[newfie ghost]

Any folks own a Steiner porro? If so what model and what is your opinion of them?

Is there a difference between the "military" and the "military marine"? I think the military is a higher end model. This is what the US military uses correct?

I know the commander has the xp glass and it should be better than the military.

Advice and information is appreciated. It is not easy to find reviews on Steiner. I have tried the Merlin and Peregrine. I don't own a Steiner, but thinking about adding one to my collection.

[LPT]

Go to http://www.europa.com/~telscope/listp100.txt and scroll down to "Binocular List #110: 03 June 2000" for some good posts about the Steiner M22G U.S. Army binocular.

[redrod]

I actually have a pair of Steiner/Military grade binoculars for sale at the moment. A very well made like new with box set that are excellent for bird watching.

http://www.bonanza.com/listings/Stei...Grade/81011243

[gcole]

Originally Posted by newfie ghost

Any folks own a Steiner porro? If so what model and what is your opinion of them?

Is there a difference between the "military" and the "military marine"? I think the military is a higher end model. This is what the US military uses correct?

I know the commander has the xp glass and it should be better than the military.

Advice and information is appreciated. It is not easy to find reviews on Steiner. I have tried the Merlin and Peregrine. I don't own a Steiner, but thinking about adding one to my collection.

I know this respnse is a little late but I just recently had a chance to use the Steiner 7x30 Commander XP new right out of the box. First I would like to say its the nicest small 7x porro bino I have ever looked thru & yes it has the instant focus from about 60 feet out to infinity. I happen to be at a friends house when he received these. Comparing these to my Viper 6x32 HD, to my eyes they were just as sharp & bright. The viper had better eyerelief & a wider FOV but it did show a nice 3d effect. The build quality is what you would expect being made in Germany .... A+. Now I know this model would not satisfy many because of the instant focusing system but with the XP glass this is a little gem. After following many different ducks & boats from 200 ft out & more I can see it would have its appeal to those who want that snap on focus without ever loosing that in focus object because of it constant movement. With its military spec's it should be able to take a few knocks. Comparing these to the models I looked thru back in the late 80's I would say Steiner engineers got it right with this model. ..... gwen

[marinemaster]

I read a couple of articles about how tough the Steiner 8x30 are. There is also an article about a hunting guide that all he used was 8x30 and they performed very well. I believe Steiner had some 6x30 in the past marketed to hunting. The 7x30 definitely looks nice. But at $550 it will not be easy to sell, I think. I understand the glass is ED or similar but in the birding world it will be difficult to compete with likes of Vortex and Nikon and Zenray at this price point. There a lot of very good binos for $550. In the hunting world many will not pay $550 for this bino. They will most likely get a Monarch for $300.
The regular 8x30 is more affordable, but not a birding bino. The 7x50 is well regarded as a Military/Marine bino, not birding.

[David in NC]

I really WANT to love Steiners...

I love anything German, and I adore the "military-tough" look of Steiners. I loved them when I wasn't even "into" binoculars, when they first got popular here, and then when they got the M22 military contract.

I still used to think they were the best when I was first getting "into" binoculars, but that comparison was based on having only used cheap binoculars. I tried some at a gun store and liked them when I compared them to binocs half their price or less.

All that said however, when I actually look through the porros, they do NOT impress me compared to other binocs.

But later, after owning Swarovskis and other nice binocs, I tried them on a couple occasions in the store and personally felt that they had too much yellow tint, or the resolution didn't "pop" like other binocs. A store owner where I did this comparison a couple years ago even allowed me to run a "no interest-in store credit account" and offered to let me take the Steiners (one of the large hunting oriented porros) home that day...

Even with that temptation I declined.

I STILL wanted to love Steiners! When the Peregrine XP came out, I wanted one so badly (but have still never gotten to look through one!)

A friend with the Highway Patrol has a pair of 10x50 Police, and told me they were the best he'd ever looked through. He's not a birder, but is known for always having the "best of the best" of anything.

I decided to order a pair, STILL wanting to like Steiners, and STILL wanting to think I just hadn't given them a fair chance. I even moved "up" to the Marine model (around $600) and placed the order. Like a kid at Christmas, I waited for the package, and when I finally got them, I was not impressed right out of the box on RESOLUTION. The field of view and brightness were good, but not resolution. I tweaked the focus settings and STILL was not impressed with resolution, in my usage of them. Although not scientific, my tests are realistic. I used them to look birds, trees, wildlife, etc.

Although they were "okay" to "pretty good" I could see more feather detail in birds, more bark detail in trees, more fur texture in deer, etc. with my Vortex Razors, Leupold Golden Ring HDs, etc.

The Steiner Marine Porros became the FIRST (an only, so far) binocs I have ever returned for credit.

Of course, this is always subjective, but this has been my personal experience...

[Nixterdemus]

I always wondered how well the auto-focus feature performed.

[David in NC]

My GUESS is that Individual Focus works for a "good" focus (my buddy with the Highway Patrol can read tags and see truck details from some distance) but doesn't achieve the "tack sharp" focus that us birders like/are used to (?)

[Nixterdemus]

Auto-focus sounds like a catch-all. I dont know that I've ever viewed through such before. I have some el budgeto astro clones that are IF, but I fine tune focus from the moon to Jupiter and vice versa.

Maybe it's all in the atmosphere.