Eagle Optics???

[Gaga]

I'm surprised to see that there is yet no review about any product from Eagle Optics... I'm interested in the Ranger Platinum Class 8x42. Does anybody ever tried those?

[rmcnelly]

I have a pair and they are excellent. I had the opportunity to handle them at a Wild Birds Unlimited store before purchase. Very close focus, phase coated, sharp optics, tight but fast focuser (I hate sloppy focusers), good case, wonderful eye relief, and lifetime warranty. These are probably THE BARGAIN in nice roof binoculars.

I've since purchased a pair of Smith & Wesson Premium 8x32's which appear to be a repackaged Eagle Optic Ranger Platinum 8x32. Keep your eye out for the S&W's, I paid $95 on eBay. I've seen them listed here:

http://www.camohunter.com/smithwessonoptics.shtml
http://www.bobwards.com/bobwards/servlet/item/features/803376-06

S&W's don't come in 8x42, but have other sizes. I'm very happy with the 8x32's, just as sharp, but much smaller.

--Rick
West Point, VA

[Curtis Croulet]

Eagle Optics binos were included in a recent Bird Watcher's Digest review of sub-$500 binoculars. My own comments in the "Zeiss Victory FL" thread and in other forums in the past amount to a personal review of the 8x42 EORPC.

[Bill Atwood]

I imagine the main reason you have not seen much discussion on EO bins is that the input to these forums is fairly "Eurocentric". And as far as I know, EO bins are only available from EO itself, smack dab in the center of NA.

By no means am I complaining about the european bent to these forums. I enjoy seeing the opinions from across the pond and have learned a few things. Plus these folks seem to get first crack at any info on new optics coming from Zeiss/Leica/Swaro.

Since they came out, I have managed to get my hands on a few pairs of the EORPCs (8x anyway). They are light weight and have a very close focusing ability. Optically they are not the equal of the best offerings from Nikon/Zeiss/Leica/Swaro, but I would not expect them to be at their price point. IMO they are near the knee of the cost/benefit curve for waterproof, phase and multi-coated, roof prism bins.

In addition to the EORPCs, there are several bins under $500 that probably deserve consideration. These include Bushnell Legends, Celestron Nobles & Regals, Pentax DCF SPs & XPs, Leupold Pinnacles & Katmai, Nikon Monarchs & Sporters, and Swift Audubons.

[KCFoggin]

Eagle Optics is a great company to deal with. I have bought a lot of optics from them although no bins. The customer service and followup is excellent.

[Beverlybaynes]

A good friend has the platinums you mentioned, and she loves them!!

I agree with KC about the customer service and follow-up -- Eagle Optics is terrific!!

They also donated a terrific pair of 10x50 binos to a fundraising auction for 'my' raptor rehab group a couple of years ago -- without begging! Worth approximately $500, and the winning bidder got them for around $350 -- nice bargain!

[Pinewood]

ISince they came out, I have managed to get my hands on a few pairs of the EORPCs (8x anyway). They are light weight and have a very close focusing ability. Optically they are not the equal of the best offerings from Nikon/Zeiss/Leica/Swaro, but I would not expect them to be at their price point. IMO they are near the knee of the cost/benefit curve for waterproof, phase and multi-coated, roof prism bins.



Dear Bill,

I agree with you on the optical quality and value at that price point. The expensive binoculars have sharper edge images. I own a 6x32 Ranger Platinum, which may not be representative of the line. However, in comparison to high priced binoculars it has stiff focusing, which becomes dreadfully stiff in cold weather. An owner of the Eagle Optics Ranger eight power Platinum, who refrigerated his binos, wrote about the problem in this forum. This suggests to me that the Eagle glass has an imprecise mechanism that was packed with grease to keep it from feeling loose. Although it has internal central focus, my right had optic has an external focusing ring, which probably means that the threads and thick lubricant are keeping that side waterproof.

Eagle is very good vendor amd I have purchased other brands from them.

Happy birding,
Arthur Pinewood

[Curtis Croulet]

Yeah, I got some ribbing for trying to observe birds in the fridge. I would assume that you are correct, Arthur, that EORPC (rumored to be made by Vixen) use grease to compensate for a lack of precision in the focus mechanism. They're fine binos, but you give up something at that price level ($379).

[Pinewood]

I would assume that you are correct, Arthur, that EORPC (rumored to be made by Vixen) use grease to compensate for a lack of precision in the focus mechanism. They're fine binos, but you give up something at that price level ($379).

My dear Chris,

I do not know Vixen, not a music group(?), but a lot of binoculars are made by a few Korean, and Chinese shops, with different labels. It is part of "globalization." The manufacturing is farmed out and a retailer or distributor does the marketing. In watches, something similar happens, as there are very few makers of movements, but many brands of watches. Same thing in Scotch whiskey: far fewer distillers than labels.

My 8x32 Leia BN's, which cost me a little more than twice as much as the EORPC 6x32, has, in my humble opinion, better optics, better mechanics, and better watertight integrity but at some price. The other thing is that Eagle or Vixen may be over reaching with that wide FOV.
Of course, I was fortunate to get a good price on the Leica as it came in a color, red, which failed in test marketing. I think the usual price would be rather more!

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood

[Curtis Croulet]

My dear Chris,

I do not know Vixen, not a music group(?)

My name is Curtis, not Chris. Vixen is a respected Japanese manufacturer of telescopes and binoculars. Vixen products are often sold under other brand names. In the recent past, Vixen telescopes were sold in the US by Orion Binocular & Telescope Center under their own brand, but now they're being marketed under the Vixen name by Tele Vue. Orion still carries the Vixen Lanthanum series of astronomical eyepieces. I think the Eagle Optics Ranger Platinum class are made by Vixen (EO refused to say when I asked them -- only that they are "made by Eagle Optics"), but I'm more satisfied that the Celestron Regal LS line is made by Vixen, and they appear to be identical under the rubber to the EORPC.

FWIW, I put my EORPC 8x42 into the freezer in the hope of finding penguins ;) , and the focus became unmoveable. OK, you guys with any of the high-end models, how would yours have performed?

[Pinewood]

My name is Curtis, not Chris.
FWIW, I put my EORPC 8x42 into the freezer in the hope of finding penguins ;) , and the focus became unmoveable. OK, you guys with any of the high-end models, how would yours have performed?

My dear Curtis,

My apologies about incorrectly transferring your name from the screen to the keyboard. At my age, perception is beginning to show faults.

I put my 8x32 BN in the freezer for half an hour. It worked just as sweetly as it did at room temperature. I guess that Leica uses a well machined brass on brass mechanism. Of course, the Leica may cost more than that mechanism is worth.

Happy birding,
Arthur Pinewood

[Curtis Croulet]

The brochures for Leica Ultravid say the body casting is made of magnesium and the focus shaft is made of titanium. Maybe they use a special multi-viscosity lubricant, but the brochures don't say.

[Pinewood]

The brochures for Leica Ultravid say the body casting is made of magnesium and the focus shaft is made of titanium. Maybe they use a special multi-viscosity lubricant, but the brochures don't say.

My dear Curtis,

I have an 8x32 BN, not an Ultravid. It may be as old fashioned as I am and may still use a brass mechanism. More importantly I still think that it may have a precisely machined mechanism.

Happy birding,
Arthur Pinewood

[Curtis Croulet]

I know, but I thought maybe the Ultravids and the Trinovids had some internal details in common.