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