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B&L Elite 8 x 50 info wanted (1 Viewer)

TonyN

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Have acquired a pair of Bausch & Lomb Elite 8 x 50 model 61-0850. They seem really good in half light, excellent eye relief and have greater exit pupil than my 53 year old eyes can make use of, but can find zilch about them (but lots on the 8 x 42) on the internet. Made in Japan, I assume by Bushnell while they had the licence, with serial no starting AI50xxx, that lack of info or even used ones for sale is beginning to pique my interest- so can anyone tell me anything about them or even better point me to magazine reviews, original manual etc? Very many thanks in advance. Tony
 
Thanks!

Remember this thread here :
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=18773

PS : I have a copy of the pdf from the Norwegian site mentioned there if you're interested. Not a great amount of info, mind, even if you read Norwegian.

Many thanks for taking the time and trouble pointing me to that thread- it didn't show up in any seach I've yet done. Would be interested in the pdf to a) practice my norwegian translation skills; and b) just to have a look at any numbers they quote.

Tony
 
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No trouble. Think I may need your email address (can pm it to me) to send the pdf.

The reviews from this site are not held in such high regard here but anyways here's the B&L doing its bit of chart topping back in 2003.

The "marks" (evidently not out of ten :-O) are for "Sharpness", "Contrast", "Brightness", "Edge Sharpness", "Ease with spectacles" and "Robustness" I think.

At about the same time the site rated the Elite 7x24 compact as tops in its category but it also had the issue of narrow FOV.
 

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The B and L tests as good or better than the Zeiss and Swaro but has been all but forgotten by history, as seems to be the case with most of the B and L Elite's.......

As far as I'm concerned all of the Elite's are better than any of their contemporaries and still hold up well with modern stuff. Sadly, they get no respect............
 
The triumph of branding perhaps? That's part of the reason I'd like to get my hands on some 'in depth' and/or 'side by side' test data hat must have appeared in the optical press at the time. From a strictly subjective PoV, I'm impressed, and the reason I picked them up was that they seemed a good optical/build quality vs secondhand price compared with buying someting like a Nikon Monarch new or used.
 
FWIW I think it is a reverse porro prism binocular. It is noted as a porro prism in the photo in thread #4 and in the link in thread #2.

Bob
 
I bought a pair of the B&L Elite 8x50 this spring. I love them. The ergonomics are unique, but once you get used to them, they're quite comfortable. At first, I tended to point low. I had a really hard time acquiring birds in flight the first day I used them. I adapted to them pretty quickly.

The optics are superb. They deserve to have the kind of cult following that the Nikon SE's have. They're my favorite 8x now.
 
BinoBoy, I really liked the 12x50 B&L Elite I tried, it was used, the price was somewhere around $700 or I might of considered it.
 
Yes, the 12x50s are nice, but I like the 8x50 better. They're both almost impossible to find, though.

I was intrigued by the 8x50s because I read an online test by Outdoor Life or someone like that. They had an outside lab test a bunch of high end bins and the Elite 8x50 out resolved the Nikon SE 8x32 and matched the SE 10x42. I had a saved search for about a year before I finally found one. It'd be nice if they had a wider FOV, of course.

Everyone says that most modern high end bins provide more resolution than the human eye can use, but I seem to be able to read finer print on distant signs with the Elite 8x50 than with the Nikon SE 8x32 or the Zeiss FL T* 8x32.
 
BinoBoy, I have the Outdoor Life June/July 2000 issue and it has the B&L 12x50 Elite in it. They gave it a 5[out of 5] for resolution- flare control & low light, in this same issue is the Swarovski 8.5x42 EL and it is Editor's Choice. They also tested the Zeiss 15x60 B/GA Classic 5-R/5-Flare & 4.5 [low light].
 
Yes, the 12x50s are nice, but I like the 8x50 better. They're both almost impossible to find, though.

I was intrigued by the 8x50s because I read an online test by Outdoor Life or someone like that. They had an outside lab test a bunch of high end bins and the Elite 8x50 out resolved the Nikon SE 8x32 and matched the SE 10x42. I had a saved search for about a year before I finally found one. It'd be nice if they had a wider FOV, of course.

Everyone says that most modern high end bins provide more resolution than the human eye can use, but I seem to be able to read finer print on distant signs with the Elite 8x50 than with the Nikon SE 8x32 or the Zeiss FL T* 8x32.


How is the contrast and colour fidelity for the 8x50? I have owned several Elite's and they all have superb contrast and nice colour, although often a bit ''warm.''
 
How is the contrast and colour fidelity for the 8x50? I have owned several Elite's and they all have superb contrast and nice colour, although often a bit ''warm.''

Hi James,

I compared the Elite 8x50 with my 550xxx Nikon 8x32 SE this weekend. I really couldn't tell any major difference in the color balance and contrast of the two.
 
What an interesting thing this 8x50 seems to be. I would love to try one. Thanks for calling it to our attention. It should be even harder to find and more expensive now!
Ron
 
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