Pentax PF-65ED-A II, 65mm ED II 45° angled body only

Unlike other spotting scopes, which use proprietary bayonet-mount eyepiece holders that accept only the scope manufacturer's eyepieces, the 65mm Pentax ED-A II uses an American standard 1.25" (31.7mm) diameter eyepiece receptacle. This accepts not only the optional and superb Pentax XF eyepieces that are sized to be more in scale with the size of the 65mm body, but also the larger Pentax XW 70° field eyepieces, as well as more than 150 other 1.25" astronomical eyepieces from other manufacturers that can be found on the astronomics side of this website. You can tailor the magnification and field of view precisely to your requirements with this Pentax, something you can't do with other spotting scopes that have a more limited range of eyepieces available.

For use with 1.25" eyepieces, the focal length of this scope is 390mm. You can calculate the magnification of a 1.25" eyepiece on this scope by dividing the scope's 390mm focal length by the focal length of the eyepiece. Divide the apparent field of view of the 1.25" eyepiece by this magnification to get the actual field of view in degrees.

Features that distinguish this scope from competitive scopes . . .

The optics are fully multicoated with famous Pentax Super-Multi-Coating (SMC) antireflection coatings to maximize light transmission, clarity, and contrast.

Exceptionally close focusing, down to a very good 16.4 feet (5 meters).

The PF-65ED-A II body is supplied alone, allowing you to add the eyepiece(s) most suited to your observing needs. Suggested Pentax eyepieces are listed below. It can also use other brands of 1.25" astronomical eyepieces in addition to the Pentax eyepieces. A collet-type knurled ring locks the eyepieces in place, but allows eyepieces to be changed with just a twist of the wrist. A groove in the zoom eyepiece barrel fits a pin in the scope's eyepiece receptacle. This keeps the eyepiece from accidentally loosening as the zoom magnification ring on the eyepiece is turned in cold weather.

Rugged and lightweight magnesium alloy body is nitrogen filled and O-ring sealed to be fogproof in all temperature extremes and waterproof to a depth of one meter (JIS grade 6). Nitrogen purging also prevents the internal formation of fungus in high humidity climates, such as rain forests.

Rubberized black paint on the scope body provides a sure grip in wet weather. The prism housing and lens shade are clad in black rubber armor to help shock-proof the optics.

Only three and a quarter turns of the ribbed rubber focusing knob located at the top of the scope moves from a very close focus of only 16.4 feet out to beyond the horizon.

The 65ED-A II mounts on any photo tripod having a standard 1/4"-20 thread mounting bolt. There are three 1/4"-20 mounting holes in the bottom of the mounting shoe to let you balance the scope more precisely, depending on whether you are using an eyepiece or the optional #PF-CA35 camera adapter.

A self-storing retractable lens shade improves the visual and photographic contrast.

A camera-type snap-in objective lens cover protects the optics while they are being transported or stored.

A sight line molded into lens shade aids in acquiring targets quickly, although the lens shade needs to be rotated to one side to use the sight line since the prism housing and eyepiece block the view along the top of the scope.

The scope's 45° viewing angle is generally more comfortable than a straight-through scope for watching treetop activity or for extended observing from a blind or back porch. It is also more convenient for observing couples of varying heights who must share a single scope, as there's little need to constantly raise and lower the tripod to a comfortable height for each observer.

For photography, you can use the Pentax #PF-CA35 camera adapter for Pentax K-mount cameras only. It converts the scope to a 780mm f/12 telephoto lens, with a 3.2° field of view and an 18' close focus. There may be some very slight vignetting at the very corners of the field, but cropping the image by about 5% would get rid of the effect. A locking knob at the side of the scope body allows the barrel to be rotated left or right from a horizontal (landscape) to a vertical (portrait) orientation, with click stops every 45°. If photography is a major concern, however, the straight-through viewing #P652 PF-65ED II might be more useful than this angled-viewing model, as a straight-through scope generally handles more instinctively like a camera/telephoto lens combination.

The supplied water-shedding Cordura-style nylon soft case has Velcro-fastened fold-back flaps that allow the scope to be mounted on a tripod and used while still in the case. Carrying handles are provided on the case.

This Pentax spotting scope is protected by the Pentax "Worry-Free" lifetime warranty that will repair or replace (at Pentax's option) any defective product (even if damaged by you) for the life of the original owner for a cost of only $19.95 to cover shipping and handling.

• Dust cover
• Lens cover
• Self-storing lens shade
• Fitted soft stay-on carrying case