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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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    SWAROVSKI AX VISIO: MY LEARNINGS IN A NUTSHELL

    The following personal findings reflect my experience using the Visio on a daily basis for over a month, doing literally hundreds of bird identifications with it. 1. Not a “quick and easy” device Unless you are willing to invest some time and learn how to best use the Visio, you will likely...
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    AX Visio: is it really as bad as some reviewers claim??

    Isn’t the human brain an exceptionally wonderful device? Imagine: many adults can sometimes identify a bird even if it is hidden behind branches so that only a small part of the bird’s body is well visible. Trying to mimic that with electronic algorithms is extremely demanding, as any...
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    Which binoculars for sports events such as horse races?

    ASCOT ! Even royalty can't get their mouth shut, it seems ... The Queen, modern, with image stabilized Canon binoculars (12x36?), high mag, relatively narrov FOV. The King, conservative, with traditional Porro I binocular, looks like 6-8x 35mm (?)or similar, lower mag but likely somewhat wider...
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    The Zeiss SFL 8x30 compared with select current 8x30/8x32 roof binoculars

    The Zeiss SFL 8x30 compared with select current 8x30/8x32 roof binoculars PART 1: General comments and comparison of data “Merlitz Distortion” – doesn’t ring a bell ? Well, it better would, since this term tells you why panning with the SFLs is as comfortable as has been reported by...
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    • Replies: 324
    • Forum: Zeiss
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    Steiner Navigator 7x30 - with "Auto Focus"

    Disclaimer: I own roughly a dozen Steiner binoculars, some of which I like very much, some I like, and a few I really don’t like. My critical comments hereafter about Steiner’s “autofocus” marketing are in no way intended to belittle the quality of Steiner binoculars, some of which I find very...
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    What if you like the SFL 8x40 but don't have the budget for it?

    What if you like the Zeiss SFL 8x40 but don't have the budget for it? There are of course many answers to that question. You could save money for a purchase later. You could wait until good second-hand SFLs come onto the market; that can take a while, of course. Or, a number of quality...
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    • Replies: 44
    • Forum: Maven
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    Position of focus wheel

    Here is a random selection of binoculars showing how widely the position of the focus wheel can vary. From right to left, Kite Cervus has the focus wheel next to the eyepieces; the Bushnell Forge has it just a bit further away from the eypieces, while the Swaro NL moves it closer towards the...
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    Minox 7.5x44 RAPID reviewed

    MINOX 7.5x44 RAPID REVIEWED Part 1: “Single ocular focusing truly luxurious” – really? Can the laws of physics be circumvented? The dream of doing it has been around forever, but so far nobody has been successful in fooling the laws of optics. Of course, companies such as Steiner have been...
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    • Replies: 3
    • Forum: Minox
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    New Maven B.6 10x50: A brief comparative review

    1. US company Maven is by now a well-known player in the market for outdoor gear and sports optics such as riflescopes and binoculars. Looking at their website, brochures and marketing material, the target markets seem clearly to be hunting and wildlife observation. Now, Maven has come out with...
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    • Replies: 56
    • Forum: Maven
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    How precise are rangefinder binoculars / monoculars?

    How precise are rangefinder binoculars / monoculars? Measuring distances up to a mile and more within a fraction of a second and with an error margin of 2 yards or less - that‘s what the specs of many common rangefinders promise. Have you ever wondered whether the performance of these devices...
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    Additional binocular specifications not easily available

    Regularly, questions about the direction of rotation of the focus wheel from close to infinity, and about the extra travel of the focus wheel beyond the "infinity" position are coming up on this and other forums. This information is not normally included by the manufacturers, and it is only...
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    Prevent glare in the Swarovski NL Pure ??

    I had mentioned several times in earlier threads that I personally had no glare issues with my 8x42 NL (and with the 10x42 model, by the way) and that the NL was for me at least as good dealing with stray-light as the other top binoculars on the market, but I appreciate the fact that other users...
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    Usable eye relief in binoculars

    I just finished measuring usable eye relief on virtually all of the binoculars in my collection. See https://binocular.ch/the-pinac-collection/#collection , then click on any binocular in the collection that you are interested in, to find the eye relief / usable eye relief data in the...
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    Swarovski NL 8x42 - First Impressions

    I take the liberty to open a new thread here, as I plan to subject the NL to a detailed test and comparison with the EL SV, the SF and possibly other premium glasses soon after its launch on the market and hope that other forum members will share their impressions as well. Initially, however...
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    King Brothers 7x35 13 degrees

    Binocular King Brothers "slam cat eye" 7x35 wide angle 13 degrees On behalf of the daughter of a deceased binoular owner, I am looking for information about this binocular, its producer, likely year of production, and any other information that might be available in this forum. I have not found...
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    Kindly help date / identify this CZJ 4x bino

    I just got the vintage 4x Carl Zeiss Jena in the attached pic as a gift. I do collect binoculars, but not vintage ones, and therefore have no idea from which period this is. Maybe one of the forum members (John Roberts??) can help? Diameter of the objective lens is - oddly - 13mm. The product...
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    • Replies: 13
    • Forum: Zeiss
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    Neotropical Bird Website

    Just stumbled of this very well made, quite detailed website https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/home and thought it might be of interest to some here. Rgds Canip
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    Retrovid 8x40: A brief review

    I had two brief “shop encounters” with Retrovids over the last three months, one with the 7x35 and 10x40, and a second one with the 8x40. Then, more recently, I purchased the 8x40 (and not the 7x35, see below why) and have used it now for a good week. To rate its performance, I have compared it...
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    • Replies: 93
    • Forum: Leica
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    Canon 8x20 IS: Initial impression

    First impression: Canon 8x20 IS When I hear “8x20” in connection with binoculars, I tend to think of pocket devices such as Trinovid 8x20, Ultravid 8x20 or Monovid 8x20. There has been, and still is, much talk about the benefits of such pocket glasses. Are they "full" binoculars, or are they...
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    • Replies: 61
    • Forum: Canon
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    Service Experience - Leica Switzerland

    I think to be fair, we ought to report not only the negative events and situations which we encounter when dealing with binocular service and repairs, but also the positive ones, and I promise not to forget to do so after my next positive experience! But first, I have to report my current...
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    • Replies: 19
    • Forum: Leica
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    Canon Switzerland / Service experience

    In late March, I dropped my 10x32 IS - I placed it on the table, but was not careful enough, so due to its "round" body it rolled over and fell on the floor. When inspecting it, everything looked to my surprise fine, alignment still perfect, IS worked as always; the only visible damage that I...
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    • Replies: 5
    • Forum: Canon
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    Holger Merlitz' book on binoculars, 2nd edition

    I think most members of this forum have heard about Holger Merlitz and perhaps even read some of his contributions to optics in general or binoculars in particular, e.g. http://www.holgermerlitz.de/binoculars_english.html Ever since his book “Handferngläser” came out in 2013, speculation about...
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    Birding in Colombia

    Colombia has roughly 2'000 species of birds (more than any other country in the world), that's about one-sixth of all worldwide bird species. This 52 minute movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-jn1_thxK8&feature=youtu.be gives a good insight of what to expect when you plan to go birding...
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    Websites with Binocular Tests and Reviews

    I am trying to put together a short list of non-commercial websites where you can find reliable tests and reviews of binoculars, and I am addressing both forum members on BF and CN. Beside the many excellent reviews and tests published by members in forums like the Birdforum, CloudyNights and...
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    What is the proper way to hold binoculars?

    Don‘t take this too seriously, but .... Just found the box that came with my vintage Deltrintem 8x30, and I wondered about the way Carl Zeiss Jena obviously thought we should hold their binoculars, i.e. about 5 inches away from our eyes ??? Maybe that way the users didn‘t complain about the...
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