Kowa Spotting Scopes Review & Comparison | TSN 553 - TSN 773 - TSN 883
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- Опубліковано 1 сер 2024
- In this Kowa Spotting Scope Review video, we go over three of Kowa Optics best spotting scopes: the Kowa TSN 553, the Kowa TSN 773, and the Kowa TSN 883. We also show the process of attaching the Kowa extender to get even more out of your Kowa spotting scope. All three of these Kowa spotting scope give you a crisp, top-of-the-line image that is right there with the best of the best in the spotting scope world. The compact and super lightweight Kowa TSN 553 is the ultimate backcountry spotting scope coming in at just 28.5 ounces, while the Kowa TSN 773 is the perfect all around spotting scope. If you are looking to the best of the best, the Kowa TSN 883 is the ticket and its Pure Fluorite lens gives you incredible image quality. Pick any one of these Kowa Spotting scopes up and you won't be disappointed!
MASSIVE SPOTTING SCOPE REVIEW VIDEO: • 19 TESTED! Best Spotti...
MASSIVE SPOTTING SCOPE REVIEW ARTICLE: backwoodspursuit.com/best-spo...
Buy the Kowa TSN 553: sandsarchery.com/collections/...
Buy the Kowa TSN 773: sandsarchery.com/collections/...
Buy the Kowa TSN 883: sandsarchery.com/collections/...
Buy the Kowa Extender: amzn.to/3vHTy4S
Buy the Kowa 25x-60x Eyepiece: sandsarchery.com/collections/...
Buy the Kowa TSN 773 Fitted Case: sandsarchery.com/collections/...
Buy the Kowa TSN 883 Fitted Case: sandsarchery.com/collections/...
Buy the Kowa TSN 553 Fitted Case: sandsarchery.com/collections/...
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0:00 Intro
1:13 Similarities/Differences
2:00 Glass differences
2:36 Weight differences
3:02 Dual focus mechanism
3:28 Prices
3:50 Best uses
5:10 Kowa Extender
6:28 Body construction
6:48 Eyepieces
7:13 Phone Skope demo - Спорт
Love my 773. Thanks for another solid review!
Heck yeah Casey! The 773 is amazing! Thanks for watching!
At 28 oz, my 554 always gets a ride in my pack whether I plan to use it or not. I never consider the thought of leaving it behind. I'll carry it the entire season, and I might use it a total of 1/2 an hour. When I do need it and pull it out, it's golden.
Heck yeah man! That's the beauty of that 55mm series! So lightweight it's definitely worth taking! Thanks for watching.
just picked up 773 with your affiliate link. thanks for great info. great videos
Hey Alexander! Thanks so much and enjoy that 773! That's a fantastic spotter!
Great review! Your channel deserves way more traffic. I'd love to see a review that compares the Leica and Zeiss products as well.
Thanks Richard! Hopefully the channel will continue to grow and traffic with continue to increase!
I'm actually working on several Zeiss and Leica reviews right now, so keep an eye on the channel (and the website) for those. Thanks for watching!
Tripped over your channel, subscribed in a heartbeat. Hey from the UK.
Awesome! Thank you so much for the sub!
@@BackwoodsPursuit
Thank you for your thorough and informative review, it represented a great deal of work. I’ll start working my way through your past videos :)
@@1967AJB absolutely! Happy to do it and glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you again!
Another phenomenal review!
Thank you Jacob! Really appreciate that!
I picked up a Kowa 883 a few weeks ago; what a spectacular scope it is! At all magnifications, the picture is crisp & clear, even at the edges. Also, the coarse & fine focus knobs are so much better than having just a single point of adjustment.
I previously bought (and subsequently returned) a Vortex Razor HD. I became increasingly disappointed with how fuzzy the picture became at mid-to-high magnification, and how the edges of the image had a surrounding halo. Yes, the Kowa 883 is 2x the price, but it's very well worth it!
Awesome man! That Kowa 883 is incredible! Thanks for the comment and enjoy that Kowa!
What's the difference between the 883 and 884? I'm doing some research for a good spotting scope that's not going to cost $4000 assuming Swarovski is the best and clearest spotter that money can buy. Primary use to be able to clearly see 22 caliber bullet holes on ordinary paper targets and bullet holes on brown cardboard backing (NOT shoot n see targets) out at 500- 600 yards and up to 2000 yards for a long range set up. Looking for the ultimate in clarity at the highest magnification zoom.
I am also looking at the discontinued Pentax 100 for $2000 including the Pentax eyepiece to be able to zoom past 70x but not sure how good it is since no one i personally know has one and the only semi decent spotter amongst us is a very old Bushnell Elite 20-60x as a reference that another shooter stated was equal to the Japanese Vortex Razor.
Awesome video, would like to have seen a comparison of the magnification ranges and image quality with the additional extender on the larger scopes. Wondering if there is much quality loss?
Thanks! Yeah, I should have thrown that on there for the video.... sorry about that! Thanks for watching though.
There is some loss of quality with the extender, but not that much. The image looses a little brightness as well as is common with higher magnification.
Hey when you run the 773 do you keep the extender on there at all times?
Hello . Like the video. Was wondering if the 553 model would be capable of seeing out targets up to 1000 yards? Glass quality appears to be great . I also have a budget of less than 2k. Thanks
Hey there Carlos! It would depend on what you were wanting to view, but I've used the 553 for long range glassing on larger object like elk. If I'm deer hunting though, I prefer more magnification though. Thanks for watching!
@@BackwoodsPursuit ok. Yeah I'm not a hunter. Just long range targets roughly at 1000 yards 24" x24" targets
@@carlosduran6327 gotcha....for targets, I'd probably want a bit more magnification to see where you hit on the target.
Will the eye pieces fit the vangaurd endeavor 82 HD scope?
I highly doubt it as these are made for the Kowa spotters. I don't know for certain though. Thanks for watching!
Hi Gabe do you have any experience with the Meopta Meostar spotting scope and how it compares to the Kowa 883? Thanks
Hey there Joe! I do have experience with the Meopta Meostar (both the wide angle and the standard eyepiece). We were able to compare them side by side in our big spotting scope review (here's the link to that if interested...backwoodspursuit.com/best-spotting-scope-for-hunting/). The Kowa 883 out-performed the Meostar in most categories, and particularly in edge to edge clarity and low light. Most of our team liked the dual focus system of the Kowa better as well. That said, at that level of glass, we are being nit-picky as the Meopta Meostar is a phenomenal spotting scope as well! Thanks for watching!
The Kowa and Swarovski are the best. There's no reason to buy a Meopta unless it's ridiculously cheap like at least half price.
Do A review on a Kowa TSN-99
Thanks for the suggestion! Working on that! I definitely want to give that one a test/review? Thanks for watching!
What is the distance on your phone scope footage?
Great question...gosh...I want to say it was around 500yds, but I'll have to go back to where I filmed that and double check now that you asked lol! I'll try to remember to take my rangefinder next time I'm there and drop a comment here on the yardage. Thanks!
I have a 883. I am struggling to find a way to a make solid and rigid connection between the foot and the plate. I find that no matter what I do the plate gradually loosens from the foot and turns. Do you have this problem? What do you use for a plate, and how to you attach it to the foot?
Hey there and that's a great question. Nice had that with a number of plates I've used. Seems like a common issue. A tiny bit of blue locktight on the threads should solve that. Make sure it's the blue kind so you can take the quick release plate off if needed😁. I've been using the Sirui VA5 plate an haven't had an issue with it loosening yet. But....it's an expensive plate unfortunately. Let me know how that works!
@@BackwoodsPursuit You are referring to TY-70A?
@@robgerety yup...that's the one.
My only concern with the Kowa spotting scopes is the small dual focus knobs being difficult to use with heavy gloves in very cold weather. Can anyone comment on this? Thanks
That's a valid concern. A barrel focus would be easier to use with bulky gloves, but I've not had any issues using these Kowa spotters the last few years. I've used them with and without gloves. Thanks for watching!
@@BackwoodsPursuit Is there a big gulf in terms of the optical quality between the 773 and 88A that make the extra bulk,weights,band price worth it?
@@weekendwarrior8334 that's a great question! There is a difference for sure, but it's not that much of a difference. If you can only get one, I'd go with the 77mm. The 88mm is better but you'd be hard pressed so notice a difference unless they are side by side.
If you wanted one item for hunting and spotting bullet holes at 200 yards. Would high quality 15x binoculars be best and would they be capable of spotting nail head sized holes at 200 yards? I site my guns at 200. Or would I have to have a small high quality spotting scope? Anyone with experience at this with both or 15x binoculars?
Good question! Personally, for that application I'd prefer a spotting scope with the ability to zoom to 45x or 60x. Either one would do the trick though I think. The 15x binos would give you a wider field of view though. Thanks for watching!
Between the Bushnell Forge 15x56 binoculars and Athlon Ares UHD G2 15-45x65 I prefer the Athlon Ares UHD G2 spotter. The extra zoom is more than welcomed.
@@commonsense5709 Got a used Athlon Cronus 60x. Yes, I agree, it's definitely good to have the extra zoom. I'm not sure if the binoculars would've worked to see much. With the 60x Cronus the glass is good enough I can count how many inches it misses on the target from 200 yds off with pellet gun sized holes
I'm considering the Kowa 883 for long range shooting (steel, not hunting). I've seen them for $2500 now. Do you think this is the best option below the much more expensive Swarovskis?
Hey there! Yes sir.... after our testing, that 883 actually was better than the Swaro ATX in many lighting conditions(obviously splitting hairs though). It's a phenomenal spotting scope! Thanks for watching.
@@BackwoodsPursuit thank you for the quick reply! Are there any tripods you would recommend to pair with it?
@@eazybrah if you are just using it for shooting at the range, weight probably isn't an issue, so I'd get a nice stable one. I'm testing those new Athlon tripods right now and they are impressive, and are a tripod you can shoot off of as well. Slick makes some nice tripods as well, and I've been impressed with a Two Vets tripod I'm testing right now as well.
@@BackwoodsPursuit thank you! I've got an Athlon Cronus BTR scope and I'm a big fan. I'll check out their tripods.
@@eazybrah sounds great! That's a great scope.... I've got one as well😁. Thanks!
Any chance we can get a kowa 99 compared to the 88 in the coming months?
I'll do my best! That would be a great comparison! Thanks for watching!
Maybe even throw in the 95 swaro and 95 harpia. I’m probably going with the kowa 99 for my desert glass Coues, Sheep, Mule Deer
@@nickwysocki5311 yeah man...that would be sweet!
Where can i buy parts for my TS 611
Oh that's a good question...I'm not sure really. I imagine if you contact Kowa they could point you in the right direction or sell you some parts. Thanks for watching!
The 553 is only slightly cheaper than the 773.Also I wonder if the eye relief on the 553 might be a problem as I wear spectacles?
Yes, that's true. Not that much of a price difference. Thanks for watching!
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Some great spotters there by Kowa! Tough to decide which one to get lol!
Has anyone (besides huntin' fool, I'd like to hear multiple opinions) done a comparison of the Maven s.2 and the Kowa 55X?
That would be a great comparison! I haven't yet put those side by side...but may have to put that together! Thanks for watching.
@@BackwoodsPursuit throw in the new Swaro compact too! Those in my mind are the top tier compact spotters, but maybe there are more I am missing.
@@NerdMouth absolutely! Definitely need to test out the new Swaro compact!