FAQs
Q. I have never heard of you, who is Kowa?
A. Kowa was founded in Japan in 1892 and has been manufacturing sporting optics since 1952. Our parent company, Kowa Optronics Co. Ltd., works in a variety of industries including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, real estate and more. Kowa Optimed Deutschland GmbH is based in Düsseldorf/Germany.
Q. What is PROMINAR?
A. The current PROMINAR product range from Kowa is characterised by the use of special optical lenses made of pure fluorite crystal. The pure fluorite crystal used by Kowa is artificially grown and moulded into a lens shape and polished in a very complex process. Lenses made of pure fluorite crystal are used in Kowa's current TSN-99, TSN-88, TSN-66 and TSN-550 PROMINAR spotting scope series and in PROMINAR High Lander large binoculars.
Q. What is Kowa's Warranty Policy?
A. 10 years on spotting scopes and binoculars. 5 years on telephoto lens. 3 years on MFT lenses. An online registration of your new Kowa sport optic products offers an additional warranty time of up to 5years for selected models: https://www.kowaoptic.com/extendedwarranty
Q. Which is better, a binocular or spotting scopes?
A. Both eyes are used to look through a binocular while one eye is used to look through a spotting scope. Generally, spotting scopes have a much higher magnification than binoculars, so far away images appear larger, but a better three-dimensional image can be expected from binoculars, and they are easier to handle and have better portability.
Q. My scope needs to be serviced, what do I need to do?
A. Contact your Kowa dealer or place of purchase and they can arrange the transfer of your Kowa product to the service dept., as well as the administration of a repair process. If your product falls under the Kowa warranty, the repair will take place free of charge. If not, a quote will be provided before work takes place. Or you can contact Kowa direct at service@kowaoptimed.com or www.kowaoptic.com.
Q. What is magnification?
A. Magnification describes how many times closer an image appears. Magnification is also called "power" and is abbreviated by the symbol "x". A magnification of 20 (20 power) means that an object appears twenty times closer than you would see it with the naked eye. When looking through an optic with a magnification of 20x, an object at a distance of 100 yards /meters appears to be only 5 yards/meters away.
Q. What is objective lens diameter?
A. The measurement in mm of the diameter of the objective lens of an optic. As the diameter of the objective lens increases, the optic will have better light gathering.
Q. What is resolution?
A.Resolution, or ultimate sharpness, is the measure of the ability of a spotting scope or binocular to distinguish fine details. Optical glass is at its sharpest in the center, while resolution decreases toward the edges in relationship to the quality level of the lens. Larger objective lenses (with quality as a constant) tend to improve resolution. This is because they have a larger amount of sharp, center objective lens area, as opposed to the amount of lesser sharpness at the edge of the lens surface.
Q. What is minimum focus distance?
A. The closest distance to an object that the binocular/spotting scope will focus sharply.
Q. What is eye relief?
A. Eye relief is the distance, measured in mm, between the eyepiece lens to where the exit pupil is actually positioned in space (where the pupil of the eye must be positioned for a full view).A long eye relief makes observing for long periods of time easy and tireless.
Q. What is multi-coating?
A. When light enters a lens or prism, light is reflected from their surface at a rate of about 4%. This reflection diminishes the brightness of the optic and causes flare or ghosting. By coating the surface of the lens, the amount of reflection can be minimized, decreasing flare and ghosting.Different Types of Coatings:
Coated optics: one or more surfaces coated.
Fully coated: all air-to-glass surfaces coated.
Multi-coated: one or more surfaces are multi-layer coated.
Fully multi-coated: all air-to-glass surfaces are multi-layer coated.
Q. What are the benefits of a gas filled optic?
A. Spotting scopes and binoculars are used in all types of weather, so it is important to protect the instrument from moisture. To keep the inside dry and keep moisture from penetrating from the outside all of the air is purged form the inside of the optic and replaced with nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas prevents moisture from entering the scope and keeps the inside dry.
Q. What is needed to attach a digital camera to a spotting scope?
A. Accessories may vary depending on the model spotting scope. Please see www.kowaproducts.com for more information.
Q. Is it possible to attach a smartphone to a spotting scope or binocular?
A. Yes, and Kowa offers a big variety of different adapters from universal fit to individual fit.
Visit: https://www.kowaoptic.com/Digiscoping-adapters-for-Smartphones for more information.
Q. Which spotting scopes can be used for digiscoping?
A. All current Kowa spotting scope models can be used for digiscoping.
For more details visit: https://www.kowaoptic.com
Q. What is the focal length of the digiscoping system?
A. The focal length of a digiscoping system can be found using the following equation: Focal Length = Focal Length of the Digital Camera x Magnification of the Eyepiece
Q. What is the collimation method?
A. The method of taking photographs through a digital camera that is attached to the eyepiece of a spotting scope is called the collimation method. Collimate means the aligning of the optical axis of the optical system. Usually, we look through a telescope/spotting scope through the eyepiece with our eye. When the human eye is replaced by a digital camera to look through the eyepiece to take a photograph, it is called the collimation method.
Q. Which camera systems can I use with my Kowa spotting scope?
A. Full frame, APSC and micro four thirds cameras from all major manufacturers.