Biggest WOW binoculars you have ever looked through? (2 Viewers)

[[email protected]]

I'm sure they have addressed the issue by now, or maybe I just had a bad pair. It was a night & day, love / hate relationship with the focuser. I hunted in some bitter cold temps in Saskatchewan with them, and also later here in PA season when temps made it down into the teens.

I liked everything else about the Maven's. I could have sent them in for some tlc, and I'm sure they would have taken care of the problem. I'm not in a money situation where I can afford to keep a bunch of glass around, so in order to keep playing, unfortunately some need to be sold.

I put both my Maven's B.2 9x45 and Trac's Toric's 8x42 in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour and I saw no appreciable difference in the focuser tension. They both seemed identical in tension at room temperature and at the colder temperatures.

 

[BruceH]

I put both my Maven's B.2 9x45 and Trac's Toric's 8x42 in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour and I saw no appreciable difference in the focuser tension. They both seemed identical in tension at room temperature and at the colder temperatures.

Dennis ..... I doubt if putting them in the refer from room temp for just a 1/2 hour will drop the temp enough to tell you much. Try putting them in the freezer overnight to see what really happens. I put them in a sealed plastic bag with as much air squeezed out as possible. I also start by putting them in the refrigerator first to more slowly drop the temp from room temperature. If they are really alpha like, then that should not hurt them and the focus should still be functional, although maybe stiffer. If they fail the test, then by my definition, they are not alpha like.

 

[Steve C]

I have put all of the Mavens, B1,2, and 3 overnight in the freezer. They get stiff as the dickens, but free up with a complete dual clockwise/counterclockwise rotations. It takes about two hours in the freezer to get them to stiffen up much. The free up faster than the lenses do.

If that is a great concern you can use a small hand warmer taped over the hinge area of the binocular. Or keep one in your case.

 

[SuperDuty]

You're welcome, the flashlight and camera forums are full of people that micro analyze batteries and chargers.

Thanks SuperDuty for post 373.
I certainly find the information useful.

When buying Eneloops or in fact anything I try to use a good source that I think reliable, or know to be reliable.

Eneloops in old cameras have worked well after a year's storage. The latest maybe two or three years, which is remarkable.

I use the supplied Eneloop fast charger, which takes about 2.5 hours for 2AAs.
I used very fast chargers, 1.5 hours and the batteries got ridiculously hot, and I thought might catch fire.
Using the slow supplied Eneloop charger, say 7 hours will give a longer life, but is slower than I want.

The advantage of the Eneloop supplied chargers are that the 4 Eneloop AAs almost come free.
I have broken one charger by dropping and another started playing up.
I consign any dubious charger straight to the rubbish bin, as the last thing I want is a burning or exploding charger. The chargers may be made in China, but being supplied with genuine Eneloops is good enough for me.
I try not to charge overnight but rather during the day when I am home for safety reasons. I use a lot of batteries.

There are probably fake Eneloops, so a reliable source is essential.

I obviously prefer Japanese made Eneloops, but I don't know where all Panasonic Eneloops are made.

Throw away lithiums last longer than Eneloops, but are not rechargeable.

I have used Eneloops for maybe 10 years, and the research that Sanyo and now Panasonic have done is impressive.
I tried other makes claiming to be similar, but all the ones I tried are very poor compared to Eneloops.

The black Pro Eneloop may not fit Canon 10x30 II or Canon 12x36 III as the chambers may be too small for the fatter Black Pro Eneloops.

I also only use Kingston, Sandisk or the pro make I cannot recall SD cards, but again from a reliable source. Kingston I think is the most faked, but there will be fake everything.

 

[[email protected]]

I have put all of the Mavens, B1,2, and 3 overnight in the freezer. They get stiff as the dickens, but free up with a complete dual clockwise/counterclockwise rotations. It takes about two hours in the freezer to get them to stiffen up much. The free up faster than the lenses do.

If that is a great concern you can use a small hand warmer taped over the hinge area of the binocular. Or keep one in your case.

I am not too worried then. I seldom bird in freezing temperatures. Thanks for the freezer test Steve. It sounds like the Maven's perform quite well in freezing temperatures.

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks SuperDuty for post 373.
I certainly find the information useful.

When buying Eneloops or in fact anything I try to use a good source that I think reliable, or know to be reliable.

Eneloops in old cameras have worked well after a year's storage. The latest maybe two or three years, which is remarkable.

I use the supplied Eneloop fast charger, which takes about 2.5 hours for 2AAs.
I used very fast chargers, 1.5 hours and the batteries got ridiculously hot, and I thought might catch fire.
Using the slow supplied Eneloop charger, say 7 hours will give a longer life, but is slower than I want.

The advantage of the Eneloop supplied chargers are that the 4 Eneloop AAs almost come free.
I have broken one charger by dropping and another started playing up.
I consign any dubious charger straight to the rubbish bin, as the last thing I want is a burning or exploding charger. The chargers may be made in China, but being supplied with genuine Eneloops is good enough for me.
I try not to charge overnight but rather during the day when I am home for safety reasons. I use a lot of batteries.

There are probably fake Eneloops, so a reliable source is essential.

I obviously prefer Japanese made Eneloops, but I don't know where all Panasonic Eneloops are made.

Throw away lithiums last longer than Eneloops, but are not rechargeable.

I have used Eneloops for maybe 10 years, and the research that Sanyo and now Panasonic have done is impressive.
I tried other makes claiming to be similar, but all the ones I tried are very poor compared to Eneloops.

The black Pro Eneloop may not fit Canon 10x30 II or Canon 12x36 III as the chambers may be too small for the fatter Black Pro Eneloops.

I also only use Kingston, Sandisk or the pro make I cannot recall SD cards, but again from a reliable source. Kingston I think is the most faked, but there will be fake everything.

Good information on the Eneloops.

 

[[email protected]]

I have put all of the Mavens, B1,2, and 3 overnight in the freezer. They get stiff as the dickens, but free up with a complete dual clockwise/counterclockwise rotations. It takes about two hours in the freezer to get them to stiffen up much. The free up faster than the lenses do.

If that is a great concern you can use a small hand warmer taped over the hinge area of the binocular. Or keep one in your case.

Good tip about the hand warmer for those that bird in cold weather.

 

[David in NC]

I always keep one hand inside the beltline like Al Bundy so low power bins work good for me.

 

[Sancho]

I always keep one hand inside the beltline like Al Bundy so low power bins work good for me.

:-O

 

[[email protected]]

I always keep one hand inside the beltline like Al Bundy so low power bins work good for me.

That was a good one.:-O

 

[stereotruckdriver]

My Swarovision' s hands down offer the best view that I have come across. Trust me I have handled all the newer glass lately from Z,L, and S. My opinion, Swarovski is the sharpest and has the best color rendering.
Bryce...

 

[[email protected]]

My Swarovision' s hands down offer the best view that I have come across. Trust me I have handled all the newer glass lately from Z,L, and S. My opinion, Swarovski is the sharpest and has the best color rendering.
Bryce...

What size of Swarovision do you have? Have you tried the Canon 10x42 IS-L or Maven B.2 9x42 or the Zeiss 8x42 SF or 10x42 SF?

 

[BruceH]

.......... Have you tried the Canon 10x42 IS-L or Maven B.2 9x42 or the Zeiss 8x42 SF or 10x42 SF?

Dennis .... Did the 9X Maven end up working out better for birding than the 8X42 Toric? Both have the same FOV of 377 ft but the Maven offers a little more power and an excellent AFOV of 65 degrees compared to 58 degrees for the Toric. That would be an interesting comparison.

I noticed you also mentioned the Zeiss SF. Did you happen to get in on one of the closeout deals of the grey units?


Edit: Bryce ... Good to see you back on the Forum!

 

[Torview]

What size of Swarovision do you have? Have you tried the Canon 10x42 IS-L or Maven B.2 9x42 or the Zeiss 8x42 SF or 10x42 SF?

"Trust me I have handled all the newer glass lately from Z,L, and S."

How was this ambiguous ?

 

[[email protected]]

Dennis .... Did the 9X Maven end up working out better for birding than the 8X42 Toric? Both have the same FOV of 377 ft but the Maven offers a little more power and an excellent AFOV of 65 degrees compared to 58 degrees for the Toric. That would be an interesting comparison.

I noticed you also mentioned the Zeiss SF. Did you happen to get in on one of the closeout deals of the grey units?


Edit: Bryce ... Good to see you back on the Forum!

No, I didn't buy the Zeiss SF. I am really liking the Toric 8x42 and the Maven B.2 9x45. I see no reason for an alpha now. I never thought I would say that but these two are so good they have changed my mind. I can't really say if I prefer the Maven or the Toric for birding. They are both great binoculars in their own way. It is nice to have a choice of magnification for different birding conditions and I really still have less than the price of ONE alpha invested. The Maven B.2 9x45 does have slightly sharper edges and a bigger AFOV but the Toric is one of the best 8x42's I have ever used overall so I plan on keeping them both.

 

[BruceH]

No, I didn't buy the Zeiss SF. I am really liking the Toric 8x42 and the Maven B.2 9x45. I see no reason for an alpha now. I never thought I would say that but these two are so good they have changed my mind. I can't really say if I prefer the Maven or the Toric for birding. They are both great binoculars in their own way. It is nice to have a choice of magnification for different birding conditions and I really still have less than the price of ONE alpha invested. The Maven B.2 9x45 does have slightly sharper edges and a bigger AFOV but the Toric is one of the best 8x42's I have ever used overall so I plan on keeping them both.

Since the Toric was not included in your prior comment, I was wondering if it was surpassed by the Maven. Looks like it is still holding it's own.

I remember you were looking for a good deal on the SF a couple of months ago, before getting the Toric and Maven. I doubt there will be any better deals in the near future than the current closeout. However if you no longer see a need for an alpha, then I understand why you are opting out. I am thinking the value is still there and decided to go with a 8X42 SF for the 444 ft FOV and handling. I have looked through them multiple times and was always impressed with the wow view and wow handling. I am now wow'd by the closeout promotion!

 

[[email protected]]

Since the Toric was not included in your prior comment, I was wondering if it was surpassed by the Maven. Looks like it is still holding it's own.

I remember you were looking for a good deal on the SF a couple of months ago, before getting the Toric and Maven. I doubt there will be any better deals in the near future than the current closeout. However if you no longer see a need for an alpha, then I understand why you are opting out. I am thinking the value is still there and decided to go with a 8X42 SF for the 444 ft FOV and handling. I have looked through them multiple times and was always impressed with the wow view and wow handling. I am now wow'd by the closeout promotion!

The SF's are tempting at that price but I am really satisfied with the Maven and the Toric. It is funny how much the Zeiss SF's are already discounted. It seems they are discounted more than Leica's or Swarovski's.

 

[cycleguy]

Anything change with them other than the exterior color?

CG

 

[BruceH]

CG ..... There are three SF changes. One is the black armoring. Second is some small tweaks to the focus mechanism for more smoothness. Third is an additional intermediate step to the eye cup. There was only one step between full down and full extension, now there are two intermediate steps. Extended length, etc, are the same. The new eye cup will fit units sold prior to the change. It is just a matter of screwing out the old and replacing it with the new. Optically, there are no changes.

A comment made after BirdFair said the grey will still be available and the black is an addition. If so, I would expect the above changes for the focus tweak and eye cups to be incorporated into current production of grey models. If the grey continues, I can see where it would be a special order item or not offered in all regions.

Manufacturer model numbers from the B & H Photo web site:

2014 Grey Models
- 08X42 - MFR# 524221-0000-000
- 10X42 - MFR# 524222-0000-000

2016 Black Models
- 08X42 - MFR# 524223 0000 000
- 10X42 - MFR# 524224 0000 000

 

[[email protected]]

CG ..... There are three SF changes. One is the black armoring. Second is some small tweaks to the focus mechanism for more smoothness. Third is an additional intermediate step to the eye cup. There was only one step between full down and full extension, now there are two intermediate steps. Extended length, etc, are the same. The new eye cup will fit units sold prior to the change. It is just a matter of screwing out the old and replacing it with the new. Optically, there are no changes.

A comment made after BirdFair said the grey will still be available and the black is an addition. If so, I would expect the above changes for the focus tweak and eye cups to be incorporated into current production of grey models. If the grey continues, I can see where it would be a special order item or not offered in all regions.

Manufacturer model numbers from the B & H Photo web site:

2014 Grey Models
- 08X42 - MFR# 524221-0000-000
- 10X42 - MFR# 524222-0000-000

2016 Black Models
- 08X42 - MFR# 524223 0000 000
- 10X42 - MFR# 524224 0000 000

Thanks Bruce for all that good information on the SF's. Nice to know. I wonder why Zeiss decided to offer the SF's in black , as well as, grey?