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Best of the Best Binoculars Review (1 Viewer)

Thanks for posting this. I never knew they updated the review. Few things to note, the resolution scores of the big dogs are all 5 adding to the lore that alphas are more about personal feel than performance differences. I am surprised by the trinnie, I saw one but was not wowed and wouldn't have put it in the same class. Also surprised the meopta didn't score higher.

In short, you can't go wrong with any of these. Try them out and see which feels best.

Yeah where is the EDG? Arguably one of the best.
 
I`m not convinced the new Trinovid I tried tied with the Ultravid either, it was a great optic though, great to see the FL still cuts it after a recent thread here asking if it was old hat !

I did`nt think it was by the way.

And yes where is the EDG ?
 
Torview said:
I`m not convinced the new Trinovid I tried tied with the Ultravid either, it was a great optic though, great to see the FL still cuts it after a recent thread here asking if it was old hat !

I did`nt think it was by the way.

And yes where is the EDG ?
Click to expand...

Don't let NDHunter see this............;););)
 
I would disregard the resolution tests in this review for two reasons.

First, 32x is not enough magnification for most people to reliably discern the resolving power of a really good 42mm objective using the USAF 1951 Test Pattern. The line pairs at the resolution limit of the objective lens are too small at 32x to be easily split by the eye, even if they are resolved by the binocular. This is particularly true for the "elements" in the middle of a "group" on the chart. For this size objective lens 64x is much more reliable.

Second, a 4x scope made from two doublers would be quite a poor auxiliary telescope. Taken one at a time, doublers are low quality scopes. When two are stacked the aberrations of the first are magnified by the second. The quality of the auxiliary scope is not usually that important, but I think this one is pushing the limit.

So many binoculars in the test having identical resolution "scores" (in both sides?) strongly suggests to me that the test set-up was the limiting factor, not the binoculars. We would know that for sure if we had been given the actual resolution measurements rather than numbers on an arbitrary scale. As for the lower scoring binoculars (in both sides?), it's important to know why their scores are low. Are these bad designs or just defective specimens? Without a star test the Porters don't know what's wrong with them, so neither do we.
 
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"Best of the Best" still a small club...

A quick look at the test indicates that there are no Chinese binoculars included in the rarified atmosphere of the "Best of the Best."

To all those who say, "they've come a long way" or "just like the Japanese, they'll be able to compete with the best one day." I say "I doubt it." They've had the time to do so and have not delivered.

You see, today, the world of technology runs at a far faster pace than when the original Toyota ad man said, "Get you hands on a Toyota and you'll never let go." Toyota took a shot at Volkswagen and it took them years to compete toe to toe (let alone surpass them in sales).

Years later, when Toyota, Honda, and Nissan chose to challenge Mercedes, with Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti, the time it took to offer honest competition was far shorter.

Today, the time to compete should be even more compressed given the advances in technology and the inescapable fact that binoculars are indeed far less complex machines than automobiles.

The Chinese had all the time necessary to offer a quality product and gain entry into the "Best of the Best" club. It appears they have chosen instead to offer serviceable, low-end to middle of the pack, low priced binoculars and not to offer anything more.
 
The whole review is absurd! All the scoring categories are arbitrary, and the "overall score" is not a linear function of them, even weighting resolution more (altho they don't say by how much). In fact, I get several order inversions among the lower priced binoculars simply by computing score averages.

Except for the manufacturer's specs, the numbers are as meaningful as tea leaves swirling at the bottom of a teacup. :eek!:

Ed
 
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In recent comparison tests by Birdwatching Digest these strange quantifications follow fine text accounts. I should think the tables also are very useful (for nearly everyone) in the specs. columns and the resolution and price columns if the res. figures are taken with a pinch of ±. (Now Henry’s info. shows precise reasons for this.)
 
St. Elmo said:
A quick look at the test indicates that there are no Chinese binoculars included in the rarified atmosphere of the "Best of the Best."

To all those who say, "they've come a long way" or "just like the Japanese, they'll be able to compete with the best one day." I say "I doubt it." They've had the time to do so and have not delivered.

The Chinese had all the time necessary to offer a quality product and gain entry into the "Best of the Best" club. It appears they have chosen instead to offer serviceable, low-end to middle of the pack, low priced binoculars and not to offer anything more.
Click to expand...

In your rush to dismiss the chinese bins you may have missed the main criteria for selecting the binoculars in the test; price. Afaik none of the chinese bins come near the price categories used for selection.

This time, we asked manufacturers to send us their high-end models, selling for $600 and up. Zeiss, Swarowski, and Leica now offer high-quality binoculars priced a notch below their top-end models, and we especially wanted a chance to compare them.

We received 12 binoculars. They split naturally into two groups: models priced $1500 and up; and another group priced around $1000
 
NDhunter said:
James:

I did see the review, and it is too bad they did not include the EDG.

The Nikon EDG is very good, have you tried one? I am thinking not.

I do prefer it over the Zeiss FL.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Went to Pelee Wings [while at Pelee] today to try them out. Still, after 4 years, they are not offered in Canada. Hard to try something the manufacturer doesn't want to sell.
 
Veracocha,
Be quiet man!! If the Chinese see that, they will charge $2000, and we will pay it.

One of the best optics I have seen was a "toy" Japanese microscope I owned as a kid. It was all metal, and would go 100x, 200x, 300x. The views were outstanding. It laid my plastic AC Gilbert in the shade so bad it was pitiful. It cost (in 1965), I am not making this up, $10. They were laughing at us, just practicing.
Ron
 
Veracocha said:
In your rush to dismiss the chinese bins you may have missed the main criteria for selecting the binoculars in the test; price. Afaik none of the chinese bins come near the price categories used for selection.

This time, we asked manufacturers to send us their high-end models, selling for $600 and up. Zeiss, Swarowski, and Leica now offer high-quality binoculars priced a notch below their top-end models, and we especially wanted a chance to compare them.

We received 12 binoculars. They split naturally into two groups: models priced $1500 and up; and another group priced around $1000
Click to expand...
The request to manufacturers for high end models may or may not have included the price qualification. It is unclear from the article. I get the impression that the request was for high end products and what they got fell into the two strata mentioned.
 
ronh said:
Veracocha,
Be quiet man!! If the Chinese see that, they will charge $2000, and we will pay it.

One of the best optics I have seen was a "toy" Japanese microscope I owned as a kid. It was all metal, and would go 100x, 200x, 300x. The views were outstanding. It laid my plastic AC Gilbert in the shade so bad it was pitiful. It cost (in 1965), I am not making this up, $10. They were laughing at us, just practicing.
Ron
Click to expand...
The Chinese have been known as "The Traders of the Orient" for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years. If they believed they could charge (and get) $2000 for their products they would do so. The fact is they know how to price what they're cranking out now.
 
St. Elmo said:
The request to manufacturers for high end models may or may not have included the price qualification. It is unclear from the article. I get the impression that the request was for high end products and what they got fell into the two strata mentioned.
Click to expand...

The request was specific :-

This time, we asked manufacturers to send us their high-end models, selling for $600 and up.
 
Hmm, I wonder how the new models from Zen Ray and Hawke would have faired. The Prime HD would have fallen into the price range suggested considering their MSRP.
 
FrankD said:
Hmm, I wonder how the new models from Zen Ray and Hawke would have faired. The Prime HD would have fallen into the price range suggested considering their MSRP.
Click to expand...

Frank,

That was what I was hoping you would tell us after you got your Prime ED, but with your newly found contentment, we may never know. :)

Brock
 
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