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Sightron "Blue Sky" II 8x32 (2 Viewers)

Sorry, I was busy at a bird festival since Thursday and didn't have time to hit the forum.

justa,

Check back on the thread. Binoboy bought the 10x32s and, if I may paraphrase his response, the 10x32 is optically equivalent to the 8x32 with the usual understanding of the differences between any 8x and 10x binocular.

As for the E II and BS comparison, I thought it rather interesting that we are comparing a $180 roof with a $400+ porro. "Back in the day" the accepted wisdom was that in order to find a roof of comparable optical quality to a porro then you had to spend 2-3 times the price.

Having said that, the Sightron is better optically than the Yosemite/clones 8x30s despite the fact that it is, approximately, slightly less than twice their normal prices.

Steve,

I would sell you mine but I am still attached. ;)
 
I agree with Frank,the Kenko ultraview ex II ( the real clone of the BS) is better than the yosemite ..It is also sharper than the nikon action,,and some other decent porros i have used( minolta wp,pentax etc...)..once again it is almost as sharp as the Swift ultra,basically its equal in apparent sharpness...perhaps a tad below in resolution and a tad above in contrast and neutral color...The 10x 32 would be too dark to me..perhaps brightness is a bit what i miss more when using the kenko,and maybe thats where the premium porros like the SE or EII would show more advantage..Too bad there is not a 7x32 shightron BS!( 7x28 with same optics and body design but smaller would be too good for the market!)
 
7x28 with same optics and body design but smaller would be too good for the market!
Click to expand...

That would be a nice optic alright.

I may have to take a chance on the 10x32 and see how they are. There are times when I'm hunting that I need that extra power to see if a buck is legal or not. Hate to give up the light though. The BSII's are the largest binoc I can fit in the side pocket of my day pack, so that's my limiting factor. Hate to bite the bullet and get the 10x30 Monarch 7's if the Sightron's will do just as well.
 
justabirdwatcher said:
That would be a nice optic alright.

I may have to take a chance on the 10x32 and see how they are. There are times when I'm hunting that I need that extra power to see if a buck is legal or not. Hate to give up the light though. The BSII's are the largest binoc I can fit in the side pocket of my day pack, so that's my limiting factor. Hate to bite the bullet and get the 10x30 Monarch 7's if the Sightron's will do just as well.
Click to expand...

Why don't you consider the Pentax AD 9x32 WP as an alternative to the 10x32 BSII? It is a clone of the Sightron Blue Sky II and made in the Philippines like they are.

I have one and I think it is a very good binocular for its price.

I have owned a number of 10x32s and the inexpensive ones from Eagle Optics and Minox just weren't very good while the expensive ones like my Nikon 10x32 LX L and Nikon 10x32 EDG were really first class binoculars which is why I was surprised at how good the 9x32 Pentax is. I look at it as a "poor mans 10x32.":t:

Here is a link to one from Camera Land:

http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/pentax.pl?page=pentax_62791

Incidentally, the FOV given in the Camera Land specs is too big. It should be 351'@1000 yards.

Bob
 
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I have owned a number of 10x32s and the inexpensive ones from Eagle Optics and Minox just weren't very good while the expensive ones like my Nikon 10x32 LX L and Nikon 10x32 EDG were really first class binoculars which is why I was surprised at how good the 9x32 Pentax is. I look at it as a "poor mans 10x32."

Here is a link to one from Camera Land:
Click to expand...

195$ is a very good price for the Pentax 9x32! IMO: better build quality and handling than the SB II, and similar optics.
Somewhat similar to Bob, I have called it a "poor man's Swaro" in a post on another thread///Peter.
 
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justabirdwatcher said:
Bob, thanks for the link. I'll give that one a serious look.

Have you had a chance to compare that with the Blue Sky?
Click to expand...




No, I haven't had a chance to use the Sightron Blue Sky.

Pentax is now owned by Ricoh and Ricoh has given new designations to the Binoculars and dropped some of the best ones like the 8x32 DCF ED which seems to still be available at Camera Land.

My 9x32 has the older Pentax designation of 9x32 DCF BC but it is exactly the same binocular as the AD 9x32 WP shown in the link from Camera Land.

Link here from Ricoh: (Click on the link in it to see the archived Pentax binoculars.)

http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.uk/en/sport-optics-products.html

Bob
 
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justabirdwatcher:

As I have said in a previous post on this thread, I owned both the Blue Sky II 8x32 and its clone the Kenko 8x32, as well as the Pentax 9x32---I have kept only the Pentax, and preferred the Kenko to the Sightron---the optics of these three sets are quite similar but the Sightron felt the worst in the hand.

Peter.
 
Well, I stumbled into this discussion recently and read much of the 50 pages.

A few years back I bought my first "real" binoculars and I think Frank D gave me some advise. As a result, I took advantage of Camera Land's a close-out sale of the Minox BD 10x44 BP and I've been enjoying them very much. They are very sharp, are great in low light and have an awesome build quality. The internal focus is very unique indeed!

This time I’m going to buy 2 binoculars to share on an Alaskan cruise. I’ve come to understand that 10 power binoculars on a ship may be a little too much magnification due to the slight motion of the ship and that 6 or 8 power with a decent field of view may be more appropriate. I went to Zen Ray's site and saw their ZRS 8x32 and I began a search for reviews which ultimately landed me back here. So this topic gets bump up again to the top! Again!

Anyway, this Sightron seems to do everything right. The only thing missing in the optics is ED glass but it appears the Sightron is pretty darned good at bringing the colors together. I suspect the longer barrels have something to do with that similarly to the way longer refractor telescopes manage. It's the short tube refractors that benefit the most from the ED glass, know as semi apochromatic.

I was also looking at the Carson 3D ED but there are not nearly as many reviews of that model and there are certainly no comparison reviews between the Sightron and the Carson.

Frank D, if you're reading this, you mentioned earlier that Sightron had new coatings possibly making the BS ii brighter. Anything to that?

Anyway, thanks for bringing this binocular to everyone's attention. I suspect I'll end up with two pairs of these for the cruise and will continue to enjoy them for years afterwards!
 
Walter,

Thanks for bumping up this thread. Brock will appreciate it too. ;)

To answer your question, I didn't order one of the more recently produced units so I can't confirm the reported optical performance change. With Christmas here my resources are stretched a bit tight so it will have to be awhile before I can verify that one way or the other.

Sorry I can't help further.
 
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Thanks Frank D.

Yes, I know what you mean by the season's effect on funds!

I may take the chance on the Sightrons. I am aware there are several comments on the egos of the Sightron. There is also the Kenko 8x32 and the Pentax 9x32, but I'm not sure I'd be bothered by the "logo bump"of the Sightron.

I read your review on the 8x32 comparisons and I saw the Sightrons ended on top there too. Very compelling and enjoyable informative read!
 
Before you pull the trigger on the Sightrons you may want to wait a little until I can put the review together for the Athlon Argos 8x34. Very similar to the Sightron. Ergos are actually a little better with the Athlon but the optical edge still goes to the Sightrons.
 
Awesome Thanks FrankD!

I am a very patient buyer. I actually plan to make the purchases right at the end of February so that leaves me some time to research AND hopefully see your review of the Athlon Argos 8x3. VERY interesting:t:
 
I called Sightron and had a nice conversation with one of the founding members. He was very nice to talk with.

I wasn't expecting much before I placed the call. Often when you want to know details regarding a technical specification and call the company, you get an employee who knows little more about the product other than the specs that can be read on the site.

Boy was I surprised when I got a definitive answer when I asked if the Sightron Blue Sky II 8x32 recently had a change or upgrade in the coatings. The person answering the phone knew right away; no.

I'm glad. Now I know that the Sightrons that Frank reviewed in 2011 are the SAME! No "improvements". I hate when manufacturers mess with things that aren't broken. Maybe the change will improve this or that, but magical recipe is gone.

He told me the 8x32 BSII is their best selling binocular. I have no doubt about that!

Sorry for the bump-up. I was going to post this on the Athlon thread but this was more Sightron specific!
 
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Well believe it or not, he was not aware of this particular thread /topic. He is now.

I told him where to locate it and he navigated to this discussion while we were on the phone.

I think he was pretty surprised. He was VERY interested in the Athlon comparison.

While he was looking at the topic, he asked me if I was Frank D. haha

We were talking about ED glass and CA.
 
Nice.

It is funny that he did it know about it. I had an email exchange with someone at Sightron way back when I first started this thread. I don't remember who it was but I am sure I could go back through my email and figure it out though. Would have loved to have heard his reaction when he saw the thread.
 
I was surprised he was not familiar with this discussion too. I never asked him if I could mention his name. Maybe he'll post!

But it was a real pleasure speaking with him. I'll be buying two-to-go in February.
 

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