Alula tests top birding scopes:
Is there a new king of the hill?

A few years have passed since ALULA last tested telescopes. Since then, several makers have made minor improvements to their models or introduced new eyepieces for them, but what prompted us to do a new test was Zeiss’ introduction of a completely new series. The smaller of the new Zeiss scopes has a 65mm and the larger an 85mm triplet objective made of fluoride glass. For this issue, we tested the large telescopes with 77-85mm objectives, and with the kind co-operation of the importers, Foto-Fennica Oy and Lintuvaruste Oy, we succeeded in testing the best models of Falco Kite/Kamakura (one scope under two different brand names), Leica, Kowa, Nikon, Pentax, and Swarovski in addition to the 85mm Zeiss. Among the brands available in Finland, the only significant omission was Optolyth, whose 80 and 100mm fluorite scopes were, unfortunately, not in stock at the time of our testing. Since a majority of birders these days buy their scopes with a zoom eyepiece, we decided to test the scopes with them. All except for the Pentax were angled eyepiece models. To the discussion of each scope’s test results, I have added my own brief assessment of the quality of the wide-angle eyepieces available for them to the extent that I have been able to try them.

Our test team did the actual test viewing outdoors at a nature reserve in Helsinki on a sunny December afternoon. The temperature was -7C° with excellent visibility. I also checked the optical quality of the scopes indoors with resolution targets: these results were chiefly used to verify the results our test team got outdoors, check the reliability of the manufacturers’ field of view specs, and evaluate the low light performance of the scopes.  

In connection with telescope tests, one must also bring up the issue of variations in quality in precision optics. With birding scopes, maximum magnifications are sought together with minimum size and weight, and, as a result, they tend to push the limits when it comes to what can be seen with the size of objectives they use. Thus, even slight manufacturing defects can be visible in the image, for instance, as a problem in obtaining an absolutely sharp image or as reduced contrast, a kind of ‘radiance’. Out of the test scopes, we had reason to suspect that the Leica and possibly the Pentax were lemons, although they perhaps met their manufacturer’s quality control criteria. This is an alarmingly high number out of seven tested telescopes. However, in a test we must, for better or for worse. evaluate the specimen we have at hand. An additional difficulty during winter is that the image of a telescope taken from the warm indoors to the cold outdoors can turn fuzzy until the scope has reached thermal equilibrium. In this test, for instance, Zeiss’s image was, for the first fifteen minutes in the cold, muddy enough that it would have finished among the last had the image not soon settled.  

Technical properties and usability 

- Size and weight with zoom eyepiece: Nikon (37cm) and Zeiss (40cm) were the most compact. Falco/Kamakura, Swarovski, Kowa, and Leica are all about 10cm longer than the first two. The straight-through viewing Pentax with its huge eyepiece looks large next to the others, although it only measures 5cm longer than the previous four. Nikon (the lightest), Swarovski, Falco/Kamakura, and Zeiss weigh from ~1650 to ~1750g; Kowa a little over 1800g, and Leica and Pentax a little over two kilos.. The new M-series Kowa has a body made of a carbon-reinforced synthetic material; Falco/ Kamakura and Pentax are a combination of synthetic materials and light metal alloys; and the other four have all metal bodies. 

- Balance: Only Kowa’s engineers have succeeded in designing a scope that balances on a video head. The Zeiss is slightly, Falco/Kamakura moderately and Nikon annoyingly front heavy. Swarovski, Leica, and Pentax are markedly rear heavy. 

- Built-in sunshade is missing in the Nikon, which only has an 82mm filter thread. All the others have adequate, pullout sunshades.

- Aiming devices: Only Swarovski and Leica have aiming devices that are of use in quick situations, since with them you can aim straight from the eyepiece. Zeiss’ aiming device works OK. None of the other scopes have aiming devices that are of any use to birders. 

- Eyepiece mounts: The Nikon has a simple and secure threaded mount that is only a little slower to use than a bayonet mount. Pentax has a quick-to-use compression ring mount. All the other scopes have bayonet mounts, which in the Swarovski is secured with a safety latch against accidental removal. In the Kowa and the Falco/Kamakura, the bayonet was loose enough to raise concerns about accidental eyepiece removal. The Zeiss bayonet is exceptionally sturdy and well sealed, and was more difficult than the others to unfasten even intentionally. 

- Waterproofing: According to the manufacturers, all except Nikon are waterproof and nitrogen filled. The Nikon is said to be splash proof, with O-ring seals. (However, I have asked all the Nikon owners I have seen for their experiences, and I have yet to hear of any cases where a Fieldscope leaked or fogged up).

- Closest focusing distance was not measured, since according to the manufacturer's specs, even the poorest one (Swarovski) focuses to 6 metres, which I think is close enough for birding.

- Lens caps and cases: Among objective lens caps, the Nikon has a simple, durable and quick-to-use push-on cap that also stays on well. Kowa and Falco/Kamakura have solid, threaded caps, which, however, are quite slow to thread on/off. The others have bayonet lens covers with Swarovski's being the sturdiest, Leica's acceptable, and Zeiss' flimsy and requiring very nimble fingers. The best eyepiece covers are found on the Swarovski and the Kowa, which feature a threaded cup covering the entire eyepiece. Zeiss and Nikon have decent, deep caps, although the Zeiss one is too tight and Nikon's is a little too loose. Leica's cap is shallower and drops off more easily. The caps for Pentax and Falco/Kamakura are very shallow and loose, and are likely to get lost on your first field trip. The stay-on field bag that accompanied the Pentax was impressive and well made. Zeiss' importer provided us with an accessory field bag. It was a good design and quite well made, but its metal zippers had an irritating tendency to catch, which made it slow to open and close, and it was quite a tight fit. Nikon has a high-quality bag included in the price. However, you cannot view through it unless a couple of extra zippers are added. For the other scopes in the test, a field bag is a more or less pricey accessory.

- Viewing with glasses: Leica, Falco/Kamakura, Pentax, Swarovski, and Zeiss are all likely to give a full field of view even with most glasses. Kowa and Nikon might suffice for some, but do not give full field of view for nearly all eyeglass wearers. Leica, Nikon, and Pentax feature twistable eyecups, Zeiss a pull-out, twist-to-lock eyecup, and Falco/Kamakura, Kowa, and Swarovski still feature the old-fashioned fold-down rubber eyecup. 

The testing group in action.

 

Test results 

Winner: Zeiss Diascope 85 T* FL and 20-60x zoom  

The new Zeiss emerged as the winner in a tough and even contest. Its image is sharp and brighter than the rest at all magnifications and in all light conditions. At 60x magnification, the Zeiss had the best resolution, the text of our test target was easiest to see and it “snapped” into sharpest focus the most easily. Only the Nikon, which reaches 75x magnification, could resolve a bit better by using this advantage. The colour of the Zeiss’s image had a yellowish-green bias to the extent that all who looked through it commented on it. In the waning light of a setting winter sun, colours could be resolved for a longer time and better than with the other tested telescopes. In the Zeiss, colours generally look lighter than in the others, and perhaps for this reason its contrast in bright light seemed a little less sharp; black was not as black as with the other top-ranked scopes. However, the seams of a distant brick wall, which could not be seen at all through some of the tested scopes, were most easily seen with the Zeiss. When taken from room temperature to -7°, it took about 15 minutes before the Zeiss’s image settled down to be sharp and stable. Until then it was muddy and soft. Against the sun, the Zeiss exhibited more flare than most of the tested scopes, but despite this it was easy to see detail on the target. The Zeiss zoom eyepiece breaks new ground with its wide field: 2.47-1.19°. At large magnifications, the difference in field to the next widest (Leica) is not very significant, but at 20x magnification the Zeiss image has 1.3 times the diameter and, thus, 1.8 times the area of bird-filled sky or water than that of the other tested scopes. As a result, the image also does not feel narrow and constricted as it has always been with zooms until now. Unfortunately, a relatively wide area of the field edge has rather poor image quality especially at low magnifications, where the edges look acceptably sharp only if you place your eye closer to the lens than is optimal for easy viewing of the centre field. Starting with about 40x magnification the edges begin to look quite good, although, even with high magnification, the Zeiss’s edge quality is distinctly below the level of Leica and Swarovski zooms. When panning, the image of the Zeiss also bends and twists unpleasantly, but one would probably get used to this after some use. In birding, however, a wide image, even if it is soft at the edges, is much more useful than one which is sharp to the edge but narrow. It was easy for most testers to find the correct eye position and get the best image.  The eyecup was very reluctant to move on the cold testing day. The focusing system is a Leica-like double knob but better in the sense that the knobs are clearly separated and you can get a good grip of the fine focus knob between your thumb and forefinger. The fast focus knob is unpleasantly stiff, but the fine focus knob is pretty smooth and allows extremely precise focusing. Zooming was smooth but somewhat stiff, and the zoom grip is not rubberised. The warranty is 10 years. 30x and 40x wide-angles are also available. I tried these briefly and found that they are very good and provide a bright and sharp image, but the image is not as restful nor is the edge resolution as good as in the Nikon and Leica wide-angles. At 60x magnification, the Zeiss provided an image of such quality that we would gladly have tried it with greater magnifications than the presently available eyepieces allow. 

 

Tied for second place:

Kowa 823M and 20-60x zoom 

The 823M’s optics are unchanged from the earlier 823 model, but the body has been reinforced to make it more impact-resistant. With these changes, the new model weighs about 100g more than the old. Kowa’s image is excellent. In resolution, it was equal to the Swarovski. Kowa provides the most neutral colour balance of the group; its contrast, especially in side and front light, was very good; and its brightness in daylight second only to Zeiss at all magnifications, although its edge over the Nikon and Swarovski scopes was narrow. Viewing against the sun, the Kowa did not fare quite as well as the other two second-place scopes, exhibiting a little more flare and slightly inferior colour recognition. The field of view of the Kowa zoom (1.9-1.0°) is a typical narrow, tube-like zoom’s field, about the same as Swarovski’s at small magnifications and a hair’s breadth wider at large ones. Edge quality varies from poor at 20x to very good at 40-50x, and deteriorates a little again when increasing magnification to 60x. Between 25-40x there is also a shiny surface visible inside the eyepiece barrel beyond the field edge. Thus, the Kowa’s image is not one of the most even and restful to view. However, finding the optimum eye position is easy, and the best image is not hard to find. The rubberised focus knob at the side of the prism housing is a little too stiff, and making precise focus adjustments was more difficult than with the other scopes. Zoom adjustment was very light but had a somewhat rough feel. The warranty is 5 years. Also available are excellent 32x and 50x wide-angles. 

Tied for second place: 

Nikon Fieldscope ED 78 A and 25-75x zoom MC 

Among the scopes tied for second place, the Nikon stands out the most both for better and for worse. It is capable of higher magnification than any of the others, but also gives a narrower field at any given magnification. Nikon’s image is sharp; the scope can handle its 75x magnification; and with this magnification edge, it provided the highest resolution in our test although only by a narrow margin. Also when set to 60x magnification, only the Zeiss bested the Nikon by a hair. The Nikon’s image has a slight reddish bias, very good contrast, and brightness at comparable magnifications close to the Kowa’s. At magnifications over 60x, the image brightness drops markedly, but the 75x image still remains useably bright even in low light levels although viewing takes more effort. In very poor light, the Nikon maintains its performance better than the Kowa and Swarovski. Against the sun, its performance was excellent with very little flare and very good contrast. Due to its higher magnifications, the zoom’s field (1.6-0.77°) is narrowest of all by a fairly large margin, and the image also looks narrow and tube-like save at the very highest magnifications. At smallest magnification, a yellow-green hue appeared at the edge of the field. Overall, the image is restful and quite even throughout the range, and edge resolution is very good. However, optimum eye placement is rather critical and viewing is not quite as easy as with the other top-ranked scopes. The large, rubberised focus ring around the scope’s body moves smoothly and precisely, but at high magnifications exceedingly small movements are needed for precise focusing. Zooming is smooth with a rubberised ring. The warranty is 10 years. Also available are 30x, 38x, 50x and 75x wide-angles, which together with Leica’s 32xWW are the best wide-angles currently available. 

Tied for second place: 

Swarovski AT 80 HD and 20-60x zoom 

The winner of our previous test again proved to be an excellent scope. It was easy to obtain a sharp image at all magnifications, and our distant resolution target was nearly as easy to read as with the Zeiss and Nikon. The image has a warm bias; contrast is very good; but brightness, especially in low light, was markedly below that of Zeiss and also noticeably below that of Kowa and Nikon. Thus, seeing colour in low light was more difficult than with the other top-ranked contenders. In foggy conditions, however (which we did not have during our testing), the Swarovski has often excelled. Viewing against the sun, the Swarovski was excellent with very little flare and very good contrast, being nearly as good as the Leica. The field of the zoom (1.9-0.95°) remains relatively narrow even at high magnifications. Edge resolution is second only to Leica, and the image remains very uniform and restful throughout the magnification range. Optimum eye placement is easy, and the best image is found without effort. The large metal focus ring around the scope’s body is precise and fast. Zooming is smooth but stiff. Warranty is 30 years. A 30x wide-angle is available. Its image quality is good but not quite up to the level of the best competitors. 

Fifth place:

Leica Apo-Televid 77 and 20-60x zoom  

Leica would have belonged in the above group except that its image at high magnifications would not snap into perfect focus, so the text of our resolution target could not quite be resolved. Leica’s colour bias is a little too much on the warm side; its contrast is very good; but brightness in this group is only average. Viewing against the sun showed only marginal flare and very good contrast, and in this part of the test it was the best of the group. The field of the zoom (1.9-1.1°) is tube-like and narrow only at small magnifications; at large magnifications it is open and pleasant. Edge resolution is excellent at all magnifications. Optimum eye placement is not critical, and viewing is effortless. The dual-speed rubberised focus knob has a very stiff fast gear and the knobs are awkwardly right next to each other. The slower gear is reasonably good, but stiffer and more difficult to adjust precisely than the one in Zeiss. Zooming is smooth and only a bit on the stiff side, but the zoom grip is not rubberised. The warranty is 5 years. 20x and 32x wide-angles are available, and especially the latter is one of the best there is. 

Sixth place:

Falco Kite SP 80ED/Kamakura SP 80 ED and 20-60x zoom 

(The same scope is available under two brand names. Since the two specimens we received for testing performed nearly identically indoors, we only tested one of them in the field.) 

The reasonably priced challenger did very well considering the tough competition it faced. It snapped into focus easily even at highest magnification, and resolved nearly as well as the top four scopes in the test. Its colour bias was moderately bluish-purple; its contrast a little below the others and its image darkens somewhat more at high magnifications. Viewing against the sun, it exhibited significantly more flare, which also interfered more with the viewing than in the others, but one could nevertheless adequately see the target. The zoom field is the narrowest of the lot (1.8-1.0°) and edge resolution is the poorest as well. Eye placement was not critical and viewing was relatively effortless. The longish, rubberised focus knob was smooth and precise. Zooming felt rough and was somewhat stiff. The warranty is 5 years. A 30x wide-angle is available. In a quick trial it seemed very good. For identifying birds, the Falco/Kamakura is a competent scope, which does not fall much short of even the best scopes in this test. 

Seventh place:

Pentax PF 80 ED and SMC Zoom 20-60x 

The Pentax scope has been highly rated in the United States and, therefore, its performance came as a disappointment to our team. For the team members who are used to using angled scopes, using the straight-through viewing Pentax was also an ordeal. Especially at high magnifications, the image of the Pentax was more blurred and softer than in the other scopes, and it could not quite resolve the text of our distant test object. Colour has a slight bluish bias, contrast is good and brightness average in this group. The scope was also average against the sun. The field provided by the massive zoom eyepiece (1.9-1.0°) is typical for a zoom, narrow and tube-like, with a rather good edge-of-field quality. Optimum eye position is very critical and, due to the scope’s large eye relief, relatively difficult to find and maintain. This results in viewing being somewhat fatiguing. The long, rubberised focus knob moves smoothly, lightly, and evenly. Zooming is likewise smooth but quite stiff. The Pentax comes with a limited lifetime warranty. Also available are 18x, 24x, 36x, 48x and 72x wide-angles which we did not have for testing but which have a stellar reputation among amateur astronomers. In addition, the Pentax can take any of the hundreds of 1.25” mount astronomical eyepieces on the market. 

Conclusions 

The telescopes we tested turned out to be very even in performance. Our test team was unanimous about the winner, although it was not considered far superior to the others by any means. Zeiss has now proven that it is possible to pair a larger-than-usual high-quality objective with a compact and functional body. At least as significant is the improvement in the field of view of Zeiss’s zoom. The trio that tied for second place also had excellent image quality and were so even that we did not want to rank one above the other. With them, a user’s needs and preferences would determine which one is the best choice. Leica has the best zoom eyepiece and its general optical quality with the exception of the tested scope’s sharpness is mostly very good. Falco/Kamakura was also found to be a competent birding scope, and even Pentax’s performance can be considered good although it did not fare that well in such tough company. 

 

Kimmo Absetz