NEED HELP WITH A PACKABLE SPOTTER...

[Lionhound1975]

Never seen one of these, that’s actually pretty slick, what is the zoom range?

You can use a 20-60, a 30 fixed wide angle, or a 30 fixed wide angle with a reticle.

 

[Hnthrdr]

You can use a 20-60, a 30 fixed wide angle, or a 30 fixed wide angle with a reticle.

How is the clarity on it? I have a meopta 82 that I picked up on here and was impressed by how good it is

 

[Lionhound1975]

To my eyes the glass is as clear as the S2 (I have an S2) but the S2's image is a little brighter (larger objective lens) and has a wider FOV at the same magnification. The TGA 75's niche is being about to pull it out and lay it on a pack, tree limb, of thru the loops on hiking poles without having to carry and set up a tripod. So for moving fast and suddenly needing high magnification within seconds on a moving target, it is great. I prefer the S2 and Kowa 773 for dedicated scanning and picking apart a hillside.

 

[Blindeyes]

For the terrain I hunt ie. glassing with in a mile for majority of the time. I really like my Razor 13-39x56 spotter. Its very worth the weight savings for me. Its clear and you can find them used sometimes for like $600-$700

 

[guitarpreston]

I’ve had a razor 13-39x56 and ed50 13-40 recently. The Nikon absolutely smoked the razor as far as edge to edge clarity and a bigger sweet spot in focus. The razor was super touchy focus wise imo. Sold them both for a Nikon ed iii with a wide angle fixed lens and it’s a dream.

 

[ropeup79]

Lots of good options so far. Pentax spotters get good reviews from the birding community also.

 

[absurdgoose2]

There are used Kowa 553s and 554s in your price range. They are awesome lightweight spotters. I upgraded to one from a Nikon 50 and could not be happier.

I'm currently in between these 2 spotters. Trying to decide if it's worth spending the extra money for the kowa. What were the main differences/reasons you find the kowa that much better than the nikon?
Thanks

 

[7mm-08]

I had the Nikon and upgraded to the Kowa 554. The Nikon works for a quick spot on an animal to confirm if it is worth chasing or not. You'd be hard pressed to actually spot for very long through that optic, however, because of eye strain and this was the reason for my switching to the Kowa. You can literally sit and spot through the Kowa all day, which I do frequently, when mule deer hunting without eye fatigue. In addition, the quality of image in the Kowa is noticeably superior to that of the Nikon and results in me seeing more animals. At least that's what I tell my wife. No knock on the Nikon because it is a very good little spotter - the Kowa just works better for my application.

 

[absurdgoose2]

I had the Nikon and upgraded to the Kowa 554. The Nikon works for a quick spot on an animal to confirm if it is worth chasing or not. You'd be hard pressed to actually spot for very long through that optic, however, because of eye strain and this was the reason for my switching to the Kowa. You can literally sit and spot through the Kowa all day, which I do frequently, when mule deer hunting without eye fatigue. In addition, the quality of image in the Kowa is noticeably superior to that of the Nikon and results in me seeing more animals. At least that's what I tell my wife. No knock on the Nikon because it is a very good little spotter - the Kowa just works better for my application.

Thanks for the response — that all makes sense. I’m running Vortex Razor 10x42s as my main glass, so most of my time will be behind those. My plan for the spotter is mostly to get a more detailed look and decide whether something is worth going after. That said, I’m sure if I end up packing a spotter, I’ll probably use it more than I’m telling myself right now.


It sounds like either optic would work for that role. Deep down, I know I’d prefer the Kowa, but I’m having a hard time justifying the price for a secondary optic when there are plenty of other things I could put the money toward

 

[7mm-08]

My wolf hunting partner (and probably a good number of the people who know me) thinks I have a screw loose because I can sit and spot from dawn to dusk and enjoy it. My Nikon would not allow me to do that and my Kowa will. YMMV. Good luck with your decision.

 

[absurdgoose2]

My wolf hunting partner (and probably a good number of the people who know me) thinks I have a screw loose because I can sit and spot from dawn to dusk and enjoy it. My Nikon would not allow me to do that and my Kowa will. YMMV. Good luck with your decision.

Everyone says the 553/554 is like looking through a paper towel roll, how does the Nikon compare in that regard?

 

[WyoWild]

I had both a Kowa 553 and Maven S2. FOV is better on the Maven. Both are great glass. I kept the Maven as I prefer a straight spotter. 27x is plenty for out to 1200 yards.

 

[offthebeatenpath]

I had the baby 1st gen Razor 11-33 straight and felt that the upper end of the magnification wasn't all that useable.
I sold it, picked up a used Maven CS1 angled which I've used the past two years. It's packable and light enough. I miss the large/fine dual knob focus. I fight that on the Maven all the time. Same issue with the Maven though, the top 1/3 of magnification is not great. Image isn't crisp to the edges. I was having trouble judging deer (just counting tines) under 1000 yards.
Seems like other folks here really like theirs, so I'm not sure if I got a lemon or what, but I'm not thrilled with it at all.
After last weekend, fighting with my Maven and battling the wind, I'm really looking hard at the Sig Zulu 6. It doesn't matter what glass you have if the wind is shaking it. Unless it has image stabilization.

 

[KevinFrias]

Just got the Maven S2 and although I haven't been able to fully test it out in the mountains yet, the difference between the CS.1 is immediate in terms of quality of glass, but already kind of wish I had a bit more magnification. The size and compactness can't be beat though.

 

[Beendare]

I have a Nikon 60mm with the ED glass I've owned for a long time. The glass is as good as anything else I've compared it to....but there is a definite difference in low light gathering. In daylight it's crystal clear and not much different from the big scopes, but in low light something like the Zeiss 85mm or Kowa 88mm is noticeably brighter.

I used to pack that 60mm around as it's fairly compact and not nearly as heavy as the 80mm scopes ..but I don't do those hunts with a spotter anymore. I probably should sell it.

 

[fishesman]

Hello everyone. I'm looking for a lightweight packable spotter to help me judge dear and bears in my local mountains in Socal. I'm not interested in a gigantic 85mm, or anything that says "Kowa" or "Swaro" on it (I'm not that wealthy atm) so I'm looking for a more middle of the road option, under $1,100 that is light enough but clear enough. I'm consistently finding deer between 800-1200 yds with my 10x42's but I'm having a difficult time assessing them. I dont need a crazy amount of magnification, nor do I want to fuss with the weight. Here are 4 contenders I'm looking at...

Maven S.2 (34 OZ) (found one used for $800 on ebay, worried 27x may be a bit too low)

Maven CS.1 15-45x65 (40.4 OZ, probably the heaviest i would consider) (I've read some reviews saying this is up there with Razor HD)

Razor HD 13-39x56 (28.6 OZ) (I was offered $800 by a seller on ebay, new in box)

Viper 11-33x50 (27.4) (I read that this is comparable to the old Razor, but optically I'm worried that it will look like DB'S....)

Please recommend other packable spotters....I think the first 3 above will get me in the wheelhouse.

I realize that weight shouldn't be that important compared to optical quality, I just don't want to be lugging a 4.5LB spotter around the mountains to see small california deer and bears. I'm more interested in something packable.

If anyone can weigh in I'd appreciate it. Also, if anyone has any digiscope pics of game at distance with any above mentioned spotters I'd greatly appreciate it if you could show them.

Thanks in advance

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