JLG Report post Posted May 1, 2009 I've got a non-HD Fujinon and it sucks , I want to second the Fujinon sucks, I bought one 2 years ago, it was about $600, it was horriable, I used it for elk season and sent it back. Has nothing to do with the Swaro 80HD, but thought I would second what was posted before, Take Care, JLG. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wetmule Report post Posted May 1, 2009 Interesting that Swarovski says they put flouride in the glass. Canon's high end photography glass has elements with flourite in it. I always thought flouride was in tooth paste. Maybe Swarovski glass doesn't get any cavities. Tim I have a 80 mm non HD, if you want to look through it you're more than welcome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted May 1, 2009 Thanks Kevin, I may take you up on that offer. Have you ever had the opportunity to compare it to the HD model? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wetmule Report post Posted May 1, 2009 Tim, I have not compared them side by side. The person you will get the best info. from would be Chris Denham as he was a long time Swaro Rep. and I believe he owns a HD. I thinks he's on this site from time to time and is a sponsor. Shoot him a pm or call him it would be well worth your time. Also, not trying to confuse you any more but Nikon is coming out with a pretty cool new fieldscope with ED Glass. You might want to consider it also, they make it in angled and straight with both an 85mm and 65mm Objective. I've seen the prices and they ain't cheap but probably in line with what you'll pay for a swaro. http://www.nikonhunting.com/fieldscopes-fi...m-straight.html Let me know if you want to borrow my 80 Ouch ! I just checked the prices on the new Nikons. At B & H, the 65mm is $2700 and the 85mm is $3300 Lifetime no fault warranty Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TREESTANDMAN Report post Posted May 1, 2009 Tim, I've compared the Swarovski 80MM and the winchester 65MM side by side and the winchester beats them all hands down. Plus you can get a 65MM winchester spotting scope for $50 compared to $2500. My advice would be to go with the winchesters and never look back. Anything with slightly low light conditions or past 50 yds is a bit blurry but it is worth the $2450 in savings. Don't listen to all of these other yahoo's. The Bushnell Is up there as well. My wife bought me a Winchester for Christmas a few years ago. I took it out, looked out my outside window and took it back the next day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoughCut Report post Posted May 1, 2009 Tim, I've compared the Swarovski 80MM and the winchester 65MM side by side and the winchester beats them all hands down. Plus you can get a 65MM winchester spotting scope for $50 compared to $2500. My advice would be to go with the winchesters and never look back. Anything with slightly low light conditions or past 50 yds is a bit blurry but it is worth the $2450 in savings. Don't listen to all of these other yahoo's. The Bushnell Is up there as well. My wife bought me a Winchester for Christmas a few years ago. I took it out, looked out my outside window and took it back the next day. LMAO You had me going so good there. I was like hmmm.... Winchester spotters, never heard of em. Classic! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted May 1, 2009 Wikipedia on Fluoride glass http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorozirconate_glass Wikipedia on low dispersion glass http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_dispersion_glass Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
catclaw Report post Posted May 6, 2009 Tim, I have looked at everything made prior to what may have been released in the past 9 months or so. The absolute best, is the Kowa Prominar 88mm. It kills anything else out there. Period. Another fantastic one is the newest Vortex. You can look at them at the NRA show in Phx next weekend. Also, some makers add Flouride to the glass of high end scopes. Some are made with pure Flourite crystals, (Kowa). Each company chooses how to identify their product. Flourite crystal is not as hard or durable as glass but renders a nearly perfect image. Swarovski calls theirs HD. They are arguably tougher than the pure flourite crystal lenses but not as sharp. I have compared pretty much everything there was side-by-side and the Kowa TSN-883 and 884 are heads and shoulders better than the rest. I couldn't even pick a second place but the Vortex were right there. Dennis Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted May 12, 2009 Got a new toy in the mail today from Doug at Cameraland. Actually a couple of toys. I'll keep you posted after I get the chance to test it all out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ajohunter Report post Posted May 13, 2009 Got a new toy in the mail today from Doug at Cameraland. Actually a couple of toys. I'll keep you posted after I get the chance to test it all out. has anyone else accused you of being a tease?....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GameHauler Report post Posted May 13, 2009 Got a new toy in the mail today from Doug at Cameraland. Actually a couple of toys. I'll keep you posted after I get the chance to test it all out. has anyone else accused you of being a tease?....... I almost did last night but refrained so you could Tease is a little nicer word than I was thinking Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted May 14, 2009 I took these pic's through my new spotting scope tonight. The buck was about a hundred yards away and he's been hanging out in the same spot all spring. I can pretty much find him anytime I want. I've dubbed him Knot Head because of a large knot on the inside of his left horn just above the prong. I Don't think he'll make the short list for my muzzy hunt, but it's been fun watching him grow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coues7 Report post Posted May 16, 2009 Tim, Your killin' me....what did you end up purchasing? scott Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted May 18, 2009 Sorry guys, this wasn't meant tobe a tease. I just got real busy the last week with a trade show here in Prescott Valley that my company had a booth in. I looked at all the major players in spotting scopes. The problem was that I was not able to compare them all side by side during low light conditions. They ALL look great during the day and have very little if any noticable difference. Looking at them during the day is kind of like test driving a Ferrari in a residential neighborhood. The truth is in my opinion they're all great and I think any compairison is simply splitting hairs. In the end I knew I could be happy with any of them and went looking for the best deal. I searched all over the internet, but soon realized that no one could touch the deal I got from Doug at Camerland. I ended up getting the Ziess Diascope 85mm with a 20-60 eyepiece. I got a demo model scope and eyepiece for about $1,000 less than normal pricing. I also got one of the Minox DCM 5 digiscope cameras which I'm having quite a bit of fun with. This is the second demo item I've purchased form Doug. Truthfully I can't tell that it's ever been taken out of the box. If it was then they did a lot better job putting it all back in it's original packaging than I ever could. I'm happy with the way things turned out and hopefully I'll be able to put everything to good use this summer and maybe even get a few cool digiscope pic's to post as well. Thanks for everyones help and input! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
