[jmepler]

I am contemplating the purchase of a pair of full sized 10X roofs to replace my aging B&L Custom 10x40 porros.

One of my main issues is eye relief. With my eyeglass frames and prescription the 19mm (I think) of the B&L's is just adequate. The 22mm of my Pentax DCF ED 8x43's is much more comfortable.

I really like the image quality of the Pentax and I am less bothered by the narrow field of view than I am bothered by the limited field of view due to insufficient eye relief of other binoculars.

So, I am looking seriously at the Pentax DCF ED 10X50's.

Can anyone recommend any other 10X with at least 20mm eye relief that I should look at in addition?

Thanks,
Mike

[blizdas]

At 19.5mm of eye-relief, I would take a good look at the Minox 10x52 HG.
It's a bit lighter weight and has a wider field of view. I think the ergonomics and handling on it are superb as well.
I think that in a 10x binocular, you will need to look at the models with the 50mm objective lenses to get that kind of eye-relief. I see lots of stuff around 17mm but very little out there that claims to deliver a full 20mm.
Ben Lizdas
Sales Manager
Eagle Optics
www.eagleoptics.com

[Kevin Purcell]

THe other thing to keep in mind is some maufacturers report the technically correct ER (fromt he back lens) but others (particularly the top 4 bin makers) quote a "usable" ER which always gives a smaller number) but is a mnore useful measure (as it includes ER you can never use ... e.g. the offset keeping your glass away from the last ocular lens.

[Alexis Powell]

I don't remember what their claimed (by the respective manufacturers) eye reliefs are, but of the many 10x binos I've handled, the two that I've been most impressed with in terms of eye-relief (and with stunning optical quality too) have been the Nikon 10x42 LX (and LXL, and presumably the new EDG since it has same spec) and the Swarovski 10x50 SLC. The Nikon 10x42 SE is also quite good, though not as generous as those two.

--AP

[Swedpat]

Important things to take in consider are not only the stated, or even true ER, but also the useful. As well Swarovski SLC 10x50 and Nikon 10x42 SE are stated at ca 17mm ER, but are better in practice than as well Fujinon FMT-SX/FMTR-SX 10x50 and Pentax PCF 10x50 WP (ca 20mm). This is because the eye lenses of Fujinon/Pentax are (too) deeply recessed from the edge of the eyecups. The result is you cannot make use of the true ER. Too bad that the true ER becomes spoiled. You must try before by. Or at least see a picture of the eyepiece. I have discovered that a good photo of the eyepiece (with eyecup in the lowest setting) gives me a better understanding of the useful ER than the stated number in the specification.

Regards, Patric