Tract Toric 8x42 Experience (2 Viewers)

[etudiant]

No sir, manufacture and assembly is happening in Kamakura. Some raw materials come in from being sourced, as japan simply doesn't have them, but manufacture and assembly through packaging is done there.

Wonderful, that is good to know.
I think the entire birding community wishes you every success!

 

[PeterPS]

Trevor:

Can you please post pictures of Toric's rainguard and neck strap; also what's the exterior diameter of the rubber eyecups? (that is, the interior diameter of the rainguard).

 

[PeterPS]

I have ordered a Toric 10x42 and have interacted with one of the owners. These guys live and breathe binoculars and are a pleasure to deal with!

 

[Tract_Optics]

Wonderful, that is good to know.
I think the entire birding community wishes you every success!

Thanks!

Trevor
Tract Optics

 

[Tract_Optics]

I have ordered a Toric 10x42 and have interacted with one of the owners. These guys live and breathe binoculars and are a pleasure to deal with!

Pesto,

Glad to hear it and thank you for the compliments. I'll pass that along to them as well.

Did you still need the pics and measurements? Excited to hear your review on them.


Trevor
Tract Optics

 

[PeterPS]

Did you still need the pics and measurements? Excited to hear your review on them.


Trevor
Tract Optics

Yes please. Thanks!

 

[BruceH]

Hi Peter,

I don't have the LT% in front of me now, but I will get it and post it here as soon a
s I can. I will also inquire if our development department has put the information into a chart to track the transmission curve, and if so, will post that as well.

Thanks!

Trevor
Tract Optics
www.TractOptics.com

Trever ..... Any luck in obtaining the light transmission figures?

Trevor .... Do you know the transmission figures for the Toric models?

Thanks.

 

[SivaL]

It was twitching towards the 10X, but after reading the thread more carefully it seems that the 8X is the star of the show. After using the SV, HT, and FL the last few months, I'm sure I would be kidding myself to try the Toric. I've no doubt it's a fine binocular, but I'm so damned particular even those didn't totally satisfy.:eek!: :-O

True that SD. Getting the 10x right seems like a tough act even for the European and the Japanese Alpha bins. The 10x Alpha clones will take some time to catch up even though they are very close in the 8x magnification. Can you comment on how good the CA control is on the HT compared to FL and SV? In 10x42 bins Allbinos ranks FL very high for CA control at 9.5/10. The HT scored lower at 7.6/10. SF was better at 8.7/10. SV's ranking is quite low at 6.9. CA is the only issue that bothers me in the UVHD 10x42. The SV 8x32 also shows some CA away from center, but because of the wide FOV I have to try hard to see it. I thought that the SLC 10x42 HD might be better than UVHD in this regard and I was disappointed to see CA quite visible in my friend's SLC 8x42 HD from 2013. The SLC 8x42 HD wasn't better than the SV 8x32 in many other optical qualities and I wasn't sure if SLC will fare better than UVHD in 10x42 format. So it looks like FL or SF would be the 10x bins to aim for if you are particular about CA. Like someone wrote in BF once you notice CA you'll never not notice it.

 

[mfunnell]

True that SD. Getting the 10x right seems like a tough act even for the European and the Japanese Alpha bins. The 10x Alpha clones will take some time to catch up even though they are very close in the 8x magnification.

That may well be so - I was also considering the 10x Toric (despite the logistical hurdle that neither Tract nor Amazon will ship them to Oz) but came to the same conclusion and pursued a very different 10x bin instead. I did have a go at buying the 8x42 Toric via a used sale through Amazon which said it would ship to my address (and at an excellent price as well). The transaction went through - but was then rejected with great alacrity; officially due to an unspecified "technical error" but presumably because they saw the shipping address. Que sera sera, I guess. I don't think I'm keen enough to pursue it further.

...Mike

 

[NDhunter]

True that SD. Getting the 10x right seems like a tough act even for the European and the Japanese Alpha bins. The 10x Alpha clones will take some time to catch up even though they are very close in the 8x magnification. Can you comment on how good the CA control is on the HT compared to FL and SV? In 10x42 bins Allbinos ranks FL very high for CA control at 9.5/10. The HT scored lower at 7.6/10. SF was better at 8.7/10. SV's ranking is quite low at 6.9. CA is the only issue that bothers me in the UVHD 10x42. The SV 8x32 also shows some CA away from center, but because of the wide FOV I have to try hard to see it. I thought that the SLC 10x42 HD might be better than UVHD in this regard and I was disappointed to see CA quite visible in my friend's SLC 8x42 HD from 2013. The SLC 8x42 HD wasn't better than the SV 8x32 in many other optical qualities and I wasn't sure if SLC will fare better than UVHD in 10x42 format. So it looks like FL or SF would be the 10x bins to aim for if you are particular about CA. Like someone wrote in BF once you notice CA you'll never not notice it.

This big thing about CA with you and SD is really getting on to
the extreme.

Chromatic aberration is just one small part of the optics equation, and
the rest of the optic, is much more important.

For most watching, it is not a big thing. If you have any experience you
can push and find CA in any binocular.

Jerry

 

[mfunnell]

Chromatic aberration is just one small part of the optics equation, and the rest of the optic, is much more important.

For most watching, it is not a big thing.

I'm not so sure that's always so. I think it's a threshold thing - beyond a certain threshold, it just gets too much - and I suspect we each have different thresholds. For CA, mine is fairly high - I can live with moderate levels of CA on-centre and somewhat higher towards the edges. But above my threshold, I just can't. For example, I just can't live with the CA in either the old or new Vortex Diamondback 8x42s (especially the old). They're above my threshold. Others might be unable to live with binoculars I can (say, my Opticron 10x50 Discoveries). Who am I to say what their threshold should be?

If you have any experience you can push and find CA in any binocular.

I sure can - in every optic I own. The closest I have to CA-free is a Canon 100-400 IS II lens that has to be just about tortured into showing some minimal CA (when viewing the subsequent image at 100% and looking carefully in just the right spots). None of my bins are anywhere near that good! (Including Zeiss FLs, which have a well-deserved reputation for CA control.) But below my threshold, for bins, I can mostly ignore it (photography is a different thing).

...Mike

 

[NDhunter]

I'm not so sure that's always so. I think it's a threshold thing - beyond a certain threshold, it just gets too much - and I suspect we each have different thresholds. For CA, mine is fairly high - I can live with moderate levels of CA on-centre and somewhat higher towards the edges. But above my threshold, I just can't. For example, I just can't live with the CA in either the old or new Vortex Diamondback 8x42s (especially the old). They're above my threshold. Others might be unable to live with binoculars I can (say, my Opticron 10x50 Discoveries). Who am I to say what their threshold should be.

I sure can - in every optic I own. The closest I have to CA-free is a Canon 100-400 IS II lens that has to be just about tortured into showing some minimal CA (when viewing the subsequent image at 100% and looking carefully in just the right spots). None of my bins are anywhere near that good! (Including Zeiss FLs, which have a well-deserved reputation for CA control.) But below my threshold, for bins, I can mostly ignore it (photography is a different thing).

...Mike

Mike:

You have your point and I respect that. It is at the extreme, but that is
just fine with me.

I am wondering about those that have experience with the 10x42 Toric.

I am tempted with the current pricing, and that is the size I would go
with.

Jerry

 

[SuperDuty]

When I mention CA, it's a given that what I'm saying is meant to inform those that see it readily like I do, it's also a given that if you don't have a CA problem, simply disregard my comments about it. I don't agree at all that it's not a big thing, to me it's the worst image spoiler of all the aberrations.

This big thing about CA with you and SD is really getting on to
the extreme.

Chromatic aberration is just one small part of the optics equation, and
the rest of the optic, is much more important.

For most watching, it is not a big thing. If you have any experience you
can push and find CA in any binocular.

Jerry

 

[ceasar]

Tract may be a counterpart to Space X.
That firm hugely underpriced their competition, the Boeing Lockheed United Space Alliance, by dispensing with much of the overhead that these long established firms carry. A senior ULA official suggested at a conference that those expenses made the ULA launchers more than twice as costly as those from Space X.
If the same situation applies in retail, Kamakura may approve of the Tract initiative, to avoid having the mid tier market get eaten by Chinese producers.
Not sure though how this differs from Maven, which also uses Kamakura iirc.

Etudiant,

I thought it might be interesting to point out that Elon Musk, the CEO of Space X revealed his plans today in Mexico to colonize Mars. :eek!: (This is not a joke.) He is supposed to have said that he wants to die on Mars, "just not on impact."

No word, AFAIK, about whether Tract Optics will supply the official binoculars for the mission!o

Bob

 

[NDhunter]

When I mention CA, it's a given that what I'm saying is meant to inform those that see it readily like I do, it's also a given that if you don't have a CA problem, simply disregard my comments about it. I don't agree at all that it's not a big thing, to me it's the worst image spoiler of all the aberrations.

I understand that you don't care for CA. I agree too much can be
distracting.

You seem to have tried many top optics, have you found anything yet
you are pleased with ?

Jerry

 

[bigjim]

Just placed an order of 8x42 Toric before the $100 discount expire tonight. I already have a 8x42 Leica Trinovid (2012-2015) which has a similar FOV of 7.2 degree as the 8x42 Toric.

 

[PhilR.]

Just placed an order of 8x42 Toric before the $100 discount expire tonight. I already have a 8x42 Leica Trinovid (2012-2015) which has a similar FOV of 7.2 degree as the 8x42 Toric.

Congrats on the new bino. I hope you have time to come back here and put up some comments on how the two binos compare to each other.

 

[Tract_Optics]

Yes please. Thanks!

My apologies on the delay. I'll have that picture and measurement up shortly! I'll edit it to this posting.

Trevor
Tract Optics

 

[Pileatus]

Etudiant,

I thought it might be interesting to point out that Elon Musk, the CEO of Space X revealed his plans today in Mexico to colonize Mars. :eek!: (This is not a joke.) He is supposed to have said that he wants to die on Mars, "just not on impact."

No word, AFAIK, about whether Tract Optics will supply the official binoculars for the mission!o

Bob

http://www.techinsider.io/mit-student-presentation-reveals-why-mars-one-isnt-feasible-2015-8/#-6

 

[Tract_Optics]

Trevor .... Do you know the transmission figures for the Toric models?

Thanks.

Hi Bruce,

This one is tough for me. Tract has actually taken a position of not stating LT for some various reasons that I'm sure everyone here already knows. Its no secret that companies inflate them or simply try to achieve higher LT's percentages by reducing the lens', coatings, etc; which compromises the optics quality and other abilities.

That being said...the Toric LT is within 1 percentage point of a popular binocular model that three intials...starts with 'S', ends with 'C'....


Trevor
Tract Optics