-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Olympus PCI 8x25??? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter birdlove
- Start date
doug el10x32
Well-known member
Hi,
I have owned a pair of the PC1's for about a year now after looking at many under $100.00 binocs and they are very good value for the money. I keep them in the car at all times for "emergencies" !! I ruled out most cheap roofs as they just do not have the quality. The PC1's have Bak4 prisms and are multi-coated etc....
Doug..........
I have owned a pair of the PC1's for about a year now after looking at many under $100.00 binocs and they are very good value for the money. I keep them in the car at all times for "emergencies" !! I ruled out most cheap roofs as they just do not have the quality. The PC1's have Bak4 prisms and are multi-coated etc....
Doug..........
iveljay
Well-known member
Most used of the 3 reverse porros I have kept: Nice & very small Nikon 7x20 CFIII, Pentax Papillio 6.5x21 and Olympus PCI 8x25.
My pair are very crisp and flare free - unlike some other bins I have used that cost far more. Again they are over a year old so have been used quite a bit and not just tried for 2 mins in a shop.
PCI has very sharp multicoated optics. Waterproof no. Slightly stiff focus for some people. Close focus 2.5m
Claimed 16.5 mm eye relief with twist out eyecups seems generous but don't wear glasses so not a good judge. Diopter adjustment not locked and can be moved accidentally but it is not critical as on some bins to get it dead right. Its firm enough to stay put for normal use.
Can be bought very cheaply less than £60. Do not confuse with 8x21 DPCI ! or Olympus 8x25 WPI which (IMHO) are not a patch on them for optical quality - for this size do you need waterproof anyway?
The Olympus is smaller than the Pentax Papillio and feels far far stronger but won't allow you to zoom in on spiders jaws etc. Hence my owning them as well as I think that I might break Papillios in general field use. The older Nikon is out of production, has virtually no eye relief and not quite as crisp but has wider fov and is even smaller and might be my first pick if produced to modern standards.
I can't believe the optical quality of the pair I have for the price - I have a mixture of bins bought because I like them and not always because BF members endorse them but after staring through a pair of Zeiss FL's I can still look through these and still want to keep them for what its worth.
Probably too much chat for a cheap pair of bins but they have earned their place alongside far more expensive glass as far as I am concerned. However having tried them you may hate them - but that's down to your particular needs and eyes and only you can decide.
Best of luck
J
My pair are very crisp and flare free - unlike some other bins I have used that cost far more. Again they are over a year old so have been used quite a bit and not just tried for 2 mins in a shop.
PCI has very sharp multicoated optics. Waterproof no. Slightly stiff focus for some people. Close focus 2.5m
Claimed 16.5 mm eye relief with twist out eyecups seems generous but don't wear glasses so not a good judge. Diopter adjustment not locked and can be moved accidentally but it is not critical as on some bins to get it dead right. Its firm enough to stay put for normal use.
Can be bought very cheaply less than £60. Do not confuse with 8x21 DPCI ! or Olympus 8x25 WPI which (IMHO) are not a patch on them for optical quality - for this size do you need waterproof anyway?
The Olympus is smaller than the Pentax Papillio and feels far far stronger but won't allow you to zoom in on spiders jaws etc. Hence my owning them as well as I think that I might break Papillios in general field use. The older Nikon is out of production, has virtually no eye relief and not quite as crisp but has wider fov and is even smaller and might be my first pick if produced to modern standards.
I can't believe the optical quality of the pair I have for the price - I have a mixture of bins bought because I like them and not always because BF members endorse them but after staring through a pair of Zeiss FL's I can still look through these and still want to keep them for what its worth.
Probably too much chat for a cheap pair of bins but they have earned their place alongside far more expensive glass as far as I am concerned. However having tried them you may hate them - but that's down to your particular needs and eyes and only you can decide.
Best of luck
J
keithdrengen
Well-known member
Hi,
Considering those Olympus 8x25 pc1 myself, but cant test them before buying, so:
What roof prism are they comparable to, in what pricerange?
How is color when u look at birds in the sky, color-"pollution" around the bird?
Edgesharpness and so on?
How would they perform against a Nikon Monarch 8x36 or another mid-end midsized roof-prism - in optics other than less brightness ofcours?
I know its an unfair comparison, but its just to get an idea of how good or bad binoculars they are.
Thanks..
Carsten
Considering those Olympus 8x25 pc1 myself, but cant test them before buying, so:
What roof prism are they comparable to, in what pricerange?
How is color when u look at birds in the sky, color-"pollution" around the bird?
Edgesharpness and so on?
How would they perform against a Nikon Monarch 8x36 or another mid-end midsized roof-prism - in optics other than less brightness ofcours?
I know its an unfair comparison, but its just to get an idea of how good or bad binoculars they are.
Thanks..
Carsten
keithdrengen
Well-known member
Ok, have had the Pc1 8x25 for a week now
First time i got out with it on a sunny day yesterday, and I got dissapointed with it. For me it was bothersome to get a good view, placing of the eyes is important. And when looking against the sun(not at the sun ; ) ) there is so many flares plus the oculars is so small that i get sun light at the eye all the time.(thats when viewing anyting within say 45 degrees off the sun).
When you got the sun behind you (90 degrees or more!)its good at the price though.
I sent it back though today.
No matter how good the optics i guess oculars, for me, has to be 4 cm at least for comfort. These olympus has outer diameter of 3 cm.
Cheers,
Carsten J
First time i got out with it on a sunny day yesterday, and I got dissapointed with it. For me it was bothersome to get a good view, placing of the eyes is important. And when looking against the sun(not at the sun ; ) ) there is so many flares plus the oculars is so small that i get sun light at the eye all the time.(thats when viewing anyting within say 45 degrees off the sun).
When you got the sun behind you (90 degrees or more!)its good at the price though.
I sent it back though today.
No matter how good the optics i guess oculars, for me, has to be 4 cm at least for comfort. These olympus has outer diameter of 3 cm.
Cheers,
Carsten J
I've just come across this thread. I bought the PC I 8x25 in May this year and have been as delighted with them as Keith was disappointed. They're everything praiseworthy that's been said about them and more. I had come to the same conclusion as you, Keith, that I needed large-diameter eye-cups and preferably a large exit pupil, but the Olympus has proved me wrong. Maybe it's that the eye relief is just about right for me, but I can look through them for ages without strain. As an added bonus, the claimed close focus of 2.5m is actually 1.5m, which is really useful for me, because I look at insects and flowers as well as birds. In fact I bought a Pentax Papilio for that purpose, but never got on with it. There was no setting, glasses on or off, eye-cups in or out, where I felt comfortable with it. I often take the Olympus along in preference to my 8x42 porros. The 8x42s outresolve them, but not by much - and the lightness, neatness, excellent close-focus and good eye relief mean that these are the closest thing to a good all-rounder that I have.
Michael
Michael
