Viking ED PRO 65 mm Spotting Scope

I bought this scope because it is much lighter and portable than the Helios Fieldmaster A90R that I also use at the lakes for birdwatching, I no longer have to transport a big heavy scope around. The Viking also balances itself nicely on a lighter tripod. The list price of this scope is £1,000 pounds and the list price of the Fieldmaster A90R is £200 pounds. Is the Viking 5 times better? No, it is not, as the Fieldmaster is exceptional value for money and only loses out to the Viking above 35x magnification for chromatic aberration and resolution. But this is a moot point because the Viking is in a class of its own as far as the optics and usability are concerned.

The Viking ED PRO is  almost as good as it can get from an optical point of view. There is no Chromatic or Spherical Aberration to speak of or any other distortions for that matter. The colours are  completely natural and bright and the images are completely flat right across the field of view. It is optically superb and represents an excellent compromise for a commercial refractor.   The scope is a genuine apochromat. I could only detect the slightest amount of chromatic aberration as a very narrow green fringe against the limb of  a 1st quarter moon and none against the terminator.  The only area where it falls down compared to higher priced optics is its ability to completely maintain focus when changing magnification with the zoom eyepiece but you you do not have to refocus very much. 

The scope weighs just over 1,400gms without the case - so it is light. With the "stay-on" case and a Manfrotto quick release plate it weighs just over 1,600 gms. The body is made of light  metal alloys and is covered with protective rubber,  it is waterproof and filled with inert gas to prevent fogging up.

Ergonomically, it is fine as it is easy to handle the zoom lens, which is detachable and replaceable. It is easy to focus quickly with the ring positioned on the main body of the scope. The eye cups provide a substantial eye relief which is important for me because I have to use all of my optics with the eyecups fully extended.

Under good seeing conditions I could easily resolve the 1.5 cm shafts of a fence, in a playing field, at 1.3 kms,  and I was astonished that I was able to see that a lady was wearing glasses at the same distance.

There is only one weak point; the objective lens cover falls off easily so you have to use the stay on case. I would have expected Viking to have provided a tethered cover for the money; but I forgive them because the rest of the delivery is so good. I highly recommend this scope. I believe that  RSPB professionals use Viking scopes and if they are good enough for them then they are good enough for me.

I tested the scope thoroughly and compared its performance optically against a Maksutov- Cassegrain 102mm (Mak) scope and my humble Fieldmaster A90R scope.

Down at the lakes I tested the scope against bright light. At 500 meters I was easily able to see the finer details of some Cormorants perched in a tree. The colours were completely natural and I good see the pattern of their fine feathers. At 40x magnification there was no chromatic aberration anywhere within the field of view and no other distortions were apparent. I observed some Tufted Ducks swimming on the water at about 300 meters. I could easily see their golden eyes and natural colours and there was no chromatic aberration even with strong sunlight reflecting off the water.

At night I was able to observe the Moon clearly to compare its performance against the Mak. There was only minimal chromatic aberration  at 40x with a very slight green fringe on the limb of the Moon with none against the terminator. I was able to observe clair obscur effects and the image of the Moon was almost perfect. The MAK showed no chromatic aberration at all at 40x magnification. I observed some bright stars including Sirius; there was no chromatic aberration observable; the stars were pin point without any observable distortions such as coma. I concluded that it would be a good refractor for star observations if you were able to mount a finder and a 90 degree mirror diagonal. 

The next day I did my resolution test, and I was able to recognise that a lady was wearing spectacles for 1.3 km was a revelation for me. The seeing conditions were that good. I estimate that the Viking could resolve below 2 arc seconds in good seeing conditions. A target shooter could probably  use this scope to view 7mm bullet holes at 600 yards in good seeing conditions. 

I directed the scope towards some electricity pylons at 3 kms, I was was clearly able to see the detail of the insulators and some wires wrapped around the top of the pylon.

Next, I gave the scope its hardest test I looked at a shiny television aerial against very bright sunlight. I could only see the slightest chromatic aberration. The MAK displayed none. The A90R at 40x was having severe difficulty even on the optical axis. I then looked though the Viking at a very black British Telcomm connector box,  with multiple black cables, attached against very bright sunlight, and once again there was minimal chromatic aberration at 40x. The MAK again had none and the A90R was out of its depth above 35x. When observing natural objects such as a small bird perched amongst a mish mash of branches against bright background the Viking shows no distortion it is almost perfect for bird watching.

I tested the scope in dim light and it is almost as bright as the A90R which has a 90 mm objective lens against the Viking 65 mm lens.

A Maksutov- Cassegrain telescope  is designed to provide almost optically perfect images because the primary magnifying agent is a spherical mirror, but a lens is only used as a corrector. A long focal length (1300mm) and an aperture of F12.7 also help to improve the optical performance. At 100x magnification my MAK hardly shows  any optical distortion at all and the images are still very bright; I doubt that a Swarovski , Leica or Zeiss scope can really match this even at 60 x magnification but they can come close and so can the Viking and even the humble Helios A90R can come almost as close if you ignore the chromatic aberration above 35 x.

I was looking at a Ring-Necked Parakeet at the bottom of my garden through the MAK at 40x magnification, the bird looked as if it was it was literally perched on my arm and the image looked so vivid and alive. No other optic I have looked through can deliver this feeling of closeness. Others have made this comment but the Viking comes close again and of course so do the top priced scopes.

If you are a bird watcher you might want to consider a MAK if you only observe from a dry hide, do not go across country and don't mind not having a zoom lens. Otherwise you should consider a top spotting scope for its portability, usability and optical performance. The Viking ED pro 65mm fits the bill nicely and won't make a gigantic hole in your wallet. I recommend that you give it a try.