FUJINON ISRAELI ARMY military 10x42 sniper BINOCULARS (1 Viewer)

brocknroller · Jul 18, 2014

I found this on eBay, thought it was an interesting ad (particularly the Hamas reference), and also because I never knew that Fuji made mil-spec ROOF prism military binoculars. They are known as the :king: of mil-spec Porros. What roofs Fuji does sell look like cheap re-badged Chinbin clones.

This specimen looks like a Zeiss 10x40 B/GA Classic (except for the long, thick eyecups, which are similar to the eyecups on the Minox 6.5x and 9.5x ribbed IF EP roofs offered a few years ago).

"Fully coated" about dates them, which probably means no phase coatings.

Wonder why with the world going roofs, Fuji decided to drop these seemingly well built roofs in favor of mil-spec Porros?

FUJINON-ISRAELI-ARMY-military-10x42-sniper-BINOCULARS

Brock

WJC · Jul 18, 2014

brocknroller said:
I found this on eBay, thought it was an interesting ad (particularly the Hamas reference), and also because I never knew that Fuji made mil-spec ROOF prism military binoculars. They are known as the :king: of mil-spec Porros. What roofs Fuji does sell look like cheap re-badged Chinbin clones.

This specimen looks like a Zeiss 10x42 B/GA Classic (except for the long, thick eyecups, which are similar to the eyecups on the Minox 6.5x and 10x ribbed IF EP roofs offered a few years ago).

"Fully coated" about dates them, which probably means no phase coatings.

Wonder why with the world going roofs, Fuji decided to drop these seemingly well built roofs in favor of mil-spec Porros?

FUJINON-ISRAELI-ARMY-military-10x42-sniper-BINOCULARS

Brock

The giveaway is "Made in the USA." They're assembled in southern California from Japanese parts.

Bill

NDhunter · Jul 19, 2014

Brock:

That is an interesting find, and Fujinon must build to a milspec.
The seller has high feedback with other military items.

Bill, have you seen any of these in your repair experience ?

I like the fact they are built in the USA, with Japanese parts.

With the Israeli Army going into battle as we speak, this same type binocular is being
used today, I suspect.

This is not a good time to discuss the subject, but it is current events.

Jerry

WJC · Jul 19, 2014

:eek!:

NDhunter said:
Brock:

That is an interesting find, and Fujinon must build to a milspec.
The seller has high feedback with other military items.

Bill, have you seen any of these in your repair experience ?

I like the fact they are built in the USA, with Japanese parts.

With the Israeli Army going into battle as we speak, this same type binocular is being
used today, I suspect.

This is not a good time to discuss the subject, but it is current events.

Jerry

Hi Jerry:

I see nothing special about these binos. I've sold many; mostly to bird watchers on a budget. Sorry. People see a bino with virtually ANYTHING different about it and go weak in the knees, because it's some super bino that they can't have . . . RUBBISH!

In addition, MILSPEC is mostly useless, today. It was GREAT for WWII, and NEEDED . . . today? Basically, it's just a backing into the bino the general said he wanted. I worked on a number of 7x50 Fujinon ARs at Ft. Lewis (Made by Katsuma or Kamakura), and the only thing different about them was the coatings on the objectives. They were to retard lasers. Everything else was on the same bino, you could buy at most marine stores, everyday. But, some people, if they could get a grip, wouldn't have anything to talk about and fantasize over.

Bill

perterra · Jul 19, 2014

They look a lot like the old Minox BD 9.5x42 IF binocs.

WJC · Jul 19, 2014

perterra said:
They look a lot like the old Minox BD 9.5x42 IF binocs.

And those with deep pocket could have any magnification they wanted . . . realistic or not! For example: I'm amazed how the Japanese were able to stuff a "120x120" into a garden-variety 7x50 body, below.

But you just know that people who need a pacemaker to . . . think, bought this sucker in droves, because of the fraudulent numerals. And most of them have a driver's license. Scary ain't it?

Bill

perterra · Jul 19, 2014

WJC said:
And those with deep pocket could have any magnification they wanted . . . realistic or not! For example: I'm amazed how the Japanese were able to stuff a "120x120" into a garden-variety 7x50 body, below.

But you just know that people who need a pacemaker to . . . think, bought this sucker in droves, because of the fraudulent numerals. And most of them have a driver's license. Scary ain't it?

Bill

You're talking over my head here? :-O

brocknroller · Jul 19, 2014

perterra said:
They look a lot like the old Minox BD 9.5x42 IF binocs.

Yes, they do. I wrote 6.5x and 10x Minox IF EP roofs in my post, but I should have written 9.5x. Very similar looking, but as Bill said, apparently, there were a lot of these made under different badges. Thought Fuji might have made mil-spec (according to the general ordering them

) roofs, but apparently they were made by some other Japanese manufacturer and Fuji assembled them in the US and stuck their name and endcap on - and then sold them to the Israeli Army.

Brock

brocknroller · Jul 19, 2014

WJC said:
:eek!:

Hi Jerry:

I see nothing special about these binos. I've sold many; mostly to bird watchers on a budget. Sorry. People see a bino with virtually ANYTHING different about it and go weak in the knees, because it's some super bino that they can't have . . . RUBBISH!

In addition, MILSPEC is mostly useless, today. It was GREAT for WWII, and NEEDED . . . today? Basically, it's just a backing into the bino the general said he wanted. I worked on a number of 7x50 Fujinon ARs at Ft. Lewis (Made by Katsuma or Kamakura), and the only thing different about them was the coatings on the objectives. They were to retard lasers. Everything else was on the same bino, you could buy at most marine stores, everyday. But, some people, if they could get a grip, wouldn't have anything to talk about and fantasize over.

Bill

Curious that birdwatchers would buy an IF EP bin and strange that you would sell it to them instead of pointing them to binoculars more suitable to the task!

Do you recall how much they sold for?

Brock

perterra · Jul 19, 2014

brocknroller said:
Yes, they do. I wrote 6.5x and 10x Minox IF EP roofs in my post, but I should have written 9.5x. Very similar looking, but as Bill said, apparently, there were a lot of these made under different badges. Thought Fuji might have made mil-spec (according to the general ordering them ) roofs, but apparently they were made by some other Japanese manufacturer and Fuji assembled them in the US and stuck their name and endcap on - and then sold them to the Israeli Army.

Brock

I have a pair of these, if I recall the big selling point was schott glass in a Japanese chassis.

elkcub · Jul 19, 2014

Basically, when a military organization wants to purchase a standard stock item like binoculars, an RFP (request for proposal) is issued that includes the general performance specifications that are needed and any applicable MILSPECs the bidder has to meet. The winning bidder, de rigueur, meets the MILSPEC requirements; however, it may be the very same product sold to the general public, minus the glitz. The US and other militaries around the world have learned to minimize R&D costs by purchasing "off the shelf."

Ed

brocknroller · Jul 19, 2014

perterra said:
I have a pair of these, if I recall the big selling point was schott glass in a Japanese chassis.

As I recall, they weren't very expensive, I'm surprised considering the high cost of Schott glass. But then again, I only saw them when they were on close out at Cameraland.

Someone I knew had the 6.5x model and he loved it. Almost talked me into buying one. But I pursued the 6x30 Fuji FMTR-SX instead, and won one on eBay in a bidding war gone awry. Paid more for it than I could sell it for later.

Really great optics but bad ergonomics for my hands, and even at 6x, I no l longer had the focus accommodation to "set and forget" like I did with the first pair I bought 10 years prior, so I was always fiddling with the dual diopters, which were hard to turn. Looking back, I wish I had sent them to Fuji to see if they could loosen up the diopters. I solved the ergonomics issue by flipping them upside down.

I also felt that 6x was a bit too low magnification for my needs, particularly since the close focus was over 20 ft. 7x is as low as I care to limbo.

Brock

ronh · Jul 19, 2014

Let me be surrounded by binoculars that are fat. Yon Fujinon hath a lean and hungry look.

WJC · Jul 19, 2014

brocknroller said:
Curious that birdwatchers would buy an IF EP bin and strange that you would sell it to them instead of pointing them to binoculars more suitable to the task!

Do you recall how much they sold for?

Brock

First, you can't save some people from themselves. Secondly, if memory serves (and quite often it doesn't) $239.

Bill

ceasar · Jul 19, 2014

Camera Land still sells these strange looking Minox 7x28 IF binoculars.

http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/minox.pl?page=62039

7x28 would be a useful option if it were center focus. There are some 8x28's with double hinges.

Bob

SteveTS · Jul 19, 2014

NDhunter said:
this same type binocular is being used today

Here's a UK politician's wife on a recent trip to Israel most likely using a security detail loan pair of some sort

perterra · Jul 19, 2014

WJC said:
First, you can't save some people from themselves. Secondly, if memory serves (and quite often it doesn't) $239.

Bill

I seem to recall that being around what I paid for my Minox on closeout. And it's probably around what they were worth. I think originally they (Minox) were retailing in the $400 range with a list of slightly higher. There was also I think some back and forth on whether the first models were German "made", then it was changed to assembled in Germany, then later it was assembled in Japan of German glass.

I want to say Minox advertised an aspherical lens upgrade to these a year or so before they closed them out along with an upgrade in selling price.

They are pretty extensively baffled and the optics are pretty good on the one I have, they give up very little to more expensive current glass. Like Brock, when I bought them 10 years ago my eyes were better able to gee haw with IF.

edwincjones · Jul 19, 2014

?"sniper" ? binoculars

is the word sniper just added to encourage sales
or
is a real sniper binocular different from a nonsniper

??

edj

perterra · Jul 19, 2014

edwincjones said:
?"sniper" ? binoculars

is the word sniper just added to encourage sales
or
is a real sniper binocular different from a nonsniper

??

edj

I suspect he is trying to describe the ranging reticle in them.

brocknroller · Jul 19, 2014

perterra said:
I suspect he is trying to describe the ranging reticle in them.

Also note the glare shields on the objectives. Mostly, I think it's "marketing," because he mentions Hamas to make a connection with what's going on now. Some people who collect military memorabilia (and this guy is a collector/dealer) would likely pay more for a bin used by a sniper rather than one used by a look-out.

The bin is also numbered. I don't know all the criteria military memorabilia collectors look for in such items, but one would think the more "authentic" it looks or sounds, the more appealing it is to would-be buyers.

Brock

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