Quality Scopes and tripods

Nick Forster

Member
Ironman
At the moment I have a cheap ( bought of ebay ) scope it has a 60mm objective lense and variable magnification up to 40X. Problem is that the optics are poor although you can see arrows at 90m if the light is low or there is a lot of arrows in the boss it is very hard to make out my own arrows, I have tried some other scopes and they are a lot better, Other people must of had this problem so lets have your recomendations.
1:- good optics
2:-rugidnesss
3:-Water proof
4:-cost

Next what tripod do you use with it
1:- rigidity
2:-weight
3:-max height
4:-cost

your help is apprieciated
Nick:cheerful:
 

napolienne

Active member
Fonz Awardee
Speaking with my other expensive pastime hat on, Manfrotto tripods are amazing. But very costly...
 

danda

Member
A flimsy tripod can be steadied up nicely if you suspend a weight from the apex. From The Other Hobby, a camera bag used to have enough assorted lenses / flashguns / tweeds / developing tents / spare plates / crap in it to be suitable. Digital's made everything lighter.

If you can fit an Ultra Violet filter on the front, that might help with haze over distance (but to be honest, that might only be relevant for Flight / Moon Shooting distances.)

http://www.greenwich-observatory.co.uk/acatalog/Spotter_Scopes.html looks interesting.

The birdwatching community also seem keen on their scopes. Kindred spirits of the "geeky anorak-wearing taking inexplicable pleasure in a pastime that involves standing out in the rain a lot and actually enjoying it" sort.
 

markmingay

New member
I have an Aldi special ?25 scope (as have quite a few other Archers I think) for what it cost very good value I am able to pick out my arrows at 90 Meters easily.
I have a very old Gitzo reporter tripod, if you find one of these second had get it Gitzo still make tripods for about ?200 + Very sturdy & stable Tripods (got a Benbo Mk 1 as well but that is a bit over the top)
 
D

Deleted member 74

Guest
Always remember one very important point. If you are going to buy a nice (and expensive) scope, always make sure you buy a tripod that is going to keep it upright at all times! I've seen countless scopes blown over at tournaments. I certainly wouldn't want a ?1400 Leica to be tangled with 3-4 others on the shooting line...

You didn't state a budget. I'd naturally go for a Leica APO 77mm scope with a Manfrotto MF4 tripod, since it travels well. Manfrotto tripods have separate heads though, as do some of the Velbon line. I'd be happy with a standard 3-way Manfrotto head.
If you're looking for something moderately cheaper, the Nikon Fieldscope line has great quality. I'd get the ED82 scope. A more economical tripod would be a Velbon CX-540, which is what I use when I travel. But it's not as stable.
Reasonably cheap but very good quality are the Alpen scopes from the US. But they need to be imported, since they aren't available from UK distributors.
My scope setup currently is a Bausch and Lomb Discoverer 60mm with the B&L Tall Master tripod. The tripod is very stable but the scope is fairly average. Still good enough for spotting linecutters at 90m though... :)
 

Whitehart

Well-known member
At the moment I have a cheap ( bought of ebay ) scope it has a 60mm objective lense and variable magnification up to 40X. Problem is that the optics are poor although you can see arrows at 90m if the light is low or there is a lot of arrows in the boss it is very hard to make out my own arrows, I have tried some other scopes and they are a lot better, Other people must of had this problem so lets have your recomendations.
1:- good optics
2:-rugidnesss
3:-Water proof
4:-cost

Next what tripod do you use with it
1:- rigidity
2:-weight
3:-max height
4:-cost

your help is apprieciated
Nick:cheerful:
Hi Nick

Interesting that you should bring this topic up.

The first outdoor shoot of the season brought it home to me that I needed to start using a scope on the line especially for the longer distances (8x40 bins were good enough in the past not worried about line cutters just that the arrows are landing more or less where they should). By my calculations it cost me 30 points plus thinking that arrows were in the gold only to find great groups in the Blue at 6 O'Clock. Fortunately my Dad goes bird watching in the winter and has loaned me his scope and tripod for the summer. The Scope is an 80mm Opticron and the tripod is a Velbon CX680.

Tonight I used the scope for the first time.
The scope is great and the Tripod very stable but you cannot tilt the fixing so the eye piece sticks up in the air. So point 1 make sure the fixing head can tilt the right way for right handed archers some don't.

I am told that the scope has very good optical quality but at even 100yards it needed only 20x to spot all the arrows infact the more magnification the harder it was to distinguish colours although you could spot line cutters very easily.

The scope is now going to have to form part of my shot routine, for shoots where you cannot leave the scope on the line what do people do to save time setting up each time, I was thinking of target pins in the ground.

Before being offered my dads scope I had started looking around for scopes and tripods and the 2 tripods that surprisingly seem to do the job are the Velbon CX440 (?20) CX540 (?30)

Finally found this scope at Cameras2u.com - Centron 20-60X60mm Waterproof nitrogen filled for only ?69.99 Jessups sell it for ?199. Not the best optical quality but better than most on ebay and waterproof.

TBH if I had the spare cash and nerve to ask permission from my wife I would buy the Olivon 80mm & tripod on our website if anyone was thinking why I was trawling websites for a scopes and not putting my money where my mouth is:cheerful:
 

Clive

New member
Fonz Awardee
I use a Nikon fieldscope 80mm front lens with up to 60 times mag. Loads of light in it so easy to pick out arrows and you can even check out your line cutters at 100yds. I think it cost about ?250-?300 but I use it for birding as well.

Have a look at it on Sunday.

Clive
 

Nick Forster

Member
Ironman
Thanks clive I will do
Oh iam am also repairing your long rod tonight will email you with the result.
Nick

I use a Nikon fieldscope 80mm front lens with up to 60 times mag. Loads of light in it so easy to pick out arrows and you can even check out your line cutters at 100yds. I think it cost about ?250-?300 but I use it for birding as well.

Have a look at it on Sunday.

Clive
 

worthipa

Supporter
Supporter
Straight Nikon Field scope 15 - 45x zoom, nitrogen filled and waterproof
Manfrotto 055 Professional tripod, Manfrotto 3265 quick release grip action ball head. I would recommend using a quick release for rapid setup and takedown.

Nikon 10x36 Sporter 1 binoculars for shorter distances

Mrs Worthipa has an ALDI special (as recommended by me in the previous post on this subject) 20 - 60x zoom with an angled eyepiece, excellent value for money, OK probably not waterproof so use a cover! Her tripod setup is the same as mine.

I also bought two padded cordura tripod bags from a company in Hong Kong called Next Digital (apple.toy on Ebay). Bearing in mind they only cost ?9.99 the quality when they arrived, in 3 days (!) was superb. They come with a separate padded case for your ball head, detachable strap and quality zips.

I don't agree that you can stabilise a poor tripod with a suspended weight, poor tripods are never a good investment. However you could try one of these (Ebay Item number: 170112269210) if you are looking to further stabilise a good tripod!
 

Nick Forster

Member
Ironman
it is interesting what people are saying about the tripods Iam looking at the velbrom range the ones with the round legs as these seem more stable.
I have also been looking at the opticron scopes around the ?200 markbut one of our club member has the centron and seeing the price that white hart found it is very tempting although I might still go for a larger objective lense.
please keep them coming
Nick
 

Whitehart

Well-known member
one of our club member has the centon
Is it any good?

With regards to tripods one of our members has a round legged professional photographic tripod very steady but the biggest problem is weight and the legs spread out too far so he tends to leave it behind the line.
 

Jacqamoe

New member
Greenwitch have an excellent range of scopes and darn good prices. We saved over ?20 by getting our scope from them! :cheerful:
 

Ski

The American
Ironman
American Shoot
I also bought the ALDI special ?25:00 scope. Absolutely fantastic. Could see a road sign very clearly at 300 yds. Arrows at 100 yds no problem (Except for the ones in the grass). If you think they are likely to fog up inside, unscrew the lens, drop in a small bag of silica gel (normally found in packing) used as a desiccant.

Tripod, star 42 on sale at ASDA ?15:00 at Tesco for ?10:00. Need something heavier tie a brick to it. Total spend ?40:00 sorted.

:mind-blow
 

Nick Forster

Member
Ironman
yes the last time i used his i was quit impressed. but i think his is the next size up so iam going to check.
Is it any good?

With regards to tripods one of our members has a round legged professional photographic tripod very steady but the biggest problem is weight and the legs spread out too far so he tends to leave it behind the line.
 

mk1

It's an X
Supporter
Tips for getting scope back in place on the line.

I set up my scope with two tripod legs on the line and the 3rd leg out in front. If I'm A or C then I can invariably put the far away line leg down next to the number and then place the one next to me on the line - just bung your boot in the right place and pop the leg down against it :cheerful: If I'm B or D and can't spot a marker for either line leg than I may have to use a pin to help.

On initial set up I tighten everything down and rely on just moving tripod legs a little to get the target into view each time, but I'm usually on without much bother. :knockout:
 

danda

Member
"Flimsy" didn't necessarily mean crap. The bag- hanging trick is a real oldie.

I was thinking more of the weight and convenience of actually carrying it, rather than a Sachtler System 75 OB 2000 (drool), which I'd never take out of the house, in case it got scratched / rained on / touched by anyone...
 

worthipa

Supporter
Supporter
"Flimsy" didn't necessarily mean crap. The bag- hanging trick is a real oldie.

I was thinking more of the weight and convenience of actually carrying it, rather than a Sachtler System 75 OB 2000 (drool), which I'd never take out of the house, in case it got scratched / rained on / touched by anyone...
I've yet to see a flimsy tripod that wasn't crap!

Get a carry case if you're worried about the "convenience of actually carrying it" (see my original post). I can't understand the thinking behind spending ?100, 200, 300 or more on a scope and then hanging it on a ?25 tripod.
And why anyone would want to take a Sachtler System 75 OB 2000 outside is also something of a mystery, as it's on castors and is actually a studio tripod!
 

ThePinkOne

New member
I've got a (relatively) cheap spotting scope from ebay ("buy it now" Chinese import job). Does the job. For tripod I use the one I had already- my decent photographic tripod, cannot remember how much it cost >10 years ago but it is a decent one and has (evidently) lasted the course......

To be honest, I couldn't justify spending too much on an expensive spotting scope, especially when it's out in all weathers at a shoot..... and the one I have does the job fine, I mean expensive optics are hardly necessary for spotting arrows in a boss especially when I wear glasses with an extreme prescription anyhow.... (be different if I was using it for photographic work or such like)- I was actually pleasently surprised at how well my cheap Chinese copy performs!

JMO though.....

P.
 
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