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Bausch & Lomb Discoverer 10x42 Roof (1 Viewer)

Atomic Chicken

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Bausch & Lomb Discoverer 10x42 Roof Review

Greetings!

My pair of Bausch & Lomb Discoverer roof prism 10x42 binoculars arrived today, after a 1 week wait. The wait was well worth it.

I have never purchased a pair of binoculars before actually looking through them, but in this case I had no choice. After buying my 7x42 Discoverers locally, I searched every local retailer with no success to find a pair of the 10x42 equivalents. I finally decided to find them online, and in short order I was extremely frustrated and almost gave up... they are quite rare at this point, and when I was able to find them they were priced double what they should have been. Luckily, last week on Thurs. I found an online retailer with one pair left, for $279 with free shipping. I immediately ordered them.

I have been looking through these all day, and feel very good about giving this review.

First off, Bausch & Lomb has made things unnecessarily complicated by creating unnecessary naming overlap and confusion in their product line. They market both roof prism and porro prism binoculars of the same power and objective lens sizes with the same "Discoverer" name. To further complicate the issue, they released both phase coated and non-phase coated versions, and also rainguard and non-rainguard coated external optics versions. Nothing, other than the model number, can be used to differentiate the wide variety of Discoverer binoculars. This review is for the model I received, the Rainguard coated and phase coated roof prism model - Discoverer 10x42 (Model #61-0142).

Let me say first that I am NOT a big fan of 10x optics, although I own several binoculars of this magnification. I have always found 7x and 8x optics more comfortable to use, and find that my ability to resolve detail is almost identical between all 3 magnifications. The increased depth of field, field of view, and brightness of the lower power optics have all contributed to my admitted bias toward lower power binoculars. However, there are two areas where I feel that 10x optics are clearly superior: detail resolution in conditions of low light, and long distance viewing where the bird is already very small and every extra bit of magnification helps. When I go birding in areas where I expect to encounter a lot of high flying or distant birds, I usually grab a pair of 10x binoculars.

OK... on to my review of the 10x42 Discoverer phase coated rainguard roof prism binoculars.

These are the first binocular I have used that would make me consider using a 10x as a more "general purpose" binocular, as opposed to the special purpose instruments that I currently view 10x binoculars as being. The main reason for this is the magnificent field of view, 341 ft. at 1000 yds. This computes out to a startlingly wide 65 Degree apparent field of view, which is considered by any binocular authority to be in the "ultra-wide view" category. Viewing this in person, it is truly superb - what some reviewers have called a "picture window" view.

These binoculars are very sharp, and quite bright (especially in overcast and dusk conditions - both of which describe most of the day today!). They exhibit almost no chromatic aberration, I would say slightly better in this respect than my Nikon 8x32 HG's. The sharpness extends to about 20% of the edge, making 4/5 of the view razor sharp and the outer 20% slightly soft... but not terribly or obviously so. The depth of field is about equivalent to my other 10x glasses - that is to say fairly shallow. The focus control is almost identical to my Nikon HG in terms of smoothness and speed, and is also identical to my other B&L Discoverer - the 7x42 roof prism model. The eye relief is not as long as my 7x42 Discoverers, probably about half... but I don't wear glasses so that's not a big issue to me. I have read two different published specs for the eye relief on this model, 12mm and 17mm... I do not know which is correct, but I suspect it is closer to 12mm than 17mm based on my own testing. Close focus on my pair is approx. 5.5 feet, a bit better than the published 7 ft. spec. The diopter adjust seems to have slightly more "range" of adjustment than my 7x42 model, which is also nice.

One of the features I REALLY like about both the 7x42 and 10x42 Discoverer roof prism binoculars is that they both have threaded barrels, allowing you to buy UV filters, polarizing filters, etc. and screw them onto the end of the objective lenses. I am unaware of any other binoculars that allow this other than the B&L Elites... which are several times the cost of the Discoverer models.

Back to the 10x42. Color purity is excellent, and the view has the same "3-D" look to it as the 7x42 model. Ergonomically, the two binoculars are identical other than a difference in the eyecap relief - which is shorter on the 10x42. These binoculars are built like tanks, with thick rubber armor and durable, SOLID feel to them. These are not as lightweight as some 42mm binoculars, but they are not overly heavy and they feel very good to use. I'm sure these will outlast every other pair of binoculars I own, given the same level of abuse (i.e. none in my case! ;) )

Overall, these are a magnificent bargain if you can find them under $300, and even at the $400-$500 price that some online vendors who still have stock still charge for them they are a great deal. I highly recommend these, as well as the easier to find and less expensive 7x42 version. Very highly recommended - find a pair while they are still available.

Best wishes,
Bawko
 
pentax dcf sp's have a threaded barrel

pentax dcf sp's have a threaded barrel. i agree i rememeber really liking those glasses from B & L. if you like them buy more of them because they are discontinued, i went for the pentax vs B & L. i still believe nikons LX or HG are better. i cant afford them... yet.
 
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iambirding,

I just checked my Pentax SP's, and sure enough! They are threaded... something I never noticed before. Thanks for the tip!

I agree that overall, the Nikon HG is a superior binocular, with a pricetag to match. I wouldn't trade my Nikon HG 8x32 for any B&L binocular that I've seen yet. However, considering the price, the B&L Discoverers are the best binoculars I've found. The great optical quality and low price are the reasons I went to such lengths to find a 10x42 pair even though (as you mentioned) they have been discontinued and are getting pretty hard to find.

Best wishes,
Bawko
 
went back to check out the 7 x42 discoverer

hi

i went to my local shop and checked out the B&L discoverer 7x42 they do feel nice after close inspection i found them not be as sharp as the pentax and i assume the nikon LX 8 x 32 i just bought will be better. and yes no chr. abberations on the discoverer. what are you thought on the objective lens being smaller than my 8 x 43 dcp sp? will i be okay with it?
anymore info would help? what about the focus problem i'm hearing about. how long have you had yours?
 
Greetings, iambirding!

A few quick things. First off, I would say that the 8x32 Nikon HG is definitely sharper than the Discoverer 7x42's, both because of the difference in power rating and also because the Nikon is one of the sharpest binoculars available (at the same level as Leica, Swarovski, and only slightly behind the Zeiss FL's). As for the Pentax being sharper, again there is a power difference (7x vs. 8x) that will make some difference in detail resolution, but also there is the aspherical lens design of the Pentax to help improve overall optical performance - especially at the edges.

Basically, you are comparing apples to oranges, by taking binoculars of differing powers and objective lens sizes and comparing them to each other. I will agree that the Discoverer 7x is not the sharpest binocular available, but none of the binoculars you are comparing them to have as wide a field of view, brightness in low light, or super rugged build quality of the Discoverers. In many cases, binocular purchase is a weighing of many different tradeoffs - there really is no perfect binocular and the Discoverers are no exception. For the price and quality, though, I currently feel that they are unbeatable.

If sharpness is your main criteria for binocular evaluation, I would recommend that you buy something like a Nikon HG or Swarovski EL.

Best wishes,
Bawko
 
just bought the 8 X32 nikon LX

just bought the 8 X32 nikon LX. i'm looking forward to it. hopefully will get them on wed. that's what the later half of my comment on the focus was about. i wanted your opinion on the nikon HG or LX foucs and smaller obj, lens.

I agree with what you said but I thought every birder is looking for a well balanced pair of bins that performs and is versatile in may fifferent enviroments and situtations. if not we all have to walk around with 2 or 3 pairs around our necks
 
iambirding,

Good choice! The Nikon HG (Venturer LX) 8x32 is the first high-end binocular I ever purchased, I still think it is one of the finest "all-around" binoculars available. I would recommend that you buy a 10x25 from Nikon or Zeiss and keep it in your pocket as a 2nd binocular, these are very good for times when you need that little extra bit of distance, and they perform better under low light conditions than the 8x32 Nikons. I would highly recommend this combination of 2 binoculars to anybody who is on a limited budget but wants the greatest amount of optical flexibility while still maintaining low weight.

Edit: I do not think you will have any problem at all with the Nikon's 32mm objective lens size, these are remarkably bright (even under low light conditions) considering the smaller objective lens size. If you do a lot of birding during twilight or dusk, you will find them to be inadequate, but I've found that you really need a 10x50 or better for good performance under those types of light conditions anyway. I'm not sure what you are after in regard to the focus, all I can say about the Nikon HG focus control is that it is perfect for me - silky smooth and just the right speed. Many people on this forum have disagreed with this, finding it too fast or not as smooth as they'd like... but you are the only one that really matters when it comes to this evaluation. Try it for yourself, and let us know!

Best wishes,
Bawko
 
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