Looking to get a 65mm spotter

[Edbrese]

What 65 mm spotter should I get want a 65 for smaller size

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Kowa 553/554 is what you want.

 

[Edbrese]

How dose that compare with a Swaro ats

 

[Gone4Days]

Kowa if budget isn’t a factor. For value option, Athlon Ares.

 

[BBob]

A lot depends on how you are going to use the thing. A friend loves the little Kowa’s as a minimal spotter but for me and my uses I don’t like/need one at all. They are good little scopes but they don’t stack up to a Swaro S series 65HD w/25-50 ocular. If your use is to save as much weight as possible and only use it to try to confirm something you see with binoculars then have at it they are great there. If you’re wanting a scope to do any searching then go with a larger quality 65 of some sort or bump to a Kowa 77. Either come with a more useful larger field of view for glassing and light capabilities for early and late. At 0 dark 30 I’d much rather have a Swaro 65HD 25-50 on the hill trying to find a big bull to hunt in the morning than the little Kowa any day of the week and gladly take the weight penalty.

 

[evergreenethos]

So vague, like “what should I have for dinner tonight?” I feel like this is really going to turn into “this is the one I have”. That’s not a great way to make a decision.

Is there a place near you where you can try some different ones out, maybe narrow it down to a few top contenders? Do you have friends who have some you can try/borrow? Have you called the guys at camera land (@gr8fuldoug ) Do you have a budget? What are you using now and what do/don’t you like about it?

In my opinion one of the most important aspects of choosing alpha glass is satisfying your personal preferences for the little things. A Ferrari, a Lamborghini, and a Maserati will all go 200+ MPH but which one has the seat you are most comfortable sitting in for hours at a time? Nobody else can tell you that.

I use the Swaro 65mm ATX because I prefer an angled eyepiece, I love modular things, and my eyes happen to like Swaro glass the best. I have nothing bad to say about Leica, Kowa, etc.

I also have a Maven S.2 as a loaner/backup. Small, light, decent glass, all around great value, especially if you get one of their demo ones or you qualify for their discounts via Guidefitter or similar.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Your timing is perfect as we are in the midst of our Father's Day Sale - Now through June 20th. As a long standing supporting vendor here on the forum it is our pleasure to assist in discussing different options and opportunities with you. Please give a call, 516-217-1000, when you have a few moments

 

[PredatorSlayer]

A lot depends on how you are going to use the thing. A friend loves the little Kowa’s as a minimal spotter but for me and my uses I don’t like/need one at all. They are good little scopes but they don’t stack up to a Swaro S series 65HD w/25-50 ocular. If your use is to save as much weight as possible and only use it to try to confirm something you see with binoculars then have at it they are great there. If you’re wanting a scope to do any searching then go with a larger quality 65 of some sort or bump to a Kowa 77. Either come with a more useful larger field of view for glassing and light capabilities for early and late. At 0 dark 30 I’d much rather have a Swaro 65HD 25-50 on the hill trying to find a big bull to hunt in the morning than the little Kowa any day of the week and gladly take the weight penalty.

Man, I don’t know…I would say they are right up there with the 65mm swaros S series. The kowa punches way above its weight class.

 

[BBob]

It might punch above its weight class but it is by no means an equal to an STS/ATS 65HD with the 25-50. Bump up a little in weight to an X series and the gap widens even more.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

It might punch above its weight class but it is by no means an equal to an STS/ATS 65HD with the 25-50. Bump up a little in weight to an X series and the gap widens even more.

Have you looked through both side by side? I have, if the swaro has an edge it isn’t by much. You act like the 25-50 eye piece is something special…you only get an extra 5x on the top end over the Kowa. I would give the edge in glass to the Kowa, and where is really shocked me was low light performance. I thought the swaro would kill it. It didn’t. The only thing the swaro has over the little Kowa is FOV.

 

[tdhanses]

It might punch above its weight class but it is by no means an equal to an STS/ATS 65HD with the 25-50. Bump up a little in weight to an X series and the gap widens even more.

Interesting as it compared very well to my Swaro 80HD with 25-50, only thing it lacked was fov. The biggest factor in optics is ones own eyes.

 

[MuleyFever]

It may be worth it to you to look at the size of the Kowa 77 before you buy a 65.

I was surprised by the size considering it is 77mm.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

It may be worth it to you to look at the size of the Kowa 77 before you buy a 65.

I was surprised by the size considering it is 77mm.

I dont think the 77 has fluorite lenses like the 88 and 55 have do they?

 

[BBob]

Of course I've looked side by side. I never said they weren't close, I said they weren't equal. For me I'll take the Swaro for what I do and what I use it for just like I originally stated. It's just better for me, that's all and just stating my opinion for the OP.

 

[Brummie75]

I would like someone like Nikon, Opticron or maybe Kowa to make a very lightweight, wide FOV spotting scope with a fixed magnification (perhaps around 35x), and to cram as much optical quality as they can into it for a street price not too far north of $1000.

I think that would be a great option for field use, paired with good binoculars.

 

[WRM]

I would like someone like Nikon, Opticron or maybe Kowa to make a very lightweight, wide FOV spotting scope with a fixed magnification (perhaps around 35x), and to cram as much optical quality as they can into it for a street price not too far north of $1000.

I think that would be a great option for field use, paired with good binoculars.

If only the eyepiece on the Kowa 500 series was removeable........

 

[tdhanses]

It may be worth it to you to look at the size of the Kowa 77 before you buy a 65.

I was surprised by the size considering it is 77mm.

It’s still huge next to the 55, the 55 takes up very little pack space.

 

[HookUp]

I had a Kowa 55 and sold it. My least favorite optic ever. I run a Swaro 65mm and I dont think there is to many close scopes to it.

 

[antlerz]

I have both ats65 25-50 and kowa 554 so I feel I have done a good comparison.
The ATS is easy to use and great if you are on Valley floors looking up or glassing longer distance. The 554 rules once up on the tops, needing to travel light and ID what you are seeing in your binos. I won't be moving either one on because they both are excellent in different areas.

 

[MuleyFever]

It’s still huge next to the 55, the 55 takes up very little pack space.

The OP wasnt asking about the 55.