Bushnell Excursion 7x36 featuring focus lock (1 Viewer)

Hi all,

I tried this cute little binocular today, on a field trip. The owner, an elderly lady, just recently purchased it and said that she was particularly fond of its
brightness and wide FOV. She had complaints later on the day that she didn't get the views sharp, so I asked if I could take a look. I'm not familiar with this model, and when I tried to focus I couldn't move the wheel at all.
It took a minute or two for me to realise that there's a focus locking system on the focus wheel, when I pulled up the wheel it unlocked with a click, and became quite useable, and easy to turn.
I then noticed the sticker 'focus lock' on the left barrel, which left me a little embarrassed and puzzled.

What is the function of a focus lock in a birding binocular?

Best regards,

Ronald

As a PS I would like to mention that at the time she bought the binocular, the salesman told her to keep the focus knob in the down position as to set it right for her eyes; since the diopter adjustment is a ring on the right barrel, I suspect the salesman thought the focus locking system to actually be the diopter adjustment system. His ill advice had caused the lady to struggle in the field with getting things sharp, not being able to focus with the lock on the wheel.
I was glad that I could sort things out for her, and she was utterly delighted with her now operative binocular, but it left me wondering about the feature of a locking device in a birding binocular.

It leaves me wondering about the knowledge of the salesman concerning the merchandise he sells!

As for the locking device, Nikon has it on it's EDG, or at least it is on the EDG I. By pulling out the focus knob one click it locks the focus. This is handy if you have the binocular on a tripod or if you are focused on the same object for a period of time.
Bob

Focus locks are popular with hunters who mostly focus at infinity and like to leave the bin focused there. The lock prevents it from getting bumped out of focus.

But for birders unless you are looking at waterfowl or shorebirds far away (and not using a scope?) it's not much used.

I've never used he focus lock on my EDG (for it's intended purpose ) but the bin does have quite fast focus and a prominent focus wheel so I could see it easily getting knocked from some preset focus when walking or climbing or crawling.

The EDG shipped with the focus lock set so the focus wheel spun without changing the focus. My first through on trying out of the box was "Damn, the focuser broken". Then I recalled what I read in the review. Click. Ah, much better.

I'm not an neophyte but focus lock can confuse the best of us.

Yeah, Bob, the salesman should get his act together, I agree.
As I understood, the lady bought this binocular in the optics shop of our national Bird Protection Society; there are mostly volunteers behind the counter there, but some thorough knowledge of the merchandise might be expected. Most customers are rank beginners and don't know anything about binoculars, and trust in what they're being told.

The focus lock on the EDG is one click out, diopter adjustment two clicks, I believe?
I can see that it might come in handy with bins on a tripod, or any time you maintain a fixed focus distance. Easier for several people to use, handing the bins over, to look at some object or bird.

Kevin,

I hadn't thought about hunters, using this binocular, but you're right that it makes sense (in twilight?) to have the focus fixed in a far-off position.
On the EDG you have to pull OUT the lock, on the Bushnell Excursion you have to push it IN. On the EDG the lock is such, that the wheel spins freely, on the Bushnell it is a firm lock; you can't move the wheel.
I think the lock on the Bushnell can be accidently pushed in, under stressful circumstances, such as a difficult twitch, and may cause irritation for a birder/twitcher. For hunters the Bushnell may be better than the EDG, because one feels the lock in position in twilight or at night.

Thanks for your thoughts, gentlemen, much appreciated!

BTW: the optics of the Bushnell Excursion seemed not bad at all, center sharpness is pretty good and the FOV is quite impressive also. The specs are puzzling me, though.
The binocular I tried in the field had written 451feet/1000yards FOV on the hinge cap;
from the Bushnell site I learned it's 418 feet/1000yards. And I seem to recall that I read somewhere on BF that it may have 488 feet/1000yards ( quote:'bigger than the Zeiss 7x42' unquote). Which is true?
I only tried the Excursion for a few minutes, and concentrated on the focusing problem at the time, just trying it briefly, but I never got the impression the actual FOV is anywhere near 488 feet.

Best regards,

Ronald

It just occurred to me that a focus lock on a 7 x 36 might be a useful item if the binocular were used for surveillance by law enforcement agencies. Isn't the Swift 7 x 36 popular for Law Enforcement (although I don't think it has focus lock)?
Bob

I use it with my young boys so its set for the distance to most of trees in my yard, and when they borrow the binoc its already in focus for them.

For the price I really like the 7x36 bowhunters I have. I could do with a little better color fidelity when used against a light sky, but other than that the ergonomics etc, size, performance is great for the $.

I have been wanting an inexpensive brandname widefield 5mm exit pupil 7x compact for awhile and these look really sweet. So I am kicking myself for not paying attention and checking out these 7x36 Excursion EX Chuck Adams Bowhunters when I was just back in the US for several weeks. More so as I spent the majority of that time on the family bowhunting ranch in S. Texas!

However, the handfull of webstores offering them show conflicting specs re: the FoV, eg., 488ft/1000yds vs 426ft/1000yds vs 410ft/100yds. Naturally the ultrawide ~9.3deg TFoV spec is more to my liking and much wider than what I have now with the 8x42 Ultra HD so I hope this Bushnell Press Release is correct! On the otherhand, p19 of their 2009 catalog indicates otherwise as does this webpage. And then I found a pic on B&H that looks like 431ft or 451ft printed on the focus wheel?WTF!!!!

Brightidea, what does yours indicate on the focus wheel and spec sheet?

Rick

RJM said:

Brightidea, what does yours indicate on the focus wheel and spec sheet?

Rick

Click to expand...

Mine state 451 on the focus wheel. I'll attempt to measure it tomorrow on a 100 yd football field.