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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Zeiss ClassiC 7x42 Bgat (1 Viewer)

V

Vivian Darkbloom

Well-known member
How many birders who own these fine instruments use them as their primary birding binoculars.
I feel sure that many birders who are lucky enough to own a pair would never dream of selling them, but are they still used regularly?
I know that I do, despite having Leica and Swarovski alternatives.
Robin Wells
 
Last edited:
Vivian Darkbloom said:
How many birders who own these fine instruments use them as there primary birding binoculars.
I feel sure that many birders who are lucky enough to own a pair would never dream of selling them, but are they still used regularly?
I know that I do, despite having Leica and Swarovski alternatives.
Robin Wells
Click to expand...

I still use mine (T*P*) quite often. It and my Nikon 8x32 SE are my favorites.
 
They remain one of my most beloved bins, but for me have largely been displaced from use (when I want a full-sized bin) by the Swarovski 8.5x42 EL. I have a friend who owns both of those and who goes back and forth between them, but I tend stick to the EL for the most part.

--AP
 
i used mine quite a lot because they are so easy with eyeglasses. However, since buying the new Swarovski HD 8x42 SLC they haven't gotten much use. But, I still think they are an optical masterpiece.

Ed
 
It's funny. I remember talking with a guy at Hawk Mountain in the mid 1990's. He was using one of those Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT or what ever the Letters were but it was a 7 x 42. I was using my Leitz 7 x 42 Trinovid. We exchanged binoculars for a few minutes. I liked his but the eye relief was really long, longer than the Trinovids which was over 20mm. He told me that was his major complaint and he was thinking of getting rid of them because he had some blackouts with it. I had the same problem with the Trinovids when I first got them before I discovered how to hold them using the now common MOLCET technique. Unfortunately I didn't know it was a technique then or I would have explained it to him. It just worked for me.

Bob
 
I find the eye relief of the 7x42 to be too long initially.

I have learnt to insert a finger between the nocs and my face to position the eyecups correctly.
 
Bought mine 21 years ago, they were retired for a while when I favoured my Nikon 10x42HG.
Love the field of view and the eye relief, being a spectacle wearer, and the fairly light weight. Use them pretty much all the time, when I am on long trips, days out etc as they stay in my main birding/camera bags.
The Nikons live in the car for emergency birding and the short trips where I dont need or want to pack anything.
 
Not able to afford a Zeiss 7x42 BGAT to complement my 10x40 BGAT, I've just acquired a Bausch & Lomb 7x42 Discoverer (phasecoated model) for £116 on UK eBay, about a fifth of the price needed to fund a Zeiss. The B&L is probably not as good as the Zeiss, but it does nevertheless have a 'wow!' factor when you see the bright and clear image. Eye relief is about 20mm but I've lessened the likelihood of blackouts by adding 'O' rings, to produce a result similar to Renze's solution. I just love a 'big view' and the 7x42 certainly provides it!
 
Star Farmer said:
Great idea!
Click to expand...

Star Farmer,

What you need here is a tube with large width, 2¼ inch, and they might be rather scarce. I use 12½ x 2¼ (ISO/ETRTO 62-203) as applied on kids scooters. If you are unable to find it, drop me a mail and I'll send you some.
You'll need this width to keep the rubber ring from curling inward. I've also dropped in an O-ring to get even more height but found it isn't strictly necessary.
Good luck.

Renze
 
I bought my Zeiss 7x42bgtp about 15 years ago to complement my 10x40s but found them more than adequate for much of my birdwatching, so I used the 10x less and less.
I tend to use my Nikon 8x32HGs more these days because they are slightly lighter and smaller. I certainly use my Zeiss 7x42 when I want to "pose" - I've been birding longer than most of you Swaro types - sort of message, or ancient birder image.
There is no doubt the 7x42 are all I really need and are so easy to use.
 
Robert, You're right about the 7x42 being all you need and so easy to use (in my case it's a Bausch & Lomb, which is about the same size as my Nikon 8x32HG and significantly smaller and lighter than my 8x42HG). For 'posing' as an ancient birder, I usually find my 10x40BGAT does the trick, enough to convince others I'm old enough to know all about birds: it's true I look old enough, but I'm not much good at bird watching and prefer playing with binoculars! Sometimes, just for fun, I turn up at a bird watching venue with old/rare binoculars, e.g. slim-tubed Hensoldt 7x42 Dialyt (grand-daddy of the Zeiss 7x42 Classic) or chunky Zeiss 8x50BGA Octarem, to see what reactions they generate. 'Real' birders seldom notice, being too busy watching birds, but there are always some in the crowd who look askance at the unfamiliar optics I'm toting. On the other hand, if I have a Nikon SE with me, even the not-so-petite 12x50, it seems I'm dismissed as some bloke with a cheap porro who doesn't appreciate or can't afford a 'decent' binocular...
 
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