Willams Optics Megrez M72-FD APO (1 Viewer)

[henry link]

Henry I did a search on Astromart from 2000> 2012 and there were two of the Brandon Master Birders for sale in 2010, neither one has sold on the ad.

Steve,

I'm not surprised. I recall that Vernonscope made the absurd claim that this scope was "optimized" for low magnification. That's a bit like a poor swimmer claiming that he is "optimized" for shallow water.

Henry

 

[FrankD]

Hmm, I am trying to think where I read a positive review of the scope. Betterviewdesired maybe?

What I took away from the review that it would make a good backyard feeder scope but not much else because of the limited eyepiece choices at the time. This was going back many years though if I remember it correctly.

 

[henry link]

This is the review you're thinking of, Frank.

http://betterviewdesired.com/Complete-February-1998-Issue.php#VERNONscope Brandon MasterBirde

This is the kind of review that sounds good until you notice the fine print. All 80mm scopes, good and bad, should look good at 15x. An 80mm scope that shows inferiority to a smaller scope at 34x is a very bad sign. Worse than that the inferiority increases at higher magnifications.

I hesitate to speak for Stephen Ingraham about this, but I recall a phone conversation we had about the MasterBirder after this review appeared. I believe the tone of the review reflects a nice guy trying to say whatever good things he can honestly say about a flawed product, while still slipping in the red flags for those who care to notice them.

Henry

 

[mooreorless]

80mm scope that has trouble with 34x, don't go there. I don't think anybody that read that review would want to buy that scope. Best used at 15x , no wonder the two on Astromart didn't sell. The ED version, why bother. Buy a Nikon ED50.

I am glad Gwen likes his WO 72 FD-APO and I am sure it is in another league and will take higher powers if need be.

 

[woodhornbirder]

This could be good ep for wideview :

http://www.astronomycentre.co.uk/Scopos_Extreme_30mm_Eyepiece_p/p3004030.htm

reasonable price!

 

[wrz0170]

Hi everyone ... Today I purchased a Astro/spotting scope the Williams Optics M72 with the optional Williams 2" 45 degree erecting prism. This little scope is a F/6 with a 430mm focal length. This is the first refractor that I have purchased that required the optional erecting prism. I have used the Williams erecting prism on the C5 celestron spotter but since the M72 & C5 are two different type of scopes I was wondering if anyone has owned/used the M72 & what experience you have had with any 15X to 25X power 1 1/4" or 2" eyepiecesthat. The scope wont be here for another week & I would like to get an idea of what eyepieces I might want to try with it .... gwen

Hi Gwen! I will be interested to see what you do with your WO scope! I recently let go of a Zeiss Diascope 85 in favor of a Stellarvue 80mm Triplet. For a couple of reasons. First, we aren't the "mobile" birders that we thought we were. 2nd, some admittingly frustration with its use; focusing, camera use and actual targeting of birds. And finally, a long but unanswered call to Astronomy. While not as robust as the Zeiss, a Swarovski or Kowa etc, I feel that it will answer our call quite well from our deck or the occasional field trip. It addresses some of our issues with a more finer touch focuser (Feather Touch), multi-reticle finder for ease of targeting and the ability to marry it with our Canon T2i. At first, I will be using a Pentax Zoom EP 20-60x with 38-60 FOV. I will be narrowing it down to specific EP from there for terrestrial use. Keep us posted!

 

[wllmspd]

I have the 66mm William optics and have just picked up a suitable carry case from telekop service that makes it fit in better in the field. I use a 13mm nagler to give me around30x with an ultra wide field of view to ep find stuff. Low eye relief and some minor distortion, but pin sharpen and colour free. The baader zoom is also good, but I hate the way it narrows own at the longer focal length and it quite big.

Cheers

PeterWoolliams

 

[jaymoynihan]

I was one of the unhappy owners of the infamous 80mm “Brandon” refractor.

Ah yes. Me too. The one that appeared in the mid-1980's? :eek!::-C

 

[Can Popper]

I'm using something similar now, the Televue 76 APO refractor. I find it more versatile than my Pentax 100ED and with 2" eyepieces, the views are just stunning.

Check out this videoscope I did through the Televue using a Pentax 2" XW40 eyepiece (sorry about the audio, my kids wouldn't stop talking):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36cfDs90A9g

Main deficiency is longer setup time. The nice thing about spotters is you just slip it onto the tripod. The astro requires more assembly.

 

[DadraFromFrance]

<Megrez 72 FD

A late post :smoke:
I also use a WO Megrez 72FD but with à 1'25 erecting prism and some Nagler and a WO zoom (nice but not UWA). It's great for terrestials views at 80X ! What is the benefit of a 2' ercting prism ??? Ok, you can nsert 2' eyepieces but all eyepieces from 16 to 3.5 ar in 1.25'...
More light with 2' prism ? I'm not sure !
Wich spoting scope can equal the quality of the Megrez (432mm) ? I need one...
Thanks

 

[gcole]

A late post :smoke:
I also use a WO Megrez 72FD but with à 1'25 erecting prism and some Nagler and a WO zoom (nice but not UWA). It's great for terrestials views at 80X ! What is the benefit of a 2' ercting prism ??? Ok, you can nsert 2' eyepieces but all eyepieces from 16 to 3.5 ar in 1.25'...
More light with 2' prism ? I'm not sure !
Wich spoting scope can equal the quality of the Megrez (432mm) ? I need one...
Thanks

Hi ... I purchased this scope because I wanted the option to use both the 1.25" to 2 " eyepieces , mainly the 2" because I perfer the larger ocular lens to view thru & the fact it just Oooo's with that high quality(all metal) feel /look giving a vey sharp view. Being able to own a compact go to scope that will give you all that for under $500 & is not made in China really is amazing. I dont know of any scope, waterproof or not that will give what the 72 Megrez does for that price. Yes I know its a trade off between a waterproof refractor like the Pentax 65ED & others but with a little thought /care it will perform longer than me. Since I made my comments regarding my purchase of the WO Megrez 72 FD in this post I have spent a few bucks looking for that one eyepiece which will make this scope all it can be. That being said the new upto date Williams 2 inch erecting prism now comes with the 1.25" adopter so you have the choice for either size eyepiece. As for how much light each eyepiece brings to one's eye still depends on the quality of the erecting prism, scope , with the exit pupil & quality of the eyepiece. I perfer the lower end of power between 15x to 25x. The Vixen Wide Lanthanum eyepieces have a 65 to 72 degree range depending upon which power eyepiece you choose in the mid $200 range. I plan on trying these next , some can be used as either 1.25 or 2" eyepieces. They have gotten good reviews. After reading some reviews on the Naglers(I have never owned one) I just purchased a 2" 22mm type 4 , I purchased it used for a big discount. This nagler has a 19mm eyerelief with a 82 degree & will be 20x on the Williams 72 Megrez. Having a field stop of about 31, Iam hoping it will work with the large 31mm aperature of the 2" erecting prism. If this turns out to be that one all it can be eyepiece in my low power range in a 2" wide , I will then try out some of the higher end 1.25" eyepieces with higher power. I will repost in a few days in case anyone is interested. I will also have a few eyepieces for sale ... gwen

 

[DadraFromFrance]

Hi ... I purchased this scope because I wanted the option to use both the 1.25" to 2 " eyepieces , mainly the 2" because I perfer the larger ocular lens to view thru & the fact it just Oooo's with that high quality(all metal) feel /look giving a vey sharp view. Being able to own a compact go to scope that will give you all that for under $500 & is not made in China really is amazing. I dont know of any scope, waterproof or not that will give what the 72 Megrez does for that price. Yes I know its a trade off between a waterproof refractor like the Pentax 65ED & others but with a little thought /care it will perform longer than me. Since I made my comments regarding my purchase of the WO Megrez 72 FD in this post I have spent a few bucks looking for that one eyepiece which will make this scope all it can be. That being said the new upto date Williams 2 inch erecting prism now comes with the 1.25" adopter so you have the choice for either size eyepiece. As for how much light each eyepiece brings to one's eye still depends on the quality of the erecting prism, scope , with the exit pupil & quality of the eyepiece. I perfer the lower end of power between 15x to 25x. The Vixen Wide Lanthanum eyepieces have a 65 to 72 degree range depending upon which power eyepiece you choose in the mid $200 range. I plan on trying these next , some can be used as either 1.25 or 2" eyepieces. They have gotten good reviews. After reading some reviews on the Naglers(I have never owned one) I just purchased a 2" 22mm type 4 , I purchased it used for a big discount. This nagler has a 19mm eyerelief with a 82 degree & will be 20x on the Williams 72 Megrez. Having a field stop of about 31, Iam hoping it will work with the large 31mm aperature of the 2" erecting prism. If this turns out to be that one all it can be eyepiece in my low power range in a 2" wide , I will then try out some of the higher end 1.25" eyepieces with higher power. I will repost in a few days in case anyone is interested. I will also have a few eyepieces for sale ... gwen

1. All the WO UWAN 1'25 EP are large with good eye relief and wide view...

2. Not "made in China " but "Made in Taiwan" |<|with Ohara ED glass (FLP 51 ?52 ? 53 ? another glass ? no information for the glass !). WO is i not a constructor, it's a "label" : some scopes are goods, some bads...

 

[gcole]

Hi ... I purchased this scope because I wanted the option to use both the 1.25" to 2 " eyepieces , mainly the 2" because I perfer the larger ocular lens to view thru & the fact it just Oooo's with that high quality(all metal) feel /look giving a vey sharp view. Being able to own a compact go to scope that will give you all that for under $500 & is not made in China really is amazing. I dont know of any scope, waterproof or not that will give what the 72 Megrez does for that price. Yes I know its a trade off between a waterproof refractor like the Pentax 65ED & others but with a little thought /care it will perform longer than me. Since I made my comments regarding my purchase of the WO Megrez 72 FD in this post I have spent a few bucks looking for that one eyepiece which will make this scope all it can be. That being said the new upto date Williams 2 inch erecting prism now comes with the 1.25" adopter so you have the choice for either size eyepiece. As for how much light each eyepiece brings to one's eye still depends on the quality of the erecting prism, scope , with the exit pupil & quality of the eyepiece. I perfer the lower end of power between 15x to 25x. The Vixen Wide Lanthanum eyepieces have a 65 to 72 degree range depending upon which power eyepiece you choose in the mid $200 range. I plan on trying these next , some can be used as either 1.25 or 2" eyepieces. They have gotten good reviews. After reading some reviews on the Naglers(I have never owned one) I just purchased a 2" 22mm type 4 , I purchased it used for a big discount. This nagler has a 19mm eyerelief with a 82 degree & will be 20x on the Williams 72 Megrez. Having a field stop of about 31, Iam hoping it will work with the large 31mm aperature of the 2" erecting prism. If this turns out to be that one all it can be eyepiece in my low power range in a 2" wide , I will then try out some of the higher end 1.25" eyepieces with higher power. I will repost in a few days in case anyone is interested. I will also have a few eyepieces for sale ... gwen

I just received the Tele vue 22mm nagler type 4 & before I even opened the shipping box I knew this eyepiece was going to be like no other I have ever handled , just from the weight alone I knew this was going to be one big eyepiece. I could not get over the size, massive, with a very large ocular. After about 20 Min. of scanning the lake I can now say with this eyepiece to my eyes, it brings out the best this scope can be. The 22mm nagler gives a 20x power on the 72 Megrez. Now combine that with its very comfortable long eyerelief with a massive view( eyepiece spec's 82 degree), outstanding contrast, sharpness & I now know why it sells at such a high price. It retails almost as much as I paid for the scope with the vixen porta mount. I know of no birding scope which utilizes 1.25" eyepieces, highend or not that will give such a performance gven the fact when bought new the 72 Megrez sells for under $500. As seen in the picture ...... Megrez 72mm New $420. + Vixen Porta Mount used New condition $230. + WO 2 " erecting prism New $209. + Tele Vue 22mm Nagler Type 4 Used New condition $340. = $ 1,199. My 77mm Kowa cost me $ 2,050. with one eyepiece New, the 72mm Megrez was almost 1/2 the cost with a nice mount & gives me a better view. The picture below shows the 22mm nagler with the Williams optics 2" erecting prism. Now on to search for that one 32 to 36x power eyepiece that will make the 72 Megrez all it can be ... gwen

 

[mayoayo]

And Just wait until you get that 100mm Fluorite APO Triplet to get ALL Your Nagler can Give!!!

 

[gcole]

And Just wait until you get that 100mm Fluorite APO Triplet to get ALL Your Nagler can Give!!!

I was just thinking the same thing. Being retired now & almost 62 years old, I know I will not be able to spend all the money I saved & made in investments over the last 40 years when I finally have to take a dirt nap. So I have decided Iam going to spend every penny while I can still see & have the strength to carry it around ..... gwen

 

[DadraFromFrance]

And Just wait until you get that 100mm Fluorite APO Triplet to get ALL Your Nagler can Give!!!

o