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Eagle Optics = Fumoto = Dowling & Rowe? (1 Viewer)

Eagle does not have a seven power ranger. The West Midland Bird Club site reads " Futomo binoculars are available exclusively, in the UK, from Monk Optics." My Eagle Ranger six power is made in China.


Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood

Edit: Quite right, mine is indeed made in Japan
 
Last edited:
Pinewood said:
Eagle does not have a seven power ranger. The West Midland Bird Club site reads " Futomo binoculars are available exclusively, in the UK, from Monk Optics." My Eagle Ranger six power is made in China.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, Pinewood. I know Eagle Optics doesn't provide a model in seven power. But look at the photos. These products can't be independent of each other, can they?

Eagle Optics doesn't ship to the UK. Fumoto is available only through a UK retailer. Seems (at least to me, with limited knowledge) all of these are house badges on somebody else's product.

Anybody know whose?
 
Pinewood said:
Eagle does not have a seven power ranger. The West Midland Bird Club site reads " Futomo binoculars are available exclusively, in the UK, from Monk Optics." My Eagle Ranger six power is made in China.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood
Click to expand...

Many binoculars are without doubt produced by the same factory in Japan. The cosmetics and coatings are tweaked according to each customers requirements but under the skin they are essentially the same. The Fumoto range may well be exclusive to Monk Optics but I have no doubt that they have numerous tweaked and re-badged siblings.

I once had a Fumoto spotting scope (bought dirt cheap) which was identical to an Opticron Mighty Midget except that it was green.
 
Pinewood said:
Eagle does not have a seven power ranger. The West Midland Bird Club site reads " Futomo binoculars are available exclusively, in the UK, from Monk Optics." My Eagle Ranger six power is made in China.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood
Click to expand...

Arthur,

My Eagle Optics Platinum Ranger 6X32 has a "Made in Japan" label.

John
 
Gentlemen,

I am corrected and I have noted it in my post. The six power is made in Japan.
I must have confused it with another binocular, perhaps an Eagle which I sold.

Happy birding,
Arthur Pinewood
 
I believe the Eagle Optics Ranger Platinum Class are made by Vixen, but when I asked EO about it, they would only say that they were "made by Eagle Optics." Yeah, right.
 
I've got a pair of Fumoto Horizon binoculars which I use as a spare. They cost £50 about 10 years ago, and are still going strong. For the price they are not at all bad optically either.
 
As I work for Eagle Optics, I can say with certainty that the Rangers are NOT made by Vixen. As to why we don't specify "exactly" who makes them, it is a trade secret that we don't feel would be wise to reveal, most optics companies do the same. Who makes the Nikon Venturer LX? Would we expect Nikon to say? Of course not, because the binoculars say "Nikon" on them, the warranty says "Nikon" on it, and everyone agrees that Nikon "makes" them. The same holds true for Eagle Optics, they have our name on them, we warrant them, we made them.

Jason
 
jasonsailing said:
As I work for Eagle Optics, I can say with certainty that the Rangers are NOT made by Vixen. As to why we don't specify "exactly" who makes them, it is a trade secret that we don't feel would be wise to reveal, most optics companies do the same. Who makes the Nikon Venturer LX? Would we expect Nikon to say? Of course not, because the binoculars say "Nikon" on them, the warranty says "Nikon" on it, and everyone agrees that Nikon "makes" them. The same holds true for Eagle Optics, they have our name on them, we warrant them, we made them.

Jason
Click to expand...

Jason, thanks for your reply. A few thoughts:

1. It's fine with me if Eagle Optics keeps its supplier a trade secret. I was just curious. I've got no problem not knowing who it is (and I never thought it was Vixen myself).

2. I love your binoculars. I have a pair of 8x42 Ranger Platinum Class I won't part with for anything. What a superb product!

3. I'm not convinced of your Nikon analogy. Surely the Nikon Venturer LX design belongs to Nikon in a way the EO Platinum Class design does not belong to Eagle Optics. The Dowling & Rowe 8x32 PCWP and Fumoto Freedom have identical rubber armor and even have identical badge size and shape. I've never come across binoculars identical in every way to a Nikon Venturer yet wearing another badge. Did an Eagle Optics-owned lab design binoculars to be sold under the Fumoto and Dowling & Rowe labels in Europe? More likely, an independent Japanese lab/plant designed a wonderful product chosen for their respective badges by Fumoto, Dowling & Rowe, and Eagle Optics.

Hey, it's no shame to contract/collaborate with a top anonymous Japanese optics lab/plant and have them build/tweak a design for your badge. Or even to select a good design cooked up by an independent lab and also chosen by others in another market. The proof is in a product that beats the pants off most (if not all) of the competition.
 
Thanks for the kind words, Bill.

I agree with you that the rubber molding of the Nikons is probably an exclusive worldwide, so my analogy is a tad weak as compared to the Rangers. The design of the Rangers is quite good (and it sells very well for us) so it isn't hard to see why others are buying it for their companies.

I guess my main point is that Nikon (and many, many other manufacturers - I love Nikon so I don't want it to seem like I'm picking on them) brands, sells, and warrants a product that is made in a factory independent of Nikon, yet everyone can agree that Nikon "makes" them. And that to us at Eagle Optics, the same idea applies.

Jason
 
jasonsailing said:
As I work for Eagle Optics, I can say with certainty that the Rangers are NOT made by Vixen.

Jason
Click to expand...

I suppose it's possible that "Vixen" binoculars (not sold under the Vixen brand in the US but shown on Vixen's website) aren't made by Vixen either, but some of the exterior parts are identical to those of several other brands, including EO.

The EORPC 8x42 have been very good to me, and they're a great value in their price area. One specific issue I have with them is that the focus mechanism is very dependent upon ambient temperature -- quite fluid at 90F, stiff at 70F, and nearly immovable at 40F. When I contacted EO about it, I was told in essence to "live with it." I've recently had two off-forum inquiries about the EORPC as compared to the new Zeiss FL, since people here know that I own both. I have to say that the Zeiss is superior in nearly every respect to the EORPC, as well they should be at the price. But to those who want to know, "Does another $800 buy anything?" The answer is, "Yes!"
 
Eagle Optics Platinum Ranger and Others

Very interesting Thread - I have always wondered who makes and/or designs binoculars for folks like Eagle Optics, Swift and Bausch & Lomb. I do have a sneaky feeling that the Swift Model 828 HHS 8.5 x 44 roof prism Audubon is made by Vixen, although Fuji may be a candidate as well for both Swift and Eagle Optics.

My own view is that both the Swift Audubon roof and EOPR 8 x 32 are genuiunely nice glasses, with optical performance surprisingly close to Leica/Zeiss/Swarovski, at a literal fraction of the price. The really neat thing about the Eagle bins is their remarkable warranty; I take my glasses everywhere, and just don't worry about them. You certainly see more birds that way!
 
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