jmden
Member
I recently picked up a Kowa 554 (straight version) and this or the 553 has pretty much got to be the best compromise between weight and good glass out there.
Call Doug at cameralandny.com. He gave me a deal much better than anything else I could find, below $1400. Join rokslide.com and tell him you are a member. I called opticsplanet.com and they told me they'd come down to $1400. Called Doug and he said he'd beat that, wasn't super happy, but he beat it.
It's one of only 2-3 or so models of Kowa scopes, of all the brands, (only Kowa spotting scopes because they are the only company that's developed the technolog, as I understand it) that use pure fluorite crystal (not HD optical glass) for the objective lens. From what I understand, fluorite crystal is apparently better than anything else out there at reducing chromatic abberation, better than all the HD/ED optical glass out there, thus giving a better picture.
That being said, objective size is huge in terms of pulling in light and increasing resolution. The small 55mm objective lens of the 553/554 does hamper them a bit. I wish they'd gone with a 60mm or so.
My Kowa 664, though 1 lb greater weight than the 554 and no fluorite crystal (it's ED glass), is a very slightly better resolution and pulls light in just a bit better. In fact, I still think for the money that Kowa 663/664 may be the best deal out there of the well known brands. It's got a really good picture, but as if often the case with Kowa, folks complain of a narrow field of view.
The vast majority of my hunts are backpack hunts back in designated wilderness, sometimes super steep and x-country. Weight and size savings are key, especially when I've got a dry camp. The Kowa 554, combined with a good, lightweight tripod like the Sirui T-025X (1 lb 13 oz each for scope and tripod) is a pretty good compromise, all thing considered.
Call Doug at cameralandny.com. He gave me a deal much better than anything else I could find, below $1400. Join rokslide.com and tell him you are a member. I called opticsplanet.com and they told me they'd come down to $1400. Called Doug and he said he'd beat that, wasn't super happy, but he beat it.
It's one of only 2-3 or so models of Kowa scopes, of all the brands, (only Kowa spotting scopes because they are the only company that's developed the technolog, as I understand it) that use pure fluorite crystal (not HD optical glass) for the objective lens. From what I understand, fluorite crystal is apparently better than anything else out there at reducing chromatic abberation, better than all the HD/ED optical glass out there, thus giving a better picture.
That being said, objective size is huge in terms of pulling in light and increasing resolution. The small 55mm objective lens of the 553/554 does hamper them a bit. I wish they'd gone with a 60mm or so.
My Kowa 664, though 1 lb greater weight than the 554 and no fluorite crystal (it's ED glass), is a very slightly better resolution and pulls light in just a bit better. In fact, I still think for the money that Kowa 663/664 may be the best deal out there of the well known brands. It's got a really good picture, but as if often the case with Kowa, folks complain of a narrow field of view.
The vast majority of my hunts are backpack hunts back in designated wilderness, sometimes super steep and x-country. Weight and size savings are key, especially when I've got a dry camp. The Kowa 554, combined with a good, lightweight tripod like the Sirui T-025X (1 lb 13 oz each for scope and tripod) is a pretty good compromise, all thing considered.
