Kowa TSN 661 or Leupold Kenai???

[nvborn]

Does anyone have experience with the lower end Kowa spotters such as the 661? These are the scopes with the ?normal? glass, not the Prominar. I see alot of good info on here about the 663 Prominar and the steps above, but I haven't seen anything on the non-prominar models. Is the difference between the "normal" and Prominar lenses pretty drastic? Worth the extra $500?

I am not ready to shell out $2500 for a spotter, but I am trying to consider all of the decent scopes in my $1000 price range. I know a Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss, higher end Kowa, etc. would be better, but that boat is not the one I am in.

I am considering the Kowa TSN 661 (66mm) or the Leupold Kenai (80mm). Since I am looking for the most bang for my buck, I cant help but notice the Leupold has two eyepieces and an HD lens.

Any constructive input would be appreciated.

 

[lundellhunting7]

If you have the money buy the Prominar. If not still buy Kowa.... My uncle told me he was looking into the Kowa's because his buddy was a rep for them and could get him a good deal i kinda laughed about the kowa because i heard only the 80mm was the only one worth buying..... I put the Prominar and regular one up next the the Swaro 65mm Hd and the Razor hd. I was so impressed! Edge to edge clarity was good. light gathering on the Kowa was amazing for a 60 mm scope! The Regular kowa and the Razor hd In my opinion were almost 6's and the Swaro and the Prominar were just about the same. I have looked through alot of glass and i know you wont be disappointed with the Kowa. I have looked through the Leupold but not right next to the Kowa. But i would pick up the Kowa any day if you can afford the prominar i would get it but if not still get the regular kowa you wont regret it
Hopefully that helps. You can pm me if you have any other questions.

 

[nvborn]

That helps a bunch actually. Thanks for the input.

 

[tracker12]

I had a Kowa and regretably sold it. It was a great spotter and used as much if not more by the bird watchers that treat there spotters like we do our guns.

 

[broomd]

Go with the Kowa, imho. Great Japanese glass even in budget form.
I saw a Kowa 77mm on 24hrcampfire very reasonably in the last few days.
It had some cosmetic wear but was very cheap.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7193354/1

"hunthard" (Tim) listed it and he is a friend and stand up guy.