Pentax announced two new binocular series: 9x32 BC and the 9x42 BR (1 Viewer)

Kevin Purcell · Jan 13, 2011

http://allbinos.com/83-news-Pentax_announces_two_new_roof-prisms_binoculars.html

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/...-binoculars-new-pentax-models-expand-dcf.html

Pentax announced two new binocular series to the DCF line-up. Each heavy-duty DCF series roof-prism binocular, the Pentax 9x32 DCF BC and the 9x42 DCF BR, features high-performance optics, a waterproof construction allowing fresh-water rinsing, and an ergonomic body design for a comfortable hold.

http://www.pentaximaging.com/images/temp/6342999998315753287723162598_dcf br_9x42_3qbackview_sm.jpg

http://www.pentaximaging.com/images/temp/6342999999800204287939862598_dcf br_9x42_3qview_sm.jpg

http://www.pentaximaging.com/images...5809039162598_dcf br_9x42_verticalview_sm.jpg

BC and BR ... shades of Minox's (confusing) nomenclature

Both open-bridge 9x -- odd in itself as there is no 8x or 10x but Pentax has history with 9x.

Perhaps dielectric coating on the 42mm bin?

* silver-deposited coating for the PENTAX 9x32 DCF BC
* super-reflection coating for the PENTAX 9x42 DCF BR.

JIS Class 6 waterproof (immersion proof) to 1m (not deep).

8 feet minimum focusing distance.

Weight?

The new PENTAX DCF series binoculars will be available in February 2011. The PENTAX 9x32 DCF BC will be priced at $299.00 and the 9x42 DCF BR will be $349.00. These products will be on display in PENTAX Booth 2833 at SHOT SHOW 2011 from January 18-21 at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

ceasar · Jan 14, 2011

They are both listed now on the Pentax Binoculars website.

It looks like both versions have silver coated prisms but perhaps different types of silver coatings on each. Hard to tell from the specs et al.

It seems to me that they are meant to compete with lower cost 10 x 32's and 10 x 42's. If that is the case then the 9 x 42 might have the better view and edges despite it's smaller 320' FOV. Both of these binoculars will have larger exit pupils than 10X so that might help some.

The 9 x 32 has a 350' FOV @ 1000 yards. As wide as the widest 10 x 32's.

The problem with 10 x 32 binoculars is getting a reasonably large center field area of sharpness and so far the only ones able to do that have been the 4 well known alphas which all have FOV's in the 350' range. (I have 4 10 x 32's with FOV's between 315' and 342', going in price from inexpensive to middling to expensive and the expensive ones are clearly the best!)

Any way, these are priced right and might please people looking for something a little easier to hand hold than 10x.

Bob

Kevin Purcell · Jan 14, 2011

There are a couple of ways of depositing silver coatings of which cold depositing gives a higher reflectance. Perhaps that's what they're trying to distinguish (in a cryptic way

).

David Swain · Jan 30, 2011

I had a chance to look through the new 9x42s at the local Audubon shop. Bright, sharp, decent edges, very narrow FOV, remarkably light and comfortably to hold. Well made, nice click-stop eyecups. Compact, quite a nice package.

Then the optics counter person said, "what do you have there?" pointing to my Nikon EIIs. I gave them to her, she took a look, and said, "oh, wow, I remember these--we sold a lot of these, people loved them."

Anyway, Pentax has a nice new bino.

brocknroller · Jan 30, 2011

David Swain said:
I had a chance to look through the new 9x42s at the local Audubon shop. Bright, sharp, decent edges, very narrow FOV, remarkably light and comfortably to hold. Well made, nice click-stop eyecups. Compact, quite a nice package.

Then the optics counter person said, "what do you have there?" pointing to my Nikon EIIs. I gave them to her, she took a look, and said, "oh, wow, I remember these--we sold a lot of these, people loved them."

Anyway, Pentax has a nice new bino.

David,

But will people really, really love them as much as they did the Nikon EIIs and Sally Field?

Odd that Pentax didn't upgrade their top of the line ED bins with an open bridge first. And better yet, increase their FOV to bring them up to snuff with Chinese EDs. Or how about upgrading the EDs with Pentax Super-Duper ™ dielectric coatings?

It's one thing for Chinese bins to cost less and provide more, it's another for Japanese bins to cost more and provide less.

Not to completely diss Pentax, I tried their 8x36 $200 DCF CS and was impressed at the optics for the price point, but their top of the line and second tier models badly need updating the way Minox did with their HG line (of course, they don't have to manufacture them in Germany and double the price!).

Which EII did you have with you, the 8x or 10x? Did you compare the new Pentax bins with the EII?

David Swain · Jan 31, 2011

Brock,

I have the 8x EIIs, and yes, I briefly compared them to the 9x42s. Similar brightness, and centerfield sharpness of the Pentaxes was nearly as good as the Nikon's. Not much field curvature that I could see and the edges had only a very small "fringe"--wide usable field, but quite a narrow FOV. I don't use 10x but I imagine those wanting to strike a happy medium might find the FOV acceptable. The ones to compare these with would be the ZenRay 9x36s. In terms of the overall, subjective view, I wasn't interested in the Pentaxes, and the 1x difference was imperceptible. In terms of handling and ergonomics, I liked them; in fact, they reminded me of of the size and handling of the 8x30 EL, and the weight felt like the 8x42 Monarch (all perceptions; I haven't looked up the specs to verify my impressions).

David

brocknroller · Jan 31, 2011

David Swain said:
Brock,

I have the 8x EIIs, and yes, I briefly compared them to the 9x42s. Similar brightness, and centerfield sharpness of the Pentaxes was nearly as good as the Nikon's. Not much field curvature that I could see and the edges had only a very small "fringe"--wide usable field, but quite a narrow FOV. I don't use 10x but I imagine those wanting to strike a happy medium might find the FOV acceptable. The ones to compare these with would be the ZenRay 9x36s. In terms of the overall, subjective view, I wasn't interested in the Pentaxes, and the 1x difference was imperceptible. In terms of handling and ergonomics, I liked them; in fact, they reminded me of of the size and handling of the 8x30 EL, and the weight felt like the 8x42 Monarch (all perceptions; I haven't looked up the specs to verify my impressions).

David

David,

Thanks those responses. I like the ergonomics on the 8x32 EL very much, so that is high praise for the new Pentax bin's ergonomics.

When roofs became all the rage, I tried them, but never really liked them, even though I've liked the optics in some, because I found the ergonomics were mismatched for my large hands, and I also don't like holding roofs from the top and pushing in at the sides, it cramps my hands and makes me shake more than with most porros. Thumb indents can help enormously, but only if they are positioned right for my hands, and most of the times, they're not.

The invention of the open bridge design was a literal eye opener for me (or should I say, re-invention, although attributed to Swarovski, the open bridge design has been around since at least the Pleistocene Epoch from some early sample roofs I've seen, but not perfected until the EL).

Now with every Tom, Dick, and Pentax jumping on the bandwagon, there are many choices out there. I still prefer the 3-D effect of porros, but given the right configuration and FL such as the ZR 7x36 ED2, roofs can achieve a fairly good 3-D effect, with a larger image scale than porros, and the handling is as good on the 7x ED2 as any porro I've tried.

So I'm beginning to come around to the idea that I might actually like some new roofs, but I'd like to buy a few more classic porros before they all become fossilized!

David Swain · Jan 31, 2011

The thumb indents are quite shallow, and while the dimensions are similar to the 8x32EL the barrels are certainly closer together.

Tero · Mar 14, 2011

The 9x32 has some compactness appeal, but what are the dimensions?
http://swfa.com/Pentax-9x32-DCF-BC-Binocular-P48556.aspx

Nessus · Apr 9, 2011

I used my 9x28's today and they performed really well. their big weakness is the small APOV. It's like 2/3rds the size of my comparable pair.

I wish more companies would make 9's and 11's. A 9x36 And an 11x45 might be just perfect for me.

walternewton · Apr 30, 2011

A few impressions of the 9x42 DCF BR -

These are made in China.

Build quality is nice but not "tank-like"; overall they feel relatively light and compact. Weight with lens covers removed is 23.00 oz per my digital kitchen scale.

View is quite nice, bright and sharp; the 6.1º actual/55º apparent angle of view is a bit narrow, but something I'd be able to live with for the 9X magnification, which I do quite like.

Focus action is smooth, and turns CCW to infinity.

The open bridge design allows for a quite secure grip, with 3 of my (long, thin) fingers fitting between the hinges lengthwise - BUT, with the IPD set for my face (at the narrower end of the range) there isn't enough width between the barrels for my fingers to fit, negating the possibility of using this sort of grip.

Too bad, if this weren't the case I'd probably keep them.

walternewton · May 2, 2011

I forgot to add, I contacted Pentax USA to ask if the 9x42 BR had dielectric prism coating and the reply was:

"Unfortuantely, PENTAX Japan has not provided information regarding (prism) coatings deposition".

NDhunter · May 2, 2011

Walter:

The Allbinos review from the link above in Post #1, states:

The 9x32 has silver-deposited prism coatings.
9x42 has super-reflective prism coatings.

So that would generally mean di-electric coatings. Sometimes customer service
with many companies will not understand a question like that. ??

Jerry

brocknroller · May 5, 2011

walternewton said:
A few impressions of the 9x42 DCF BR -

These are made in China.

Build quality is nice but not "tank-like"; overall they feel relatively light and compact. Weight with lens covers removed is 23.00 oz per my digital kitchen scale.

View is quite nice, bright and sharp; the 6.1º actual/55º apparent angle of view is a bit narrow, but something I'd be able to live with for the 9X magnification, which I do quite like.

Focus action is smooth, and turns CCW to infinity.

The open bridge design allows for a quite secure grip, with 3 of my (long, thin) fingers fitting between the hinges lengthwise - BUT, with the IPD set for my face (at the narrower end of the range) there isn't enough width between the barrels for my fingers to fit, negating the possibility of using this sort of grip.

Too bad, if this weren't the case I'd probably keep them.

Walter,

Thanks for those comments on this new bin. Some questions....

How sharp are the edges? This would be an important point with the limited TFOV/AFOV. Easier for some of us to tolerate smaller views if most of the view is in focus.

If the edges do fall off, how steep is the fall off? Does it fade gradually from sharp focus to blur or go from sharp to blur quickly?

Is the fuzziness due to field curvature? That is, can you refocus the edges?

Brock

walternewton · May 5, 2011

brocknroller said:
Walter,

Thanks for those comments on this new bin. Some questions....

How sharp are the edges? This would be an important point with the limited TFOV/AFOV. Easier for some of us to tolerate smaller views if most of the view is in focus.

If the edges do fall off, how steep is the fall off? Does it fade gradually from sharp focus to blur or go from sharp to blur quickly?

Is the fuzziness due to field curvature? That is, can you refocus the edges?

Brock

OK I took another look through these.

I almost hesitate to give an opinion on something so difficult to quantify, but FWIW, I wouldn't call them "edge to edge" sharp; and I'd say the deterioration of the view at the outer edge is progressive, and can't be completely corrected by refocusing...YMMV.

And to add to the discussion of the thumb indents above...they are VERY shallow, not what I'd call "grooves" at all - if it weren't for just a bit of concavity I'd call them "flat spots" on the tubes.

Pentax announced two new binocular series: 9x32 BC and the 9x42 BR (1 Viewer)

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Kevin Purcell

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ceasar

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Kevin Purcell

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David Swain

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brocknroller

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David Swain

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