Svbony 406P/46P 80mm spotters anyone? (4 Viewers)

[SGBirder]

Bought the SV406P 20-60x80 ED scope as well after meeting up with BKoh who kindly allowed me to test out his scope and gave very useful advice. Also purchased SvBony's 10mm and 18mm UFF and 23mm aspheric eyepieces together with the scope.

Compared to a Vanguard Endeavor HD 65A scope I had previously, this scope is much better across the board - sharper with less colour fringing, ability to switch eyepieces, full rubber armouring, smooth focus knob operation. I think it hits a sweet spot in the price-performance spectrum, and I didn't want to pay more as I don't use a spotting scope that often other than for shorebirds.

The 18mm UFF eyepiece has a wider apparent field of view and longer eye relief than the 20-60x zoom eyepiece, yielding a much more pleasant viewing experience with glasses at 24x magnification (assuming higher magnifications are not required).

I find myself gravitating to the 20-60x zoom+23mm combination for shorebird viewing, since the flexibility of the zoom is useful for ID'ing distant birds or reading leg flags.

The 23mm aspheric eyepiece is easy to carry in the pocket as a wide-angle scanning eyepiece to complement the zoom eyepiece, which I find quite narrow at the 20x magnification. Sharp in the centre but sharpness falls off toward the edges. Definitely worth the extremely low sub-$10 price. It's also great for sharing scope views with novice/non-birders, who commented that it was easy to look through.

For digiscoping purpose, the 20-60x zoom is the best eyepiece because of the twist-up rigid eyecup compared to the fold-down eyecups of the 10mm and 18mm UFF and the fixed rubber eyecup of the 23mm aspheric.

SV406P with zoom eyepiece


18mm UFF, 10mm UFF and 23mm aspheric eyepieces


SV406P with 10mm UFF eyepiece (eyecup folded down)


SV406P with 18mm UFF eyepiece


SV406P with 23mm aspheric eyepiece

 

[gcole]

Nice photos of your scope

 

[nkbj]

My SV406P arrived from Germany today. In a short test in my garden it seems clear and sharp with good eye relief for my glasses. I will have to wait for the weekend before I can test it for real.

 

[nkbj]

My SV406P arrived from Germany today. In a short test in my garden it seems clear and sharp with good eye relief for my glasses. I will have to wait for the weekend before I can test it for real.

I did another test in strong afternoon sunlight today. If I look at a backlit highcontrast target, I can provoke it to show some chromatic aberation, but otherwise it is sharp and clear at both 20x and 60x magnification. The CA is much lower than with my Celestron Trailseeker.

The SV406P also works fine with my BST Starguider 15mm eyepiece giving me 28.7x magnification and 2.1 degrees FOV.

I look forward to try the scope in the field.

 

[nkbj]

Took the scope out for sea watching, shorebirds and gulls today. Compared it to my friends Kite KSP 80 HD and the SVBONY seemed just as sharp and the color separation was better at 60x magnification.

Took this picture of a gull at about 50x with my Samsung XCover 4s phone handheld. There are a trace of CA, but it would do for documentation.

 

[wllmspd]

Be interested in the lite comparison, edge sharpness, chromatic aberrations etc, how things change at the highest power… sounds very positive.

peter

 

[cat6kg]

I recently bought a 4mm TMB clone

BKoh, thanks for your review! That's really helpful.

Is it possible to use 4mm eyepiece (107x mag) without any finder scope (red dot)?

Is there a way to add some portable Red Dot to this wonderful SVBONY?

 

[BKoh]

BKoh, thanks for your review! That's really helpful.

Is it possible to use 4mm eyepiece (107x mag) without any finder scope (red dot)?

Is there a way to add some portable Red Dot to this wonderful SVBONY?

I use the 4mm (107x) without a red dot finder. I use lower power eyepieces (9/18/23) to find the object before I swap to the 4mm.

Like other spotting scopes there is no easy way to attach a red dot finder (exception: Vortex's older-model Viper has a built-in picatinny rail). Some people use cable ties, others rubber-band a red dot sight.

One alternative is the plate for Baader's Sky Surfer III - it fits between the scope and the mounting head, and has a mounting rail on one edge:

Sky-Surfer III – Spotting Scope Adapter made of ABS

Adapter for spotting scopes made of ABS, for Sky-Surfer IIIto mount between spotting scope and photo tripodSingle price. Included in scope of supply of Sky Surfer III

www.baader-planetarium.com

 

[cat6kg]

Thank you for quick reply!
Now I understand my options

Definitely I'm going to try 4mm TMB eyepiece for Moon and high magnification (I believe optics will handle it). Of course, good tripod needed. Could you recommend some nice tripod (not expensive, compact size and low weight)?

EDIT: I've just ordered this SV406P 80ED. It takes 10 days for shipping.

 

[BKoh]

Thank you for quick reply!
Now I understand my options

Definitely I'm going to try 4mm TMB eyepiece for Moon and high magnification (I believe optics will handle it). Of course, good tripod needed. Could you recommend some nice tripod (not expensive, compact size and low weight)?

EDIT: I've just ordered this SV406P 80ED. It takes 10 days for shipping.

I use a Sirui EN-2004 tripod with a Sirui VA-5 video head. Up to about 60x, there is no problem. At 100x vibration is an issue, whenever I focus it takes a couple of seconds to settle down. A heavier tripod would be more stable, but less convenient - I carry scope+tripod in a backpack and cycle to my observing sites, so size and weight are important.

Note that the planets and the Moon drift quickly at 100x, in less than a minute they leave the field of view. You will need to adjust the scope frequently.

Welcome to the SV406P owners' club! Enjoy your new toy!

 

[wllmspd]

Wider field eyepieces held with drift at high powers and you can stabilise tripods a bit by hanging a weight below the head. I added a hook to mine so I can hang my backpack on it when observing.

peter

 

[SGBirder]

Thank you for quick reply!
Now I understand my options

Definitely I'm going to try 4mm TMB eyepiece for Moon and high magnification (I believe optics will handle it). Of course, good tripod needed. Could you recommend some nice tripod (not expensive, compact size and low weight)?

EDIT: I've just ordered this SV406P 80ED. It takes 10 days for shipping.

Hope you enjoy your SV406P when it arrives soon!

For low weight, you might want to consider a carbon fibre tripod, though it'll cost more than aluminium (Cheap, Light, Strong - choose 2).

Sirui T-024SK with VA-5 fluid head seem like a good choice, there are some videos on YouTube about it for use with spotting scopes, e.g.

One useful feature for compactness is 180-degree folding legs of travel-oriented tripods that allow the legs to fold back over the head (with centre column extended) for more compact storage.

Leg locks are either flip-lever or twist-lock styles. Depends on your preference but twist-locks are supposedly more durable and easier to maintain. I've had both, the flip-lever on my Manfrotto monopod requires tightening with a tool every so often. Sirui twist-locks have given no problems.

Currently, I use an older Sirui T-2204X carbon fibre tripod with VA-5 head. It has the 180-degree folding legs functionality which works well when storing the tripod.

Highly recommend the VA-5 head with whichever legs you get. Compact and well-constructed, not overkill for a 80mm spotting scope. The damping and spring counterbalance help keep the scope steady in use compared to a cheaper fluid head I had before. Uses the Arca-Swiss plate system, although some Arca-Swiss plates won't fit due to different tolerances, so stick to Sirui plates for extras.

 

[nkbj]

Be interested in the lite comparison, edge sharpness, chromatic aberrations etc, how things change at the highest power… sounds very positive.

peter

My subjective findings are that there is very little CA, even when watching gulls on a bright day. I really have to look for it to find it. Sharpness and contrast is good all through the zoom range. At 60x there is only a slight blur in the out 10-15% of the view. Even there it is possible to identify larger birds (like greater black-backed gulls 500 meters away). The view is surprisingly clear at 60x, even on an overcast day. By far the best I have seen in this price range.

Is a Swarovski or Kowa (or other alpha class scopes) better? Clearly, but at 6-10 times the cost. For me the Svbony SV406P is a keeper.

 

[Dawsie]

Hello everyone, hope you are all well.
So I’ve been following this thread and apart from some of the (deep techie stuff) the SV406P looks promising.
I require a scope for rifle target practice out to 500yds but also for wildlife spotting and coastal bird spotting out to 1000yards?

So my question is aimed at the owners/users who have given there SV406P a thorough trail;
Is this scope ‘fit for my purposes’ or would I be better off looking elsewhere?
It’s presently being sold by Amazon in the UK for £366 (which includes vat & delivery).

Which to be honest, is a little bit more than I would like to spend but if it’s the best value for money (in that price bracket) then I would be very tempted.

Thank you for reading, I look forward to your advice.

 

[SGBirder]

Hello everyone, hope you are all well.
So I’ve been following this thread and apart from some of the (deep techie stuff) the SV406P looks promising.
I require a scope for rifle target practice out to 500yds but also for wildlife spotting and coastal bird spotting out to 1000yards?

So my question is aimed at the owners/users who have given there SV406P a thorough trail;
Is this scope ‘fit for my purposes’ or would I be better off looking elsewhere?
It’s presently being sold by Amazon in the UK for £366 (which includes vat & delivery).

Which to be honest, is a little bit more than I would like to spend but if it’s the best value for money (in that price bracket) then I would be very tempted.

Thank you for reading, I look forward to your advice.

What other options in that price bracket are available/are you considering? Think the SV406P scope offers a lot for the price, such as ED glass, ability to use astronomical eyepieces.

1000 yds for birding seems like a really long distance for any scope. But I think the ED glass, 60x magnification and 80mm objective lens are as good as it'll get for this price point.

Never used a spotting scope for shooting, so can't comment on that. It might be preferable in some situations to use a fixed-power eyepiece with longer eye relief and/or wider apparent field of view. SV406P offers that interchangeability for a cheaper price than other scopes which may only allow use of proprietary eyepieces, if at all.

 

[Pepitogrillo]

Anyone have looking contrail planes spotting?
How is the CA?
Thanks

 

[Kaskarria]

Im using a sv406p with standar eyepiece and it gave me good results for observing and phonescoping. Do you recomend another other lens that can improbe the set?
?
Im out from optics and i dont understand too much of your trials with eyepieces.
Wich lens do you recommend to buy and why?
I took these two photos at 60x.

Thanks

 

[BKoh]

Im using a sv406p with standar eyepiece and it gave me good results for observing and phonescoping. Do you recomend another other lens that can improbe the set?
?
Im out from optics and i dont understand too much of your trials with eyepieces.
Wich lens do you recommend to buy and why?
There are two examples at 60x.

Thanks

The standard eyepiece has a twist-up eyecup with a broad flat surface so it is easy to position the phone camera correctly.

For better phonescoping performance, look for a fixed focal length eyepiece with a twist-up eyecup, for example:

Vixen NPL (20, 25, 30mm)
Vixen SLV (all)
Celestron Xcel LX (all)
Astro-Tech Paradigm/Agena Starguider (all)
TMB Planetary clone (all)

Astronomy forums indicate NPL is good, SLV excellent, Xcel LX "best" focal lengths are 25, 9 and 7, while for Paradigm/Starguider the "best" are 5, 8 and 12.

i have a 4mm TMB clone, it works (108x) but I am not very impressed with the optical quality. Also, my tripod is too shaky at 108x.

I have several other eyepieces, but they all use rubber eyecups so it is hard to position the phone camera properly. They are very good for visual use, but not for phonescoping.

 

[Kaskarria]

Thanks for your help.
I use an adaptor to maintain the phone in the eyepiece and it adjust between 38-54mm, so unless the eyepiece was too irregular i think there will be no problem.

Whats the meaning of mm in eyelens? How affect to magnification? For only observation, wich ocular do you recomend?

Thanks

 

[BKoh]

Thanks for your help.
I use an adaptor to maintain the phone in the eyepiece and it adjust between 38-54mm, so unless the eyepiece was too irregular i think there will be no problem.

Whats the meaning of mm in eyelens? How affect to magnification? For only observation, wich ocular do you recomend?

Thanks

The scope focal length is 432mm, to get magnification, divide scope focal length by the eyepiece focal length. The standard eyepiece is 7.2-21.6, so we get 20-60x. With a 6mm eyepiece you get 72x, with a 4mm, 108x etc.

For observation, I use:

23mm aspheric (19x) - cheap, small and good
18mm UFF (24x) - not expensive, very good
10mm UFF (43x) - not expensive, small, good

For high power I stay with the zoom at 60x, the 4mm TMB clone is not very good. You can consider the Celestron Xcel LX 7mm (actually 6.5mm) or Paradigm/Starguider 5mm.