At Last!  A scope you won't leave behind.

The Mighty-Mite

Nikon Fieldscope ED 50

By Pete Dunne, CMBO Director

SYNOPSIS: An eminently functional, small, light, commendably rugged, waterproof, and economical travel scope that means you will never have to travel and leave your scope behind.  Mated to a Trek Pod, the entire unit weighs in at 3 lbs.  This scope is perfect for the birder who travels on business.  Goes on birding tours that have luggage weight limits.  And for backyard birders who want supernatural intimacy with the birds coming to their feeder.

NIKON ED 50mm

It looks like a toy.  You pick it up and it’s so light you conclude “it’s junk.”  You look through it and...

You are $700 lighter in the pocket than you were one look, one gasp, and one moment before.

Introducing the mighty-mite of spotting scopes.  A super small, super-light, go-anywhere spotting scope that really, really, really performs in the field.

No.  Its not destined to become your Alpha Spotting Scope.  But it is going to go where your Alpha does not.  On a business trip that you can squeeze a little birding into.  On that safari that has a luggage weight restriction of 45 lbs. and you must decide between a camera or a scope or just two sets of underwear.

PLUS

At eight inches long (sans eyepiece) it will not only fit in your car’s glove compartment, it will fit in your average coat pocket.  Weighing at in at 20 oz. (including zoom eyepiece) it is a full 8 ounces lighter than a Leica.

Leica spotting scope?

No.  Leica 8x42 Ultravid binocular.  It is pounds lighter than any of the popular spotting scopes presently on the market.

Speaking of market, this scope has been on the market for about a year.  Nikon didn’t give it any play; birders never picked up on its travel potential.  A British birding couple came to Cape May.  Sang its praises.  Got me to look through the thing.

We ordered a bundle. 

The ED 50 comes with a 13x-30x eyepiece–which is functional for all but the most extreme situations.  In fact, for some applications (like watching birds coming to your feeders) the lower magnification excels.

Lower magnification, equals less image distortion through window panes.

The image quality?  It is really, really good.  No, not superlative.  That’s a standard that applies to spotting scopes in today’s $2,000 price range.  But I’ve been looking through spotting scopes for a long time.  My expectations are high and I am rarely overly-impressed.

For the record, I was stunned by the performance of this instrument.  I have added it my own personal arsenal of birding equipment.  My scope-on-the-run.

I recently took it to Churchill where Linda and I used it to watch polar bears, white gyrflacons, basic plumage Willow Ptarmigan, and Snowy Owls. 

The temperatures got down to about 5°F.  The scope performed without a hitch.

During a recent optics workshop I tried mounting the ED 50 on a Trek Pod (but only had one of the two magnet mounts).   The result was that the jury-rigged scope hit a lightly carpeted, concrete floor three times.

The metal objective rim was slightly dented.  Otherwise the scope was fine.  Nothing broken; nothing loose.

Actually the Trek Pod—a walking stick whose lower end opens up to offer a tripod base—is an idea that been sitting around waiting for a spotting scope like this to arrive on the scene.  Together the Trek Pod, scope and eyepiece weigh in at 3 lbs.

The ED 50 focuses down to under 10 feet, ranking it among the closest focusing spotting scopes on the market and perfect for back yard birders who want supernatural intimacy with the birds coming to their feeders.

The “waterproof” boast (stamped on the side of the barrel) seems justified.  We submerged one in 100°F water for 15 minutes then packet it into the freezer for four hours.  No fogging. 

Comes in straight or angled but CMBO has chosen to sell only the angled version.  The $700 members price includes the 13x-30x eyepiece.  This scope will also accept the array of eyepieces that fit the entire Nikon Fieldscope III series but the 13x-30x seems wonderfully suited to this glass.

MINUS       

The re-inforced, polycarb body is commendably rugged but it is not going to take the abuse you can dish out to the 60mm and 85 mm Fieldscope IIIs (whose bodies are metal).  Also, the low and offset prism system prompts users to aim disconcertingly high and left of the target.

LAST THOUGHTS

Yes, we ordered a bundle.  Sales have cut into that bundle.  Both the Northwood Center (609-884-2736) and CRE (609-861-0700) have the scope in stock.  But if you want to make sure you have it for the Holidays, you might consider buying with alacrity.

Also, the Trek-Pod should not be mistaken for an Alpha tripod any more than the ED-50 should be mistaken for your prime spotting scope.  The ED-50 can be seated on a standard tripod head and there are several very light Manfroto and Gitzo tripods that are ideal for this (and other) scopes.