Olympus Trooper 7x35 DPS 1 Binoculars: old school 7x35 porros for $40 (1 Viewer)

These were mentioned over on Binocular Bargains thread but this is a more general thread.

ksbird/foxranch said:

As a value it is excellent. It resembles the United 7x40 porros Holger Merlitz likes. I'm sure the price is a close-out, but hopefully it won't go up 50% like the Baigish 12x50 did about 6 months ago. But we are still talking $45 delivered. The shipping is cheaper if you get a 12x50 with a 7x35 so they could go below $40 each. I regularly buy Olympus Trooper 7x35s with aspherical eye lenses, and I just bought a case of Nikon 7x35 Action Extremes. These military 7x35s from China may be better overall. Beware the weight though.

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I'd not noticed the Olympus Trooper 7x35 DPS 1 Binoculars before.

Amazon have them (+ tax if you are in WA) with free shipping for $40. So that's the same price as the Chinese 7x35.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AKGWX

Buy.com may be tax free for WA folks

http://www.buy.com/prod/olympus-tro...sm-binoculars-olympus/q/loc/111/90132484.html

And what is the difference between the 1/I version and the R version (which now is unavailable?)

From an R review at Amazon.com they are (perhaps the last of the) "old school" 7x35: lightweight (22.9oz), wide FOV (9.3°), wide AFOV (65°), not very large 12mm ER, not waterproof, rubber fold-down eyecups. Plus they have an aspherical EP lens that should flatten the field (I think).

Pros:

-my 7x35 DPS R is impressively bright, sharp and contrasty on-axis, with very low chromatic aberration. I don't know if they're all this good optically or I just got lucky
-wide 9.3º true FOV and 65º apparent FOV (when the eyecups are folded down)
-the eyepiece bridge, despite being plastic, is solid; it doesn't shift focus from eye pressure

Cons:

-slightly heavy and bulky for a non-waterproof 7x35
-the focus wheel is smooth, with the right amount of resistance, but I find its shape and placement makes it slow to quickly refocus from near to far or vice versa. Though it has a large depth of field (noticeably better than any 8x binocular I've yet used), reducing the need for frequent refocusing
-the rubber eyecups developed cracks where they fold over, a common problem with rubber eyecups. Doesn't affect performance; more of a cosmetic issue

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Olympus product support (e.g manual)

http://www.olympusamerica.com/CPG_SECTION/cpg_support_product.asp?id=21
http://www.olympusamerica.com/files/various_DPSI_Manual.pdf

ER is 12mm.

Ok, I will bite. For $40 I think they would be worth checking out. I don't have any bias toward roofs.

I've had and sold quite a few of the Olympus 7x35 Troopers. They work well enough and seem to hold up well to life's little bumps and bruises. I think the R designation either means it is the rubber sheathed version, or it could be the model with the aspherical eyepiece design. I know this sounds weird but I've had a few pairs of the non-R rubber-sheathed models and I think it is the eyepiece that differentiated them.

Some of the Trooper's surfaces (like the prisms I think) are single coated. Compared to the $45 rubber armored (not just the smooth sheathing on the Troopers) Chinese military style bins, the Troopers are a bit dimmer or darker although the the Trooper's use of some gray coatings may make the color balance more true, or perhaps the dim-ness is because the Troopers are both IR and UV block-coated. So perhaps in the long run they are easier on the eyes.

The Chinese military CF bins from tystation on eBay seem brighter and sharper than the Troopers. This sharpness may also be because more of the DOF is in sharp focus on these Chinese bins. The Chinese bins have much larger eye lenses and longer eye relief than the Troopers although the Troopers are pretty good. They are both fairly heavy bins, with the Chinese-mil bins a bit heavier. The Chinese bins may use a slightly yellow rare earth glass in part of the design, which brightens up the view, especially on days like today which has been overcast all day (cloud cover allows much more blue light than yellow or red light through, so a slight yellow tinge helps the view on those days for me).

I haven't done any further testing on the Troopers and Chiniese bins head to head. I got Nikon Action EX bins on special to replace the Troopers I was getting before. I also have a pair of Trooper 8x40s that have the aspherical eyepiece design, but they are much heavier. The views through the three bins are so radically different I can't rate either one as best. The Nikons also have the aspherical eyepiece design. The Nikons are much more expensive and I only got the case I've mostly sold because of a bankruptcy sale. The Nikons are also rated waterproof nitrogen purges, the Troopers are not, and the Chinese bins tell me nothing at all. I'll do more testing on the Nikons.

I find it odd that the Ch-mil bins are totally unmarked, no name, no magnification, no FOV, no maker, no nothing. Tystation seems to get generic boxes that say something like "7x35 Rubber-Armor with case and strap" and that's it (they use a similar box for their very good 12x50 Russian/Baigish porros). The case tystation gets for the Chinese bins seems way too small for them, but I have so many cases and bins I can switch things around. Oddly enough the 12x50s came in the identical generic box tystation used on the 7x35 except larger. The 12x50s came in a loose fitting Bresser bag inside, but now as I look at the instructions, they were printed on the same computer printer. So tystation might just have bought the Bresser bags in China to put the Russian 12x50s in. This eBay seller is a value demon, and has excellent customer service. I like both the 7x35 and the 12x50 bins I got from him/her/them/(?).

I actually think the Ch-mil bins are as good visually as the Nikon Action Ex units. The Nikon's did cost me more than either the Trooper or Ch-mil-bins, but they were also easier to dispose of, because the birds are flocking to the ranch in droves now during migration. Many local parents bought them for their teens.

We'll have problems this year because we had 3 very cold days 2 weeks ago that killed all the plum tree blossoms in one orchard, but the apples and a smaller orchard survived. The big loss will be if the pears got caught by the hard freeze. We also hope the 4 acres of blackberries and mulberries we grow weren't hit during their blossoming. If so we will have an unfortunate harvest again this year after a totally dead year, in 2007.

ks,

Thank you for sharing so much info in your post. I have to say that if I ever get out to Kansas I would love to stop by the ranch. It sounds beautiful.

I have one of the Troopers on order and now look forward to receiving it based on your comments. Are there any other fairly inexpensive porros you would suggest my looking into?

Thanks.

Try the tystation 7x35 Chinese and 12x50 Baigish bins. Go to Binoculars.com and try the 12x45 Navy porros. I rarely get too many low priced, high performance binoculars any more. The 12x50 Gallileos I used to buy at $40/pr delivered are now $99+shipping. The Newcom bins 10x40 and 5x30 are discontinued. The Zeiss Diafuns I used to buy NIB at $195 are all gone. The Minox 6.5x32 IF bins are also gone. Watch opticsplanet sometimes for low prices on old Yukon 7x50W multicoated bins at $49 w/free shipping. It's odd but most of the great deals seem to have dried up since the recession started. Watch Sportsmans Guide for their sdpecuials on Russian Korea-era 8x30s for $49+ $8 shipping and the Steiner 10x50 IF for $299. Both are great deals on new bins. I also look at the pages for Bass Pro Shops on eBay. This area sells returns, most as-new, and the better brands are always dirt cheap.

Very nice. Thank you. I will keep an eye out for the models you mentioned.

FWIW I received the Troopers two days ago. I wasn't expecting much for the $40 price tag. They aren't bad considering that. The apparent resolution does not look as good as the Celestron Ultima DXs (my next comparable porro in terms of price) nor the Leupold Yosemites. The percentage and severity of distortion around the field of view was also a bit more than I could tolerate and my eyes, subsequently, just could not relax with the image. Lastly, the diopter adjustment moves very easily with any pressure onto the eyecup (necessary because of the short eye relief).

They are heading back to Amazon tomorrow but I will continue to keep an eye out for good, inexpensive porros.

Thanks for the update.

Are you going to try the tystation Chinese porros?

I am not sure. There seems to be quite a few inexpensive porros (both current and older models) out there right now that I am not sure which route to follow.

I sure wish those Bushnells would show up on my doorstep. It is now May 1st and the order has been placed for 2.5 months now....at least.