>Thanks for the input everyone.
>
>Any thoughts on the Nikon Fieldscope
>ED 60 or 82? Great
>prices on them right now.
>
It looks like you are in the same situation that I was in a few months ago. Its a stressful decision to make.
I seriously considered the Fieldscope ED as well, as there were great prices on them. After reading everything I could about all the different scopes, (Google some searches on the birding forums, they have the best optics reviews), I finally decided that the best glass I could buy was either the Kowa 77 or 88 series or the Swarovski HD series. These were out of my price-range, so I searched for months looking for a deal. My plan was to buy an ATS 65HD, but once I saw the weight difference in a 65 ATS HD and a 80 ATM HD was only 6 ounces (55.6oz vs 49.6oz) I decided to go big or go home.
You will often hear people say they don't want to haul an 80mm scope because of the weight, but 6 ounces isn't much weight to increase your objective lens area by 34% (that is the difference in 65mm vs 80mm). I've never regretted it.
I found a Demo unit on CameraLand and combined it with the 25x50W lens and now can go in the field confident that I have the best glass available. Some day it may make the difference in me killing a monster buck or not. I already feel I got my moneys worth on one bear hunt. Buy once and cry once. That's my advice.
Grizzly
PS. Tristate, please be an adult and respect my wishes that you do not respond to any of my posts. I, in turn, will do you the courtesy of not responding to any of yours. I simply do not wish to converse with you.