Strange bino choice, plz help (1 Viewer)

Help me out here, I have been presented with an odd choice to make. For my next pair of bins do I; A) Take a chance on a new design and spring for the Stokes DLS 8x42, or B) Upgrade my midsized to Zeiss Conquest 8x30?

Oh, decisions, decisions. Good deal or trusted name, I can't pick.

HELP!

I wouldn't pick either one with out evaluating them inhand first.

Ditto what Bill said. The Stokes has no track record, and the Zeiss doesn't focus close enough to suit me, plus it has poor eye-relief (going by the specs).

Curtis Croulet said:

Ditto what Bill said. The Stokes has no track record, and the Zeiss doesn't focus close enough to suit me, plus it has poor eye-relief (going by the specs).

Click to expand...

And it (Zeiss) has too narrow field-of-view to suit me - and I didn't like the placement of focus wheel. Take all the time you need to try yourself. :t:

Ilkka

I have tried the Zeiss Conquest in a store, and I experienced strong reflections in the image, which I didn't expect. Other binoculars showed no reflections when viewing the same subject.

Marco

Robert Ellis said:

Help me out here, I have been presented with an odd choice to make. For my next pair of bins do I; A) Take a chance on a new design and spring for the Stokes DLS 8x42, or B) Upgrade my midsized to Zeiss Conquest 8x30?

Oh, decisions, decisions. Good deal or trusted name, I can't pick.

HELP!

Click to expand...

Robert,

Call Eagle Optics and speak to Mike. He's currently using the Stokes and will give you an honest appraisal.

John

Robert Ellis said:

Help me out here, I have been presented with an odd choice to make. For my next pair of bins do I; A) Take a chance on a new design and spring for the Stokes DLS 8x42, or B) Upgrade my midsized to Zeiss Conquest 8x30?

Oh, decisions, decisions. Good deal or trusted name, I can't pick.

HELP!

Click to expand...

I have a sneaky feeling that the Stokes DLS 8x42 and the Opticron DBA 8x42 are essentially one and the same with cosmetic changes and maybe differences in coatings. The Opticron is said to be very decent and not far off the best. Eagle Optics might be willing to confirm (or deny) this since Opticron are not marketed in the States.

Leif

John Traynor said:

Robert,

Call Eagle Optics and speak to Mike. He's currently using the Stokes and will give you an honest appraisal.

John

Click to expand...

I have been speakong with EO about the Stokes. I am very hesitant to plunk change on a new offering like that.

It is also too bad that the Zeiss has no where near the specs of the 32FL.

I have traditionally been a Zeiss guy (they have a facility near where I grew up, always saw that sign as a boy), a Nikon guy (from my photography days), and a Pentax guy (photography and value).

I would not get the Zeiss Conquest. It is a poor quality binocular and not worthy of Zeiss name. I tried them for about 10 minutes in front of a store. That was 9 minutes more than needed to realize that they are not birdworthy.

Zeiss actually has two sets of Conqest binos floating around right now. The originals have MC coatings and are not up to typical Zeiss standards. The newer Conquest have T coatings and are greatly improved. Verify which ones you are looking at. I would steer clear of the Stokes until I knew that the binos were going to be around and supported in the future. Another thing to consider is the fact that a whole lot of people, from a lot of different backgrounds will buy a pair of used Zeiss from you. I don't think that Stokes will ever be able to make that claim. This is not an issue to some people, but I am one of those guys that everything I own (including the dog) is for sale for the right price.

ranburr

Howdy all,

I have had the Stokes DLS 8x42 out birding 3 times and also used them this morning to help identify 21 backyard bird species. I was positively stunned at their distance resolution birding along Lake Michigan on Saturday. Totally blew away the EO ranger my birding partner had along. The DLS is working great for me!

On a different point brought up in another BF thread...

(note: all measurements are my own and approximates)

It's not that the Stokes DLS 8x42 has a "fairly shallow depth of field" as much as the focus travel is relatively fast (1.25 turns [with a close focus of 4.5 feet]). When focusing the Stokes DLS to infinity, I can still see objects in focus that are as close as 65 feet away at the set focus wheel position. A configuration that is probably better for birders and insect watchers and perhaps less advantageous to hunters. Nevertheless, I wonder what hunter would need to look at something closer than 65 feet if they were focused to infinity. A binocular such as the Swarovski 8.5x42 EL (new version) has a longer focus travel (1.6 turns [with a close focus of 9 feet]) and slightly wider field depth of 58 feet to infinity. The original version of the EL had what many users cited as far too long focus travel.

Eagle Optics has a 30 day return policy, if you're not 100% satisfied with the product you can send it back. Heck, buy both so you can do side-by-side comparisons of your own, and return the one you don't like. Provided we receive them back in like-new condition, you're only out the shipping charge.

Mike McDowell
www.birddigiscoping.com
Employed by Eagle Optics

Zeiss Conquest

Robert Ellis said:

Help me out here, I have been presented with an odd choice to make. For my next pair of bins do I; A) Take a chance on a new design and spring for the Stokes DLS 8x42, or B) Upgrade my midsized to Zeiss Conquest 8x30?

Oh, decisions, decisions. Good deal or trusted name, I can't pick.

HELP!

Click to expand...

For the money, there is simply nothing better on the market than the Conquest 8x30s. They are light, tough, small enough to fit in any type of bag, and are have excellent glass.

The best way to judge is to go to a shop that carries not only Zeiss but other brands as well, so you can do comparisons right at the store.

fire19 said:

For the money, there is simply nothing better on the market than the Conquest 8x30s. They are light, tough, small enough to fit in any type of bag, and are have excellent glass.

The best way to judge is to go to a shop that carries not only Zeiss but other brands as well, so you can do comparisons right at the store.

Click to expand...

I do believ I have looked through every major bin out there. The problem is that I am addicted to buying them and the lady has put me on a limit.