Pentax PF 80 ED quality?

[michael23]

After being at cley yesterday, i had my first opportunity to get a look through the pentax scope, light was incredibly bright, and full of heat haze, Looking from the visitor centre out through glass onto the reserve, i was amazed just how well this scope appeared optically, given the restrictions.
What I would like to know is, have any of you compared the pentax to the likes of kowa, leica and zeiss? I know their is quite a price difference, but i just wondered how it stands up.
Many thanks in advance.
:beer:

[MichaelF]

but i just wondered how it stands up

You need a tripod for that - manfrotto, slik, or whatever. The likes of kowa, leica and zeiss won't work.

:laugh:

[michael23]

You need a tripod for that - manfrotto, slik, or whatever. The likes of kowa, leica and zeiss won't work.

:laugh:

Very good michael..:laugh:

[Colin Key]

What I would like to know is, have any of you compared the pentax to the likes of kowa, leica and zeiss? I know their is quite a price difference, but i just wondered how it stands up.


Michael,

I have not had the opportunity to really test the Pentax; they are very popular in N America and I have met a few Canadians with Pentax 'scopes (we get quite a lot of very nice Canadian birders here in Portugal because there are direct flights, but not from USA).

Years ago Pentax was a very reliable manufacturer which produced some fine SLR cameras. Things have changed, I believe, and the Pentax 'scopes which I have briefly looked through in the past couple of years have been absolute .....

You gets what you pays for in this game.

Colin :err:

[michael23]

thanks colin, many thanks for your reply, i like to hear good and bad comments alike,
:beer:

[Jon F]

I'm quite late following up on this thread, but I have had a Pentax PF80ED-A for some years now and have found it to be excellent. With the fixed power eyepieces I use it's very sharp (XW14 37x, XW20 26x). I've been perfectly satisfied with the image it produces and I am very critical. I have no doubt that you could see differences (though I'd bet slight) between the Pentax and Leica, Zeiss, Swaro and Kowa's top scopes, but keeping in mind the price difference, the Pentax more than holds its own- especially in real world conditions. Keeping in mind that I am talking about fixed power eyepieces which have always been my preference. I can't speak to the zoom.

[michael23]

Hi Jon, many thanks for your input and information very helpful, I too have never been a fan of zoom eyepieces either but I know they have come along way,
And welcome to the forum too.
:beer:

[Jon F]

thanks Michael...

For what it's worth, I wanted to add some notes as I've recently had the chance to test my Pentax PF 80ED side by side with a Kowa TSN 773 Prominar (from the reivews that I've read, the TSN 773 is at least equal optically to the best out there, aside from the TSN 883 and probably the new Leica APO).

Let me emphasize that I am talking only about the fixed power eyepieces-- I used the 30X eyepiece on the Kowa and the 26X on the Pentax. While I recognize the advantages of a zoom, I've never seen one that offered a view that was satisfying to me (and that includes the zoom on the Kowa TSN 883). Naturally I realize this is largely a matter of preference and inevitable trade-offs.

My targets were the front and back of a $20 bill and a more distant printed sign with both large print and very small print that neither scope was able to fully resolve.

First in terms of resolution, there was virtually no detectable difference between the two scopes. The Pentax was even at a slight disadvantage since I tested them at the same distance from the objects I viewed. Resolution of both scopes was excellent with a very slight edge in overall image quality and resolution going to the Kowa. I'd add that without looking through them side by side, I don't believe you would be able to tell the difference.

The area where the Kowa did excel was in low light. Handicapped by a slightly smaller objective as well as higher magnification, the Kowa was still slightly but distinctly brighter. This could definitely make the difference in some viewing situations.

Keeping in mind that the Pentax can be had for just over half the price of the Kowa, I think it's a pretty good value. Naturally the look, size and weight are in the Kowa's favor in my opinion as is its dual focus mechanism. I'll add though that the smoothness of the Pentax focus knob is excellent. Very smooth and without a hint of slack, while the Kowa exhibited some noticeable (though tolerable) slack.

[michael23]

interesting stuff, thanks Jon, i should actually be able to look at the pentax scopes close up at the uk birdfair soon.