Swaro Eyepiece recommendation?

[Timberjack]

A quick one for you guys...

Which eyepiece do most of you have with your ATS spotter? The 20-60 obviously has higher zoom than the 25-50, but the latter is called a wide angle lens... So I would think the 60 is going to be better for counting rings on a ram, but the wide angle is better for scanning a hillside for animals? Am I missing something here? Oh yeah, and why does the 25-50 cost so much more??

Thank guys,
TJ

[BlacktailStalker]

I have used the 20-60 for years, can't speak on the 25-50.
In my experiences the distortion in the sight picture from heat waves when it is hot and the moisture when it is wet makes much more than 40x at semi long to long distances useless. Most my glassing is in the 20x and I frequently adjust on objects of interest. I usually go over an area slowly at 20 looking for obvious features then again at a magnified zoom to look for 'pieces' twice as slow, depending on terrain.

[BiG Boar]

The 25-50 is much better glass. Plus the wider angle is better for seeing more animals because you're covering more ground. Most people have the 20 (like me). But talk to someone who knows their glass and they'll say 25.

[boxhitch]

20 x 60 here too , and lots of times wish it was 15 x , moving from 10 x binos to the 20 x can be a big jump in certain conditions. Maybe the wide angle would help with that , don't know.
Like BTS said , you don't often use 60 x , but when conditions are right and it works , you wish it was 80 x .
Guess I'm saying , maybe go with what 90% of hunters use , and go 20-60 x. I think the 25-50 would be better for birders use at closer ranges than open mountainsides.

Here is some real-world info http://www.birdwatching.com/optics.html

[300rum700]

My partner has the 25-50 and I have the 20-60, he sells optics and we always take mine and leave his at home. If they made a 75x I would buy that even with a 65 mm spotter.

[pescado]

Nice spotter TJ, well done. My hunting partner uses the 20-60 and it works well. If it were me I would go 25-50 WA lens because I like a wide angle view when I'm glassing. I run my fixed WA 30 more than I run my variable higher power, its not a Swaro spotter. Conditions have to be good to use your upper power ranges. 50x is plenty.

[Husky7mm]

You will spend much more time glassing with the lower power. On a different note I would recamend the angled as opposed to the straight. I have the straight and find it hard on the neck without the right setup.

[Jagermeister]

I had the choice, took the 20-60. I like the clarity of high power at long distance. And as far as FOV, it is only relevant if you are birding at high power at close distances in the range of <100'.

[Jagermeister]

Here's a comparison chart


STS-ATS 65 STS-ATS 80

Magnification 20-60X 25-50X 20-60X 25-50X

Exit Pupil Ø 3.3-1.1mm 2.6-1.3mm 4-1.3mm 3.2-1.6mm

Exit pupil distance 17mm 17mm 17mm 17mm

Twilight factor 36-62 40-56.5 40-69 44-63

FOV@1000yds 118-66 ft. 138-89 ft. 118-66 ft 138-89 ft

FOV deg. 2.1-1.1° 2.4-1.5° 2.1-1.1° 2.4-1.5°

SFOV deg. 40-65° 60-70° 40-65° 60-70°

Twilight factor
A number used to compare the effectiveness of binoculars or spotting scopes used in low light. The twilight factor is found by multiplying the size of the objective lens (in mm) by the magnification and then finding the square root of that result. The larger the twilight factor, the more detail you can see in low light. A twilight factor of 17 or better if usually required for reasonable low light use.

The number of elements in either the 20-60X or the 25-50X are equal at 9 elements. And the FOV numbers are the same for eye glass wearer.

This information was derived from the data sheet provided with my ATS 65HD

[Jagermeister]

What a piss off. What is posted is not really what I pasted. The first and second number sets are for the 65 and the third and fourth are for the 80.