:gh:$1010.00 and a Kangaroo?:-O
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Biggest WOW binoculars you have ever looked through? (3 Viewers)
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Ha!Ha! That's a GOOD ONE! A built in binocular harness heh? You Brit's have a good sense of humor.:-O
Chosun Juan
Given to Fly
Sure - deal!
I will cover the cost of getting the bins here ..... you pay for the permits, capture, handling, freight, quarantine, feed and transport of the roo!
Chosun :gh:
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The one big thing you will find about the Maven is the focuser will stiffen and loosen up depending on the temperature outside. Unless Maven & Kamakura got around to fixing it. It was 1 of the reasons I sold my 8x30s and did not pick up a set of 11x45, after talking to the owner who was selling at the time, as his did the same thing.
Nice, warm, sunny day the focuser is awesome. Freezing cold and she takes some extra effort.
SuperDuty
Well-known member
Where does Dennis go from here ?:h?::-O
And the binocular carousel and new threads keep going round and round, and round......
:egghead:
BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
If history is any indication, he will eventually circle back to the alphas. My assumption is that he gets bored over time with his current holdings and likes to try something new. There is nothing wrong with that. The infatuation with the new found Tract and Maven will end just as it did for the Swaro EL 8X32 and 10X50. Maybe the new Noctivid will get a shot.
Dennis .... What about the optical coatings? You have said in the past that the Asian coatings were not up to Swaro coatings. Is that no longer the case?
Steve C
Well-known member
I'd have to check, but Maven was considering offering three levels of focus tension, determined by differing grease viscosities.
None of the Mavens I have have much difficulty in cold temps with stiffening of the focus travel.
The Maven B2 in particular is indeed a $2k glass for half of the price. So we get to see how long Dennis holds that opinion I guess, but at this point I almost agree with him.
:gh:That's a deal.Sure - deal!
I will cover the cost of getting the bins here ..... you pay for the permits, capture, handling, freight, quarantine, feed and transport of the roo!
View attachment 602636
Chosun :gh:
Thanks for that heads up on the focuser. I wonder if it something to do with the lubrication getting stiff. I am not a cold weather birder so it probably won't be an issue for me.
That's what makes the world go around.And the binocular carousel and new threads keep going round and round, and round......
:egghead:
Hard to say. Quite a few people have been giving the Maven and Tracs positive reviews and I am just discovering them now. I have to say these new Kamakura made binoculars are quite a value for the money.
I don't see myself circling back to the alpha's. I see no reason anymore to pay $2k when you can get a binocular that performs on the same level for half that. The Maven and the Trac IMO have alpha level optics and that includes the coatings and the glass. I believe they both use high end Schott glass and really there is none finer. I think the big difference between the Kamakura binoculars and say a Zen Ray is where they are made. In my experience Japan which is where the Kamakura's are made just has better quality control than China where the Zen Rays are made. Apparently the Japanese can put a binocular together, as well as, the Austrians or Germans. The Trac truly shocked me just how good the optics were the first time I tried them and the Maven's did too.
BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
I thought the reason you rejected the Sightron Blue Sky II 8X32 was because the focus got stiff in the cold winter of Colorado and you were not able to follow the birds. I an wondering why that would not also be a problem with the Maven if the focus also gets stiff? Maybe you should give it the old freezer test while you are still under your return period. Hopefully you will find out before the Swaro goes down the road.
I assume the Canon will do fine but it would be best to use lithium batteries. I use lithium in mine without problems for the longer life but I have not used my Canon 10X42 L IS in cold weather.
In defence of Dennis
Today I was out birding in West Clare with my new Nikon SE 8x32. I think this is the fourth pair I've owned. I tried to remember, while strolling around the cliffs at Loop Head, the number of binoculars I've owned in the last twelve years. I could only remember 43, but I think it's more than that. Some were repeat purchases (in particular EII and SE). I think that demonstrates a level of unusual behaviour beyond the norm, and I feel a bit embarrassed admitting it.
Although Dennis wears his heart on his sleeve, he has probably changed bino less often than I. We all suffer from Capitalism's greatest weapon, i.e. exploiting humanity's eternal anxiety to improve its tools or possessions, for profit. Dennis has taken a lot of flak on this and other threads for his switching of allegiances between brands, models and price-points, but only because he is honest. And he has taken all the flak in remarkably good spirit.
And now, after my personal and pointless bino-odyssey through alphas and second-tiers, through roofs and porros, through IS and non-IS, through 8x and 10x and lot of other mags besides, I'm back with an 8x32 SE, the first model of which I had 14 years ago.
We're all a bit like this, otherwise we wouldn't be on a bino-forum. Give Dennis a break. And applaud him for trying lots of binos.
Today I was out birding in West Clare with my new Nikon SE 8x32. I think this is the fourth pair I've owned. I tried to remember, while strolling around the cliffs at Loop Head, the number of binoculars I've owned in the last twelve years. I could only remember 43, but I think it's more than that. Some were repeat purchases (in particular EII and SE). I think that demonstrates a level of unusual behaviour beyond the norm, and I feel a bit embarrassed admitting it.
Although Dennis wears his heart on his sleeve, he has probably changed bino less often than I. We all suffer from Capitalism's greatest weapon, i.e. exploiting humanity's eternal anxiety to improve its tools or possessions, for profit. Dennis has taken a lot of flak on this and other threads for his switching of allegiances between brands, models and price-points, but only because he is honest. And he has taken all the flak in remarkably good spirit.
And now, after my personal and pointless bino-odyssey through alphas and second-tiers, through roofs and porros, through IS and non-IS, through 8x and 10x and lot of other mags besides, I'm back with an 8x32 SE, the first model of which I had 14 years ago.
We're all a bit like this, otherwise we wouldn't be on a bino-forum. Give Dennis a break. And applaud him for trying lots of binos.
Bruce,
The Canon 10x42 L IS works well in cold weather if you use either lithium batteries or Eneloop NiMH-rechargeables. I have used one down to about -20 C and the stabilizer still works the same and focus does not get unduly stiff. The eyepieces can fog up on the outside if your breath gets on them accidentally, but that applies to most binoculars.
Kimmo
The Canon 10x42 L IS works well in cold weather if you use either lithium batteries or Eneloop NiMH-rechargeables. I have used one down to about -20 C and the stabilizer still works the same and focus does not get unduly stiff. The eyepieces can fog up on the outside if your breath gets on them accidentally, but that applies to most binoculars.
Kimmo
What astounds me is that a human can go outside in -20 C and survive to write about binoculars
BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
Thanks for the additional info. From what I could find, Eneloops are said to be "Suitable for temperatures as low as -20°C". Various other sources say lithiums are good to about -40°C. I have been out at -20°C game spotting with conventional binoculars (Nikon EDG II 10X42) but not the Canon. The biggest issue was keeping the eye pieces from fogging. I do not think I want to test things out at -40°C (which happens to be -40°F) no matter how good the wow factor!
