Guys, I hope this one is not too far off the wall.

I mentioned in a post some time back that I lost the sight of my left eye in a car accident last year. I am now in "need" of some new glass for general spotting work. I would like to splash out on something top class, Swarovski or Zeiss, however, it seems pointless to spend �600 - �800 and only be able to use half of what I bought. I then obviously thought of a spotting scope, however, these tend to come only in very high magnification.

Can anyone suggest a top quality telescope in 8 - 12 power suitable for carrying around, mainly woodland work?

PS, I have actually considered buying a normal telescopic sight and carrying it on a strap around my neck. However, with eye relief issues, this does not really work.

Thanks, Brian.

I don't think such a thing exists. Generaly they are far too long and bulky anyhow.

I know Zeiss and Swarovski make monoculars but these are only a max of 2-3x

I would contact the Zeiss and Swarovski factories direct (factory NOT UK agents who are conditioned to say no as a matter of course) and explain your special circumstances to see if they would halve a pair at birth so to speak!

1894 is almost correct, but there are a *few* monoculars by good optics manufacturers that are of higher magnification.

Leica makes and 8x16 that is OK, but really does not have a big enough objective to work well at dusk and dawn. This is sold as a Leica/Minox monocular, by the way. I'd go for one of the following...

Zeiss makes a 10x25 monocular that costs about $USD 200 and I was quite impressed with the image quality. It is short but just larger than pocket sized. Don't over look this one!

Zeiss makes a dandy image stabilized 20x60 monocular (ca $USD 2500). It is fantastic! You can hand hold it, and resolve more detail than you could imagine! Only thing wrong with it is the price!

jpb

[ 06-02-2003, 18:59: Message edited by: jpb ]

Claret Dabbler
Many years ago I saw several "one-half of a binocular" made by Swarovski. They were exactly one half of a regular porro prism binocular. They were available in many power/objective lens sizes.
Check with them. They would be perfect for your use.

NE 450, this is exactly what I had in mind, sort of the right hand half of a 10x EL Swarovski.

Anybody out there blind in one eye? We'll go halfers on a pair of Swarovski's and a hack saw.

Cheers
Brian.

JPB, thanks, I found the Zeiss 10x25 monocular on line in England for �169 which seems a pretty decent price (about Euro235 or U$D270).

I have not been able to spot the Swarovski versions yet, certainly not on their website. There are a few game fairs / shows on here over the next month, I'll hang on until I can try a few out.

How would the twilight performance of the Zeiss stand up? In theory, a 10x25 has a pretty small exit pupil, anyone got any practical experience of this?

Thank you.
Brian.

Claret Dabbler
Something else you might think about. You could get those 10x Swarovski binos, and attach one of their doublers to one side. That way you have your bino,s and a light weight spotting scope in one package.
I prefer 8x bino,s my self, 8x to 16x sounds like a good idea to me.

1894's post made me recall something...

I did compare my Zeiss 8x20's to their 10x25 binoculars before buying.

I could resolve better detail with the 8x20's than the 10x25 -- perhaps because of shake, perhaps because the 8x20's had better eye relief for my glasses?

I am quite happy with my Zeiss 8x20 binoculars, and I have seen their monocular which really seems to be just one half. Might be worth a look -- my binoculars have held up perfectly with about 17 years of heavy use (I'm a biologist and I use them a LOT!).

The monocular is about the size of a roll of US quarters -- they don't get much smaller!

jpb

[ 06-06-2003, 20:42: Message edited by: jpb ]