Blast from the past (1 Viewer)

Found a NEW Minolta Standard 8x40, totally as new, made 1987?

Very good star images, better than Swift 8.5x44 HR5 1985 with fine coatings.
HR5 condiderably less CA than Minolta, weight 821g
Minolta many uncoated surfaces perhaps 70% transmission. Weight 849g.
However, Jupiter and moons at least as good as HR5.
Minolta field all usable even though curved field and some pincushion.
HR5 much brighter in daytime and HR5 whites much whiter and brighter than Minolta.

Minolta measured field 9.4 deg but will check. Slight prism cut off one edge. Covers well over double the sky of 6.5 degree binocular.
HR5 8.26 deg. Almost as new. More ghost images than Minolta, which has very clean images.
Belmont de luxe 8x40 9.0 deg. Weight 773g. Fuzzy edges, much poorer images than others but needs some cleaning. Square exit pupils. 1980. Image dim.
9x42 Swift Condor 7.72 deg. Almost as new. Weight 783g. This binocular seems identical to HR5 except front barrels and eyepiece lenses.

Minolta now used daily.

None of above compares to a top modern binocular, but the field of Minolta rarely equalled nowadays.

Sounds a nice find Binastro, 9.5 I think, 499ft@1000yds, multi coated? I bid on a 7x35 version a little while ago, but didn't win it.

Hi Ben,
The 10x50 was my main binocular for ten years from mid or early 1980s.
I found a very good 7x35 perhaps 2 years ago. 11.05 degree measured field.
I would have been happy with a good used 8x40, never thought I'd find a new one.
Only sign of age white box, top slightly dark. And the small silica gel bag 25% pink, so may have lasted 100 years under almost perfect storage.
I paid the full new retail price of £89 and was glad to get it.
No change in rubber armour even though 1985 Minolta 7000 cameras now have white rubber.
Possibly eyecup rubber slightly hard but I folded them down and now have 2mm too much ER without glasses.

I just added some more unrounded data to first post.