Spotting Scope Ocular Lens Swap

L

lesloan

Guest
I have a Celestron Regal M2 65mm spotting scope with the 18-48X zoom eyepiece, and am considering an eyepiece change. The one I'm considering is the Pentax SMC-XW 14. The goal of this change would be improved image sharpness and brightness, recognizing that I'd be sacrificing magnification. I believe I'd get about 27X magnification with this swap. I currently use the scope in benchrest shooting, mostly 50-100 yd. .22 RF, occasionally 200 & 300 yd. CF (.223 Rem.) My question is, have any of you folks done this swap, and were you satisfied with the results? Also, do you agree with the 27X expected magnification? I've been given 2 different values for the focal length of the Celestron and don't know which is right. I'm awaiting confirmation from Celestron customer service, as they don't publish it so far as I can tell.) Thanks!
 
For those who might be interested, I got the response from Celestron this AM. The focal length is 386mm, which would make the scope 27.56X with a 14mm ocular. I'd still love to hear from anybody who might've made this swap, though.
 
I haven't fitted one to a Celestron, but I do have one in my Pentax 65mmHD. I have a few different eyepieces for the Pentax and as expected the image is nice with the Pentax XW14 eye piece, but the ease of use is better than most. Eye position is not critical and eye relief is decent when using my sunglasses with a smaller frame, though I would prefer more eye relief when using my larger framed shooting glasses (or get smaller shooting glasses maybe???)
 
rooshooter said:
I haven't fitted one to a Celestron, but I do have one in my Pentax 65mmHD. I have a few different eyepieces for the Pentax and as expected the image is nice with the Pentax XW14 eye piece, but the ease of use is better than most. Eye position is not critical and eye relief is decent when using my sunglasses with a smaller frame, though I would prefer more eye relief when using my larger framed shooting glasses (or get smaller shooting glasses maybe???)
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rooshooter: Is this the eyepiece the scope came with or a replacement? I'm particularly interested in two things: first, how does it compare in brightness and sharpness to the 16-48X zoom lens? Is it noticeably better? And second, is the 27.5x magnification (my calculation) sufficient for spotting .22 holes in the black at 100 yds? And--thanks for the response!
 
lesloan said:
rooshooter: Is this the eyepiece the scope came with or a replacement? I'm particularly interested in two things: first, how does it compare in brightness and sharpness to the 16-48X zoom lens? Is it noticeably better? And second, is the 27.5x magnification (my calculation) sufficient for spotting .22 holes in the black at 100 yds? And--thanks for the response!
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The scope did not come with an eye piece, but I have a few other types of fixed power eye pieces for it. It is just very slightly better picture than the other eye pieces, but really not a massive difference. It is the ease of use which I do notice. Yes, it will find 22 bullet holes at 100yds most of the time, unless the mirage is bad. If you just want to find bullet holes with it, you might be better off with the XW10 eye piece.
 
rooshooter said:
The scope did not come with an eye piece, but I have a few other types of fixed power eye pieces for it. It is just very slightly better picture than the other eye pieces, but really not a massive difference. It is the ease of use which I do notice. Yes, it will find 22 bullet holes at 100yds most of the time, unless the mirage is bad. If you just want to find bullet holes with it, you might be better off with the XW10 eye piece.
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Thanks for the advice. I decided to go with the XW10 after setting my Celestron lens at 28X for spotting .22 holes at 100 yds. and finding the image just too small for comfort. The XW10 will give 38X on this scope, which should be better. I'll check to see if that's enough in my next match, which, conditions permitting, will be Thursday if the roads clear. I found a really good deal at Amazon.com on this lens, BTW. Their usual price is about $360, but they have a special "out of special" price of $270 or so for those willing to wait. For that kind of savings I'm in no rush!

BTW--the Celestron lens on this scope gives 16-48x, not 18-48 as I mistakenly wrote earlier.
 
Les, I have a replacement eyepiece for my LARGE Celestron scope if you wan to try it on your spoting scope, It is a 8mm to 24mm zoom made by Vixen.

George T
 
Travelor said:
Les, I have a replacement eyepiece for my LARGE Celestron scope if you wan to try it on your spoting scope, It is a 8mm to 24mm zoom made by Vixen.

George T
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Thanks, George, but I specifically want a Pentax eyepiece.
 
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