Dorian Gray
Well-known member
Zeiss and Swarovski have dropped their 8x20 models, notionally replacing them with 8x25 models of much greater weight and bulk.
If recent history is any guide, where these two go, the entire industry follows (sometimes gasping for breath).
For now, Leica does offer the Trinovid and Ultravid in 8x20. I had a Trinovid 8x20 BCA for a few years. I found it optically disappointing in that it lacked bite and contrast – so much so that I occasionally wondered if they’d forgot to give mine the phase-correcting goodness. Eventually I looked through someone else’s and saw the same lacklustre image.
This convinced me that it would be worth paying a premium for any binocular in the 8x20 format, but I’ve never quite had the gall to pay over 500 currency units for such a tiny device. And who knows, maybe even the best are not much better. The Trinovid 8x20 BCA is well-reviewed by people who should know.
Kowa and some others have recently introduced premium models with fractionally larger objectives than 20 mm (e.g. 21–22 mm). A cynic might think this nominal difference was designed to avoid direct weight comparisons, for these new instruments are porky indeed, usually weighing over 300 g.
I find it peculiar that this shift away from the tiny 8x20 is happening today, just as technology has finally permitted essentially total light transmission. Consider that makers once offered even smaller 6x18 models, before today’s impressive coatings had been invented.
What does the future hold for tiny, good binoculars?
If recent history is any guide, where these two go, the entire industry follows (sometimes gasping for breath).
For now, Leica does offer the Trinovid and Ultravid in 8x20. I had a Trinovid 8x20 BCA for a few years. I found it optically disappointing in that it lacked bite and contrast – so much so that I occasionally wondered if they’d forgot to give mine the phase-correcting goodness. Eventually I looked through someone else’s and saw the same lacklustre image.
This convinced me that it would be worth paying a premium for any binocular in the 8x20 format, but I’ve never quite had the gall to pay over 500 currency units for such a tiny device. And who knows, maybe even the best are not much better. The Trinovid 8x20 BCA is well-reviewed by people who should know.
Kowa and some others have recently introduced premium models with fractionally larger objectives than 20 mm (e.g. 21–22 mm). A cynic might think this nominal difference was designed to avoid direct weight comparisons, for these new instruments are porky indeed, usually weighing over 300 g.
I find it peculiar that this shift away from the tiny 8x20 is happening today, just as technology has finally permitted essentially total light transmission. Consider that makers once offered even smaller 6x18 models, before today’s impressive coatings had been invented.
What does the future hold for tiny, good binoculars?
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