Jim Phillips
New member
As I approach my 65th birthday I must admit life is very good. I have been primarily a bird hunter, loving wild quail and, for the past 26 years wild turkey hunting. All, of course, done with shotguns. This past year I have gotten interested in target shooting just as the wild hog population on my farm has increased and I have begun hunting them. Target shooting has become a real passion, not that I am any good at it. It just gives me a chance to shoot a lot. LOL!
I decided to get a spotting scope and began looking. I am an optics nut. I was given my first telescope 50 years ago this month by my Mom for my 15th birthday. I have had and used telescopes ever since. In addition I am a dermatopathologist and look through a microscope at work. Microscope by day and telescope by night. Yikes! I appreciate good optics; clear crisp images. nice contrast, excellent color correction and a flat field. For the record, I am a big Swarovski fan. I have Swarovski EL binoculars and three Swarovski riflescopes (two Z6 scopes and one Z5) so it was only natural that I consider a Swarovski spotting scope. After my recent purchases (a Cooper Arms .223 and a Dakota Arms .243) the spare change was almost used up so cost became an important part of the equation. In addition to Swarovski, I looked at Vortex Razor, Meopta S2 and Kowa. As an aside, it seems Kowa is not nearly as well known in the hunting world as Swarovski but, in the world of amateur astronomy Kowa Fluorite Prominar binoculars are at the top of the list for astronomical viewing. They are very pricey but excellent. I owned a used pair for a few years and sold them for what I paid. They were excellent.
Looks like I am rambling. Sorry. Anyway, if price was no object I would have purchased a Swarovski 85 ATX and been done with it. But at a price of $3800-$4000 with eyepiece (seems you do need one of those) I had to look elsewhere. The previous models of Swarovski the ATS and STS (Angled eyepiece and Straight through eyepiece) were about $3000 new and used/demo models were $2700/$2650. Was anything at or near the optical quality of the newer Swarovski ATX/STX or the older model ATS/STS? While excellent scopes I decided against the Vortex Razor and Meopta S2. Finally, I decided to see what KOWA had to offer. All the reviews seemed very positive. The deciding review for me was this one:
http://www.rokslide.com/2012-01-09-05-09-42/optics/261-swarovski-atx85-kowa-884
A new KOWA 883 (angled scope with 88mm Fluorite lens) or 884 (straight through with 88mm Fluorite crystal lens) scope is not cheap but significantly less than the Swarovskis, even less than the older model (STS/ATS). A new scope body with eyepiece sells for about $2400 and used ones for significantly less. Yesterday, I bought a used KOWA Prominar 883 for $1300 which included a Long Eye Relief 25X eyepiece and purchased a KOWA Prominar 25-60X zoom for $450. So, for a total cost of $1750 I was able to get a scope the equal of the Swarovski STX. I know I got a deal but there are others out there, if you look around.
So, yes, I am still a Swarovski guy. I love their optics. But, if you are looking for the best quality optics in a spotting scope you should consider the Kowa Prominar scopes.
I decided to get a spotting scope and began looking. I am an optics nut. I was given my first telescope 50 years ago this month by my Mom for my 15th birthday. I have had and used telescopes ever since. In addition I am a dermatopathologist and look through a microscope at work. Microscope by day and telescope by night. Yikes! I appreciate good optics; clear crisp images. nice contrast, excellent color correction and a flat field. For the record, I am a big Swarovski fan. I have Swarovski EL binoculars and three Swarovski riflescopes (two Z6 scopes and one Z5) so it was only natural that I consider a Swarovski spotting scope. After my recent purchases (a Cooper Arms .223 and a Dakota Arms .243) the spare change was almost used up so cost became an important part of the equation. In addition to Swarovski, I looked at Vortex Razor, Meopta S2 and Kowa. As an aside, it seems Kowa is not nearly as well known in the hunting world as Swarovski but, in the world of amateur astronomy Kowa Fluorite Prominar binoculars are at the top of the list for astronomical viewing. They are very pricey but excellent. I owned a used pair for a few years and sold them for what I paid. They were excellent.
Looks like I am rambling. Sorry. Anyway, if price was no object I would have purchased a Swarovski 85 ATX and been done with it. But at a price of $3800-$4000 with eyepiece (seems you do need one of those) I had to look elsewhere. The previous models of Swarovski the ATS and STS (Angled eyepiece and Straight through eyepiece) were about $3000 new and used/demo models were $2700/$2650. Was anything at or near the optical quality of the newer Swarovski ATX/STX or the older model ATS/STS? While excellent scopes I decided against the Vortex Razor and Meopta S2. Finally, I decided to see what KOWA had to offer. All the reviews seemed very positive. The deciding review for me was this one:
http://www.rokslide.com/2012-01-09-05-09-42/optics/261-swarovski-atx85-kowa-884
A new KOWA 883 (angled scope with 88mm Fluorite lens) or 884 (straight through with 88mm Fluorite crystal lens) scope is not cheap but significantly less than the Swarovskis, even less than the older model (STS/ATS). A new scope body with eyepiece sells for about $2400 and used ones for significantly less. Yesterday, I bought a used KOWA Prominar 883 for $1300 which included a Long Eye Relief 25X eyepiece and purchased a KOWA Prominar 25-60X zoom for $450. So, for a total cost of $1750 I was able to get a scope the equal of the Swarovski STX. I know I got a deal but there are others out there, if you look around.
So, yes, I am still a Swarovski guy. I love their optics. But, if you are looking for the best quality optics in a spotting scope you should consider the Kowa Prominar scopes.
