ATX or BTX? With what objective?

[Muckyduck]

Thanks for the advice. Was having trouble deciding between the 85mm and 95mm and it looks like I’m gonna end up rolling with the 85mm due to only getting one and the versatility

 

[Mtys999]

If you are only doing one objective size go with the 85mm. If you plan to get two get the 65mm and the 95mm.

ATX vs BTX i cant answer for you as each has its own purpose and not comparing apples to apples imo

What makes the 85 better than the 95 if you are only choosing one?

 

[Mtys999]

Definitely use the BTX more. It is amazing to glass with in big country…not just twice as good as 15s; multitudes better. Spotter to zoom in for judging. Don’t want to give up either for sure.

So will you carry your objective and both your ATX and BTX eyepieces? Use the BTX for the majority of time glassing and throw the ATX on to check an area of interest if you need the extra zoom?

 

[Mtys999]

Some day I’ll have one... I’ve looked through them though. Right now I’m just using the btx 85 for everything, unless I’m hunting smaller country or backpacking then I bring the kowa 554. I tried all the objectives and just preferred the 85. Better FOV and a little more user friendly when the glassing is under a mile. Plus it did not need a balance rail, and the 1.7x extender worked much better with the 85 than the 95.

Any idea why the extender worked better with the 85? Was it just a clearer picture than with a 95?

 

[Steve O]

So will you carry your objective and both your ATX and BTX eyepieces? Use the BTX for the majority of time glassing and throw the ATX on to check an area of interest if you need the extra zoom?

Rarely. 35x with both eyes is pretty good. About the only time I would carry both is if I really wanted to digiscope; the BTX is not very easy to digiscope with IMO.

 

[Sako300]

So will you carry your objective and both your ATX and BTX eyepieces? Use the BTX for the majority of time glassing and throw the ATX on to check an area of interest if you need the extra zoom?

I do! And for digiscoping. Pretty easy to attach without moving the tripod

 

[willfrye027]

Any idea why the extender worked better with the 85? Was it just a clearer picture than with a 95?

I think with the 95mm it was just too much magnification. Similar to when spotting scope is maxed out on magnification, sometimes a better image is at 5-10x less magnification due to heat wave/distortion

I don’t recall what the magnification difference was with the extender on the 85mm vs 95mm but I do remember the slightly darker image with the 95mm and the increase in heat waves, at least on the few days I had them side by side.

 

[Svivian]

What makes the 85 better than the 95 if you are only choosing one?

my reasoning below

65mm is the most useless lens of the group. An ATX 65 is the same weight as an ATS 80.... Its also not that small. I much prefer my ATC

The 95mm is nice, but at that point its getting so big its not packable inside my bag. And once it gets to that point, I might as well go to the 115 to get the benefits of a larger lens and the extra magnification.

For a one size setup the 85mm seems to be the sweet spot for me in the ATX line up, if that was all I was going to own.