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Revisiting the classic porro (1 Viewer)

Least ways I've cold trailed one scoundrel responsible for my inflated auction wins.

As if that weren't quite enough he's the gall to post other's research, so the truly lazy can avoid the work reaping the benefits.

En garde Monsieur Franke. Perchance the taste of my steel will dull your whetted appetite, for enlightening the knaves, departing bitter, languishing aftertaste for flagrant interloping in divulging secrets of the optical elite.

Squire, assemble your steed and valet tout de suite as the field of honor awaits to reward your treachery.

Bon appetit!
 
Uhh, yeah....fancy talk right back at ya.

Anywho....let me know what you plan on bidding on and I won't bid against ya.

;)

I like making things easy. I know the time and effort it took me to find any/all of the info that I have on some of these classic porros. The next time someone goes to do the same it will be much easier as I am sure this thread will pop up on Google relatively easily.

Have a Happy New Year gents.

;)
 
It's all in fun Frank. I found the same Googlin'. To date I've steered clear of the vintage Japanese glass, but I've still researched it a bit. Knowing nothing all you have to do is watch the auction. Early action seeing how high folks have bid is a sure indicator that some interesting glass is up for grabs.

I was outbid the other day. I checked the bids and the gent would've paid close to a hundred bucks less if I hadn't of bid. I would've recieved the same sweet price if he hadn't of bid.

Likewise I've won bids recently only to have someone come in and run my price up 60-70 bucks. It's just the nature of the beast.

On the other hand I bid early and first on some mil spec porros and one person came by and bid just enough to see if I'd bid any more than the minimum and they were done.

Cost me 2 extra bucks. Thanks for the offer Frank, but I'd be afraid to call your attention to anything I was hoping to win. I understand you make it rain when you bid.

And BOT I just received a Bausch & Lomb 7x35 11* Legacy. For a guy that's used to narrow FOV this little glass seems to show a country mile. Apparently the squat bins are sturdy. They were wrapped twice in brown paper and submerged inside of a USPS 14x12x3.5, if it fits it ships, priority box. I'd guesstamate that a dozen would easily fit inside. You'd have thought he could've stuffed it w/leaves if newspaper wasn't available. Fingerprints covering the objective lens, but after I cleaned them they aren't bad at all for a low power w/lots of real estate. The perfect loaner except I'll have to wait until the new wears off the 11* view.
 
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Bob,

Thanks for chiming in. I take it that those models you have in your signature tag are what you have left. Any chance you have pics of those Binolux models?

You are correct Sir :) Gone are the Jason Statesman 138 et all. No current picture but this old one may show enough for you. The Binolux are the second and third from the left. The one with the gold caps is the 11° monster with huge prisms and eyepieces. Both are quite remarkable in my view (pun intended).
 

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Thanks Bob. Funny you should mention the Jason Statesman. I just picked one up today. Saw some positive comments on it over on Cloudy Nights so I though I would add it to my selection.

Those are some beautiful pieces of glass in that pic. Thank you for sharing.
 
Thanks Bob. Funny you should mention the Jason Statesman. I just picked one up today. Saw some positive comments on it over on Cloudy Nights so I though I would add it to my selection.

The 138 has an 11° FOV like my Binolux. I found both had similar field edge distortion characteristics but the larger eyepieces of the Binolux simply gave a much more pleasing view overall. So I sold the Jason. As an aside I've never come across another of these "oversized" Binolux again; mine are marked " Z438092 "

The Orion 9x63 porro and Vortex 10x42 roof on the far right in the old picture have also been sold. Not pictured are the 7x36 ED2s, Dakota 7x28, and ZOMZ Kronos BPWC2 6x30s with their huge 12.5° FOV. Holger Merlitz wrote about them in 2003 (http://www.holgermerlitz.de/kronos6x30.html.) Interesting porro bins :)
 
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Thanks for the link Bob. I haven't read through that part of Holger's site yet. Will do so shortly.

I haven't found that particular Binolux yet either Bob. My experience with them is limited to the three I posted on the Flickr page...two 11 degree 7x50s and the 11 degree 7x35 which has much smaller prisms than what you pictured. Still an impressive binocular optically though.

I have had more bins show up and plan to update the Flickr site shortly.
 
Frank,

It'll be interesting to see you pick your favorites over time. I went through much the same process with a couple dozen vintage porro bins. Today I have just two 7x35, a 9x35, and although not truly vintage a 6x30 that all rose to the top of my personal preferences.

It's difficult to find history of the original Binolux company. The name was sold years ago and current offerings are basically cheap junk.

BTW might want to check your spam folder again :)
 
Bob,

Thanks. Will check.

Also, if anyone is interested in that Nikon 7x35 WF that I posted about on the Flickr site (and it would seems that some folks are as it has received the most view) then check out the link below. Someone just put one up on Ebay for $59.99 "Buy It Now". That is less than I paid. If I didn't just buy a Nikon Gold Sentinel then it would already be paid for. ;)

Excellent performance. This is one that is never discussed but certainly should be.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-7x35-...140676676909?pt=Binocular&hash=item20c0fbbd2d

Here is another one that I would highly recommend. Out of any of the Tascos I have bought this one is my favorite. Largest sweet spot, excellent apparent sharpness, good apparent brightness for a single-coated model and a huge field of view. With the eyecups reviews I have no problem seeing the field stop with this model.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TASCO-BINOC...200697202920?pt=Binocular&hash=item2eba7c48e8

Lastly, here is a Bushnell "Rangemaster" for a reasonable price. If you read the last part of the item description he also has several other really good models that he is going to be listing.....

Please note that this is one of 2 pair of Rangemasters that I own. I recently bought the other pair on eBay, and while it too looks great with excellent optics it does, unlike this pair, show some very minor surface marks on the body. I plan to list this other pair soon, along with a pair of Bushnell Custom 7x35 , a pair of Zeiss 7x45 Night Owl, and a pair of Nikon 7x35 Gold Sentenel all with cases and the Nikon with the box.]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bushnell-7x...230727138835?pt=Binocular&hash=item35b868be13
 
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Bob,

Thanks. Will check.

Also, if anyone is interested in that Nikon 7x35 WF that I posted about on the Flickr site (and it would seems that some folks are as it has received the most view) then check out the link below. Someone just put one up on Ebay for $59.99 "Buy It Now". That is less than I paid. If I didn't just buy a Nikon Gold Sentinel then it would already be paid for. ;)

Excellent performance. This is one that is never discussed but certainly should be.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-7x35-...140676676909?pt=Binocular&hash=item20c0fbbd2d

Here is another one that I would highly recommend. Out of any of the Tascos I have bought this one is my favorite. Largest sweet spot, excellent apparent sharpness, good apparent brightness for a single-coated model and a huge field of view. With the eyecups reviews I have no problem seeing the field stop with this model.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TASCO-BINOC...200697202920?pt=Binocular&hash=item2eba7c48e8

Lastly, here is a Bushnell "Rangemaster" for a reasonable price. If you read the last part of the item description he also has several other really good models that he is going to be listing.....



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bushnell-7x...230727138835?pt=Binocular&hash=item35b868be13

Best porro I ever used is the Nikon 8x30 EII. I don't think there is none better.
 
I would agree Dennis. The EII 8x30 is an excellent porro and one of the best in terms of overall view. It is probably the binocular that comes closest to being "perfect" in terms of my three areas of optical performance (Object, Full and Wide).

Now, if just had a 5 mm exit pupil ;)
 
Thanks Bob. An excellent read. I am going to go through the rest of his website to see what else is on it.
 
Of course that set me off on a search to see if any of those other 8x30-something bins that I haven't tried are available.

Good luck with that one. ;)

That Opticron model sounds intriguing. I wouldn't minding owning one of those.
 
I think maybe this thread deserves its own sub forum status. There certainly is a lot of affection expressed here for porro prism binoculars, with a lament over the lack of modern productions. I have had a bunch of saved auction site searches I have not used for some time that this thread made me remember. So I fired up the account and have gone surfing. I'm now following (with bid plans) on at least a half dozen really interesting (interesting to me anyway) porro binoculars. I might even wind up with a couple of them.

What comes to mind as one goes through the search process is that porro prism development really went a long way before the roof mania stepped in. The variety of porro prism designs out there is kind of staggering. While many have probably never been "heard of before" the intriguing designs are pretty rampant. Many certainly will never wear the "Classic Binocular" label, vintage certainly applies.

A few older lines from companies like Tasco (as but one example) that are still worthy of effort and are real inexpensive

I have a few old vintage porro prism binoculars. They are surprisingly effective and useful even when compared to more modern standards with regard to glass type and coatings. Some really fine, sharp, clear, and useful old porros go for what amounts to "dirt cheap". A separate sub forum to showcase the old talent might be useful, informative and entertaining.
 
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I would certainly "3rd" the motion Steve. A vintage/classic subforum for binoculars would be great.

On a related note, PM me on which auctions you are bidding on so we don't drive up each others' bids. I only have my eye on one or two at the present time and they aren't of the usual variety. ;)
 
I would certainly "3rd" the motion Steve. A vintage/classic subforum for binoculars would be great.

On a related note, PM me on which auctions you are bidding on so we don't drive up each others' bids. I only have my eye on one or two at the present time and they aren't of the usual variety. ;)

Frank,

PM sent.
 
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