the Swaro STC 56. Stabilised but with less zoom range.
The battery question is a non issue for younger birders. All new mobile phones don't have removable batteries and my daughter phone is almost as expensive as the Kite body...
I'm interested in a binocular version of it, if will have central focusing!
I don't ask for central zooming, to not make it too expensive...
Hermann
Well-known member
It remains to be seen how good it really is. And how reliable it is.
But I'm not a younger birder. And my phone (XCover 6 Pro) has got a removable battery.
Plus I don't think the average mobile will last as long as a scope. It would have been easy enough to make the battery removable. It would even have been easy enough to use a standard size battery, just like Canon did in all their IS binoculars. Kite didn't. So my choice is not to get one.
Hermann
KIte probably needed some voltages that were outside of the norm. Plus the Kite scope is claimed to have 30 hours of endurance per charge, so battery replacement would be very infrequent.
Swaro's AX Visio also requires use of a custom battery, but it is replaceable. This is because the Visio battery won't last for even a full day of birding, so a fresh battery becomes essential. Swaro is pleased to offer extra batteries for about $65, well worth the price.
looksharp65
Well-known member
Probably a very stupid question, but here goes. Kite's advertising mentions that the image is brighter than in ordinary spotters.
I'm wondering: Does this device utilise traditional optics or is there a tiny screen inside that's watched with the EP as a loupe?
//L
I'm wondering: Does this device utilise traditional optics or is there a tiny screen inside that's watched with the EP as a loupe?
//L
Hermann
Well-known member
I think it's a conventional stabilised scope. The claim that it's brighter is IMO just advertising lyrics.
Hermann
looksharp65
Well-known member
Indeed. I watched Pier's video again and he mentions Schmidt-Pechan prisms. For me as a biking birder, rarely standing still, this gadget would really bring something new to the table, and I'm sorely tempted. The expense however goes way beyond any optics I bought before, double what I paid for my EDG II 7x42. I'll have to think more than twice whether or not it adds enough functionality to justify the expense.
//L
binomania
Well-known member
Hello everyone, sorry for the delay. First of all I would like to thank you very much for the attention dedicated to this test. Thank you also for taking the time to read the translation of the article and maybe watching the video in English, translated by YouTube AI. Personally I appreciated it, if I may make a comparison it is like going out with an ultra-stabilized mirrorless like OM-1 even if to get more I still go out with a tripod, long telephoto lens and full frame sensor. I see it as a product to use during excursions where you want to travel light or when you don't have time or can't bring a tripod. For example here in Italy there are many parks where you can photograph and watch animals, but given the traffic of people and tourists it is a challenge to stop with the tripod, or in unstable places to watch ships like cliffs or when I hide in the thick of the woods to try to see deer, in short, I think there are many areas of use for this instrument but I understand that some enthusiasts prefer a spotting scope from 85-95 mm at 70X on a solid tripod. This new telescope from Kite is not the best, I would say that it allows you to observe in a different way.
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