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Michael
and Diane Porter and a team of Iowa birders tested 24 spotting scopes
for a review in the March, 2003, issue
of Bird Watcher's Digest. This account is part of that review.
The
new Zeiss Diascope 85T FL trumped all when it came to sheer
optics.
While
working on a review of birding scopes for BirdWatcher's Digest (March,
2003), we compared scopes from 18 manufacturers. We studied them.
We looked at birds through them. We also compared how well they
resolved the lines on a standard resolution chart.
Of
all the dedicated birding scopes with around 80mm apertures, the
Zeiss Diascope got the best scores on the resolution tests. The
image is remarkably bright. At a magnification of 60, the Diascope
85 resolved finer detail than any other dedicated birding scope
we tested, with absolutely no color fringing. The Zeiss Diascope
became the instrument we used as the reference scope, to which we
compared all the others.
Not
only is it sharp, but it's also well designed, to make focusing
the most precise experience we have ever found in any scope. There
are two focus knobs, with different gear ratios, one for fast focusing,
and the other for fine focusing.
 The
fine focus helps you get the image absolutely sharp without introducing
extra vibration. By separating the two focus knobs a bit, Zeiss
has made it easy to find the right knob by touch. And the fine focus
knob extends out where you can take it between thumb and finger
and turn it very gently, without jiggling the scope.
Even
though the objective lens of 85mm exceeds the diameter of other
dedicated birding scopes, this is one of the most compact scopes
we tested. It is considerably shorter than the Pentax PF-80ED-A
or the Leica APO Telvid 77.
 A
black rubberized heel and extensible sunshade help to protect the
scope's metallic body from scuffs. The sight is a double ridge on
the sunshade, which you can rotate so as to position the sight where
you need it.
We
looked at the angled version of the Zeiss Diascope 85T FL, but the
scope also comes in a straight-through version as well.
Both
the angled and the straight-though versions are also available in
65mm versions. All of the Diascope models utilize the Carl Zeiss
Advanced Optics System (AOS), using glass material containing fluorine
ions.
Several
fixed eyepieces are also available for each model. We tried only
the 20-60x zoom, and we recommend it heartily. It's easy to get
one's eye centered on the big eyepiece and see the image. The eyecup
pulls out and pushes in to accommodate eyeglass wearers.
In
case you worry about whether the high-tech gadgets you purchase
might pollute the environment, Zeiss points out that their new weight-and-bulk-reducing
optical design uses no lead or arsenic in its manufacture and is
environmentally friendly. The only thing we can imagine that would
improve on the Zeiss Diascope 85T would be a rubberized or urethane
covering to cut the chill to the hand on a cold day.
 Of
course, the Zeiss
Diascope is waterproof, as are all Zeiss products.
All
around, this was our favorite of all the full-sized scopes
we studied for the review in Bird Watcher's Digest.
--
Michael and Diane Porter
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Zeiss
Diascope 85mm 