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Minox CB BL 8x44 Binocular (1 Viewer)

They do look good what with their sturdy open bridge design and they have a nice wide FOV of 411' and the price is reasonable.

But look at the price on the Minox APO HG 8 x 43!:eek!: Will somebody with REAL DEEP pockets order one of these and report on it? And it is made in Germany too! At that price, I would hope so! The FOV is 394'. The 10 x 43 version has a really wide 355' FOV.

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/minox/minox-apo-hg-8x43-br-binocular

Bob
 
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These look interesting!!

Curious as to where they sit among the rest of the current minox line up, being so closely priced to the budget BL BR and HG models?

Also interested to know if these are going to be available in the UK, as I was previously dissapointed the old BR ALT range had been revamped (7x42 model discontinued) and now only available in the US?

Matt
 
These look interesting!!

Curious as to where they sit among the rest of the current minox line up, being so closely priced to the budget BL BR and HG models?

Also interested to know if these are going to be available in the UK, as I was previously dissapointed the old BR ALT range had been revamped (7x42 model discontinued) and now only available in the US?

Matt

Matt,

I wrote Eagle Optics to find out when they would be available in the US and in what country they were made.

Seems Minox prefers to ship them across the Pacific to test their desirability in the American market before selling them in the UK, though hopefully not in a "slow boat from China," I'm keeping my fingers crossed they are made in Japan like the 8x44/10x44 porros.

Minox also had some nasty stuff in their rubber armoring, hope they got that out.
 
Hi all,

has anyone tried these yet?

Just googled into them unexpectedly. Spec looks very good. Wide fov and nice light weight for their size and good price too.

Cheers
Martin
 
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Does anyone have a simple way to rank the various Minox offerings? They are confusing, at least to me.
Minox models include BD, BL, BR, BV and heaven knows what else, fluctuating across various price ranges without discernible logic.
Zeiss, a bigger supplier, has 2 offerings, Leica just one afaik. What is Minox's aim?
 
Does anyone have a simple way to rank the various Minox offerings? They are confusing, at least to me.
Minox models include BD, BL, BR, BV and heaven knows what else, fluctuating across various price ranges without discernible logic.
Zeiss, a bigger supplier, has 2 offerings, Leica just one afaik. What is Minox's aim?

Same as I Nikon but not as "bad" as Bushnel: to have a bin in each price range. Rather different to the Leica "boutique" approach.

It's been commented here many other times that the Minox naming scheme has to be the most confusing out there. Ignore the B in the name and a search on the forums here will bring some clarification.
 
I don't know for certain but the following is my best guess (from high end to low end):

The HG APO is the current top of the line, with the HG just below them.
The BD are discontinued. They were the top of the line when Minox was owned by Leica.
The BL were the first line designed by Minox after they became independent and replaced the BD. The L stands for Lightweight.
The BV is a low cost line. The V stands for Value. There only two: 8x42 and 10x42.
The Arctic Hunter is a BV with a white/black camo finish.
The BF is below the BV. There may only be one model. I've only seen 10x42.

Part of the confusion here is that Minox uses BR to stand for roof prism and BP to denote porro prism binoculars. So a BD BR is a roof prism model from the BD line.

Hope this helps. I also hope is it right.
 
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I tried these out at the Rutland birdfair, have to say I was pretty well impressed with both the 8x44 and 8x33 models. They had an impressive field of view, bright sharp image and felt very sturdy and well built in the hand despite looking pretty plain and drab!!

Couldn't compare with my current Opticron Porros but I got the impression both models had a better and easier image than the benchmark budget roofprism the Hawke Frontier ED.

Anyone done comparisons yet?

Matt
 
I tried these out at the Rutland birdfair, have to say I was pretty well impressed with both the 8x44 and 8x33 models. They had an impressive field of view, bright sharp image and felt very sturdy and well built in the hand despite looking pretty plain and drab!!

Couldn't compare with my current Opticron Porros but I got the impression both models had a better and easier image than the benchmark budget roofprism the Hawke Frontier ED.

Anyone done comparisons yet?

Matt

Hi Matt,

I have had a quick look through these but not a proper test. I thought they seemed to have less depth of field than others.

Best wishes
Martin
 
Hi Matt,

I have had a quick look through these but not a proper test. I thought they seemed to have less depth of field than others.

Best wishes
Martin

Hi Martin

Do you think they are anywhere near the Opticron HR WP 8x42, I recently purchased a pair of these and I believe you also use a pair?

Matt
 
Hi Martin

Do you think they are anywhere near the Opticron HR WP 8x42, I recently purchased a pair of these and I believe you also use a pair?

Matt

Hi Matt,

I haven't tried them next to each other so I could easily be wrong but I would say that the HRWPs have the better quality optically. But it's a shame they have such a narrow fov.
I no longer have my HRWPs, I couldn't get on with the eye-relief. I have since realised that 7x is more my style so I use 7x42 SLC now.
 
Does anyone have a simple way to rank the various Minox offerings? They are confusing, at least to me.
Minox models include BD, BL, BR, BV and heaven knows what else, fluctuating across various price ranges without discernible logic.
Zeiss, a bigger supplier, has 2 offerings, Leica just one afaik. What is Minox's aim?

To take over the wooorld, Pinky! :)

It seems that Minox is trying to offer bins at more prices points and even has (or is that had) a porro line so that a variety of buyers can plug in to its products. An approach similar to Nikon in that regard, though on a smaller scale.

I think Minox realizes that despite having a price that's entering the Zeissosphere, the HG APO is not going to compete sales-wise with the FL, Swaro EL/SLC, and Leica Ultras.

So they went with a multi-tier "something for everybody" business model rather than the alpha's "boutique" approach, as Kevin called it. Smart move, methinks.

Broca's Brain
 
I had the 7x42 BD BR for a couple of years. Is my reference binocular. Easy view, great handling, just the right weight. I believe they are Japan made. They have a great 19mm eye relief :) I have had many binos come and gone but the Minox 7x42 always stayed with me.

I am also interested in the open bridge 8x33 and the 8x44, I wonder where they are made.
 
I had the 7x42 BD BR for a couple of years. Is my reference binocular. Easy view, great handling, just the right weight. I believe they are Japan made. They have a great 19mm eye relief :) I have had many binos come and gone but the Minox 7x42 always stayed with me.

I am also interested in the open bridge 8x33 and the 8x44, I wonder where they are made.

Hi All,
The 8x44 CB BL is made in China. The opitcs on it are quite good as is the overall construction quality. I'd have no reservations about recommending them.
We just purchased a handful of demo models from Minox and decided to do a product review.
Here is the review, done by Mike McDowell.

If you're interested in checking out one of the demo models, you can look here. I would rate these as excellent contenders at the $500 price point. Even more compelling when priced closer to $300.

Cheers,

Ben Lizdas
Sales Manager
Eagle Optics
www.eagleoptics.com
 
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