Nikon Zoom EP - anyone tried it

Has anyone used the Nikon Zoom EP (modified to fit 1.25" telescopes) that would care to comment on it's quality? TV like or not?

TomL

Tried the fieldscope version of the 20-60x (the "fat" one). Haven't compared it to any other zoom but I thought it was great except for the fact that there was an orange color going around the outermost edge.

Never tried the one that APM modified to fit 1.25" (that's the 20-45x version).

-Mike

I've got a Nikon Fieldscope zoom (20-45x) eyepiece that I use in my ED Fieldscope. It will fit into a standard .965 adaptor fairly well so I can use it in my 1.25" diagonals. It is an excellent eyepiece. I believe this is the same eyepiece that Markus modifies.

While I have not tried it, I recently found a comparision review of zooms online at Cloudy Nights Reviews http://www.cloudynights.com/eyepieces/zooms.htm. The Nikon zoom was a clear winner over other quality zooms - much better than the Orions, Vixen and TeleVue. It even gave a much higher priced Leica a run for the money.

I have *two* of the "20-45X" Nikons (which APM translates as 9-21mm) for use with my binoviewers. They are definitely brighter than any other zooms I've used (N.B.--I haven't had the fortune to try a Leica).

They are advertised as parfocal throughout their zoom range-- they're not, although the focus adjustment is minor. They're not quite as crisp in image quality as a good ortho, but overall I'm quite satisfied with their views.

My biggest complaint is on the zooming mechanism-- while the knurled/rubberized area in the middle of the eyepiece would seem to be the zoom and can be rotated, I believe it is actually part of the APM adapter. The zoom mechanism is a ring at the top of the eyepiece and has the rubber eyecup attachee to it. This will not be intuitive to anyone you let use the eyepiece-- even if you tell them about it first. I've also found it fairly stiff to turn (it requires enough force that I tend to use my free hand to prevent the eyepiece from slipping in the diagonal or binoviewer holder).