chartwell99 said:
Did you ever order (or try) a pair? I agree completely about the appeal of 6 power binoculars, especially the EO 6 x 32 Platinum Ranger, I presently own a 6 x 30 Zuiko IF porro from the early 50's with startlingly good performance (a copy, I think, of the Zeiss Silvamar but far better), and have long been a fan of Leupold and their products. Tom
Tom,
You must have been reading my mind. I was just sitting down to make my report when your post popped up! :scribe:
I purchased them from Eagle Optics and have had them about 10 days. Total cost with shipping was $99.00. I'm very impressed with them because they meet and surpass Leupold's stated goal of making them the "ideal family binocular." First the specifics:
They are very solid and handsome 6 x 30 porro prisms. They have Bak4 prisms as witnessed by their circular exit pupil. They weigh 17 ounces but have a surprisingly solid feel to them. They are rubber covered over what I suspect is a high impact plastic. The cover is especially comfortable and attractive and comes in 3 colors: Basic Black, Dark Red and Natural, which I got and is more like Ivory with a very slight green tinge to it. Really quite attractive! A person with artistic talent could decorate it easily. They are 4.5 inches long, almost an inch longer than my Nikon 8 x 30 EII's and they are about an inch narrower than the EII's. (For comparison, the Nikon 8 x 30 EII has a much larger prism housing.) Their size is a nice compromise: A child would have no problem using them and they aren't too small for my big hands.
They have solid, twisting rubber covered eyecups which stay in place firmly when extended. The right eye diopter is appropriately stiff and remains in place once set. The focus wheel is an inch wide and focuses from what I estimate to be about 10 feet (specs say 16.1') to infinity in 3/4 of a complete rotation. (I note here that my bin reaches infinity before a complete turn.) The oculars are large, 21mm in diameter, the same as my Nikon 8 x32 LXL's and EII's and my Eagle Platinum 6 x 32 Roof Prisms. They did not skrimp here. Their FOV is 8 degrees or 420' at 1000 yards and the view is very sharp over 85 to 90% of the field. With their 5mm exit pupil, I found them remarkably bright under excellent, good, fair, poor and horrible conditions and, believe me, we had all of that this past 10 days. I was able to positively ID Northern Mockingbirds and Blue Jays over 100 feet away in a gloomy, rainy early twilight situation while birding in a nearby cemetary. They have surprisingly low Chromatic Aberation at the edges under bright conditions. Their pincushion distortion is also less than that of my EII's which admittedly have alot. They are stated as being "multicoated" rather than fully multicoated. The oculars have a green color with a magenta undertone. The objective lenses appear to be magenta toned only.
When compared head to head with my Eagle Platinum 6 x 32 roof prisms, which cost $250.00 more and which I love, I must admit they held their own.
My impression is that the Leupolds were a hint brighter and the Eagles slightly sharper.
Now for a report on it's IPD: It goes from 50 mm to a bit more than 70 mm. The good news is that it should be no problem for a young child to use. The bad news is that an adult with a narrow IPD and a high arched bridged nose might not have enough room between the eyecups to fit his or her nose if the IPD is really narrow. Now I have an IPD of 68mm so it's no problem for me but I also have a "schnozzola romanus." I believe I could get away with 58mm here if my IPD were that narrow. Some might be able to use less. You'll have to try it out. Once this bin gets established you should be able to find it in any large sporting goods store.
In my book this bin is a winner! I'd have no complaints if had to use these all day for birding. They are great for walking around in the woods. Keeping in your car. Taking on a picnic with the kids. Giving as a gift to a child. Keeping on your kitchen table to look at the feeders with. Within reason, you name it.
Another thing: I suspect all the bugs were long ago worked out of the 6 x 30 Porro Prism format. Millions must have been made for the Militaries of the world over the last 70 years. The 30mm objective is inexpensive to make and quality control is probably everything in their manufacture. The box did not say where these were made.
Buy one confidently!
Bob
Addendum: I forgot to add that they are waterproof, (not water resistant) and they have thick, substantial bridges, thicker than the bridges on the Nikon 8 x 30 EII.