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Throw-away becomes winner (1 Viewer)

ksbird/foxranch

Well-known member
We use a fair number of either old 7x35s as "donors" for people who need binoculars, or mini-binoculars for children and to carry as "spares" in case of damage on treks.

I recently bought some Olympus 8x21 DPC mini-binoculars as throw-aways for about $12 each. Although they started out as almost disposible they have become very popular for a variety of reasons.

This model binocular only weighs 4.5 ounces (approx 130 gms). It is very tiny and will fit in my shirt pocket. The various color coatings and BAK4 prisms help it provide vibrant views and the lenses are made well enough that the binocular provides sharp images.

This binoc only focuses down to a minimum of 8ft. But it is so well fitted to the average hand and so lightweight that it can easily be used with one hand, the center focus wheel being pretty large and simple to use with one finger while holding the binocular with one hand. Unfortunately it is also so tiny that holding it with 2 hands is sort of inconvenient and so there isn't much improvement in steadiness when using 2 hands vs one hand.

This is a reversed porro prism design with the 2 objective lenses spaced only 14mm apart. The rubber eye cups are useful for shading the sun. The eye lenses are quite large for such a tiny binocular, and with a FOV of only 6.4 degrees (113yds@1000 yards or 113M@1000M), by rolling back the soft rubber eye cups these binocs are definitely usable by eyeglass wearers.

This creates a tiny problem for us. This binocular has become so popular that people don't want to take it out as a throw-away or loan it out as a cheap disposible spare. These binoculars and some other very nice models are available from Olympus on Ebay as refurbished by the factory, sold direct to consumers on ebay and available with a short factory warranty (90 days-1 year).

It is astounding that a binocular of this quality is available for what is literally a throw-away price ($12 including shipping). We bought 4 of them and they all worked well. Olympus often has as many as 20 of these on Ebay at a time. Olympus seems to be a legitmate direct seller on Ebay with over 10,000 different satified buyers by now. While other optics sellers use retailers to disposed of refurbished materials, Olympus has developed a successful way to keep the merchandise for dealers new, while dumping all the returns that can't be sold "as new", on Ebay.

I'm not sure this Olympus binocular compares to the quality of the Bushnell Elite 7x26 or the Steiner 10x26 or the Sharper Image 8x25 waterproof models. It isn't waterproof (although it's been out in inclement weather once or twice and hasn't shown any fogging or spotting internally yet). But it is so tiny, and with largish eye lenses for this size bin, it comes to the eye easily and is quick to focus. We'll be sad when they all get scratched, stepped on, dropped in a muddy puddle or lost. I hope Olympus keep this program going because we all find it very handy to have such a tiny device in our pockets. It is much easier to use than the flat "cigarette pack" style 6x18s and 8x18s from Minolta, Canon and Sharper Image. We here at the ranch recommend it.
 
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A picture may prove helpful as many folks like to see the bins in question. I did not see any for less than $33. Are the actual Olympus auctions not running at the moment?
 

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There are a number of these small ones worthy of attention. Most run 50 bucks. I would like to see the Celestrons with a really wide FOV, but the Pentaxes, 8x21 are a vast improvement over their Jupiters. If your kids need some bins, those are a good starter.
 
FrankD said:
A picture may prove helpful as many folks like to see the bins in question. I did not see any for less than $33. Are the actual Olympus auctions not running at the moment?

First let me correct the seller name and the category

the factory ebay seller name is OLYMPUSAUCTIONS (w/35000+ positive feedbacks not 10000+ as I prviously stated).

They say that this paticular Ebay seller outlet sells only to the USA and Canada. By the way, another 2 products we have experience with are the 7x35 Trooper DPS-R (I see also the DPS models 7x35 and they seem identical although I haven't bought any yet, and there doesn't seem to be any for sale at Olympusauctions/ebay at the moment). But our all time favorite from Olympus are the 8x40 Trooper DPS and DPS-R (again we've bought both and they seem identical???).

The 8x40 has an ashperical eye lens that give a really sharp panoramic view (the Olympus 7x35s are NOT marked as having an ashperical eye lens, only the 8x40s and after looking at 5 pairs that seems to be the case). The eyecups on both roll down so that eyeglass wearers get a very wide view and we always end up paying about $30-33 for each pair of 8x40s we buy from Olympus (about $27 for the 7x35s). After shipping, taxes etc. we tell people that if they want to keep the 7x35s they will cost $35 w/case, box warranty info etc, and we charge $50 for the 8x40s in case you "lose" them and they are always sold fast. I see many new birders here using the Nikon 7x35 Action and 8x40 Action bins with aspherical eye lenses also and in comparison the Olympus bins compare well. OBTW the Olympus models are usually marked "UV protected" in case it matters. Okay here's the current ebay 8x21s for sale;

Olympusauctions sells these binoculars in the "Camera and Photo" category and then in the sub-category "Binoculars and Telescopes". Olumpusauctions seems to sell/list on Ebay 24 hours a day. Maybe listing refurbs and overstock is something they have staff doing when they have no other work to do. This is the direct search link:

http://photography.search.ebay.com/...Z1QQfsopZ1QQsacatZ28179QQsassZolympusauctions

The exact model name (not showing on the binocular itself) is:

Olympus 8x21 Roamer DPC

There are about a dozen of them on ebay right now

with bids (the starting bid for this item is $5 but someone almost always bids)

#250011772010
#250012073521
#250012090680
#250012681564

without bids

#250012690473
#250012690466
#250012708046
and many others
 
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I've got a pair of those DPCs that live in the car, they are excellent little bins for the price.

I had a pair of the 8x40 DPS-Rs, and sold them - kinda regretting it a bit now as they are indeed brilliant binoculars, 8.2 degree FOV, bright, contrasty image, a little heavy but not excessively so. Definately worth the money these, though I think the DPS range has been replaced with the EXPS (or something like that!) range.
 
I also had a pair of these, but gave them to my father in law as he had just come out of hospital after chemo. He loves them but I now wish I'd bought him a cheaper pair (is that mean of me ?? - he is 76 and his eyesight is maybe not that great now...).

What IS mean is Olympus ONLY selling to USA and not UK !!

No fair (as you guys would say)



edit : woohoo - post number 200 !
 
FrankD said:
Hmmm. True. I wonder why they didn't come up when I typed in Olympus DPC 8x21.

Frank, I'm guessing it's because you typed 8x21 instead of 8 x 21 as the seller did. Those spaces either side of the "x" make all the difference. The vagaries of eBay search.
 
Olympus 8x21's a fantastic bargain for the money!

ksbird/foxranch said:
It means I won't likely get any of the models best for our purposes, but Olympus has quite a few factory refurbs on Ebay with $5 shipping for most models.

http://photography.search.ebay.com/...Z1QQfsopZ1QQsacatZ28179QQsassZolympusauctions


I got a pair of the Olympus 8x21 binoculars for $10.00 on E-bay with $5.00 shipping and I must say they are a fantastic bargain for the money! Get a pair while you still can.

Dennis
 
cbushme said:
Frank, I'm guessing it's because you typed 8x21 instead of 8 x 21 as the seller did. Those spaces either side of the "x" make all the difference. The vagaries of eBay search.
To get all occurrences of 8x21 and 8 x 21 you need to search for:

(8x21, "8 x 21")

Michael.
 
Great buy!

I also went to eBay and got a pair of Olympus 8x21's, intending them as a gift for a grandson. When they arrived I looked though them briefly and then made the mistake of letting my wife use them. Haven't been able to get them back yet! She loves them for their size and crisp view.

Looks like I'll have to go back to eBay and get another pair for the grandson.

Charlie
 
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