They did improve the focus wheel in the newer black Zeiss SF. I would still rank Nikon first and Zeiss and Canon a close second when it comes to focus wheels. The Nikon EDG II is how all focus wheels should be. Incredibly smooth.
-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Porros for less tiresome views as we age? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter bluespiderweb
- Start date
Well, Bill, either all my binoculars (including a unit recently serviced by Gary Hawkins at ECBR) and my brother's less than one year old Swarovski 8.5x42 are "way out" of collimation, or I just see things differently to you. My brother's preferred IPD is a little less than mine, and he sets them up so he sees the single circle - but when I've looked through his binoculars without changing the IPD I see the overlapping circles.
I also find - more so with some binoculars than others - the ocular needs to be placed in the right spot over my left eye to achieve maximum sharpness and if I close up the barrels enough to achieve the single circle, the left barrel goes out of that ideal spot. I also feel the barrels are closer to my nose than I would like and that my eyes are having to look inwards rather than straight outwards (if that makes sense).
I don't expect anyone else to experience the same, incidentally - just relating how I perceive things. Birdforum has taught me that we truly do see the world differently.
Since I use two fingers to focus I prefer a tighter action. I do not like sensitive mechanisms that move at the slightest touch.
I HAD to use two fingers when I had the Habicht 8x30. One wasn't strong enough. I understand though. The Zeiss focus wheel tension is a little stiffer than the Nikon's or Canon's. All three are very good though.
WJC
Well-known member
:cat:"My brother's preferred IPD is a little less than mine, and he sets them up so he sees the single circle - but when I've looked through his binoculars without changing the IPD I see the overlapping circles."
It's only when you have adjusted for your PERSONAL IPD, and see two fields of view, that you should be concerned.
Some people fail to look at a distant target, but rather, focus inside the binocular. In doing so, you are focusing on a target or targets just inches away. When you do that, you are crossing your eyes. When you cross your eyes ...
Bill
It's only when you have adjusted for your PERSONAL IPD, and see two fields of view, that you should be concerned.
Some people fail to look at a distant target, but rather, focus inside the binocular. In doing so, you are focusing on a target or targets just inches away. When you do that, you are crossing your eyes. When you cross your eyes ...
Bill
Last edited:
Surprisingly (?) I do in fact set my binoculars for my own PERSONAL IPD - I point out the times I've looked through my brother's because he sets his slightly narrower IPD to see a single circle, but when looking through them, I don't, although the closer the barrels are, the more they should merge.
My standard targets for sighting in my binoculars are text on signboards from around 200m to over 600m away...and the most comfortable view for me is when the circles overlap. I don't see double images, but the circles do overlap, Hollywood style. I have tried bringing the barrels closer together, especially after reading that is how it should be done, but Hollywood style just seems to suit me best. Maybe it's the impression of a wider field of view that I'm liking. Shame I can't wire my eyes to YouTube to show you what I'm seeing.
My standard targets for sighting in my binoculars are text on signboards from around 200m to over 600m away...and the most comfortable view for me is when the circles overlap. I don't see double images, but the circles do overlap, Hollywood style. I have tried bringing the barrels closer together, especially after reading that is how it should be done, but Hollywood style just seems to suit me best. Maybe it's the impression of a wider field of view that I'm liking. Shame I can't wire my eyes to YouTube to show you what I'm seeing.
WJC
Well-known member
Just keep in mind it’s only and impression. You might want to speak to an ophthalmologist about it.
Also, half the time I think I’m safe in replying via the BF program, I’ll get something almost finished when it just dis-a-bloody-pears!!! At least this time it was small. :cat:
Cheers,
Bill
bluespiderweb
Great Grey Looking Out
No, it's not the bins, it's me
I THINK this problem was due to my fatigues eyes, and not my comparison of roofs to Porros, so let's let this go for now. I did find the more I used the Sightron BSII 10x32s, the more comfortable they were for me. I've checked since, comparing them to other bins I have, and I did not get that weird feeling that I had at first, with the BSII's. I think that the diopter was not adjusted to the optimum for my eyes, and why I felt the eyestrain in the first place. I have not experienced it again, so it should probably condsidered an error in observation from me, even if my left eye continues to be the weakest link in the chain. That is easy enough to assign to the weakest link, but try to remember it is an individual effort here that matters most to the overall good of the many.
I do not know why the live views have been sub par, though if I spend time with them and a leaning to better focusing, that usually solves things more quickly, for sure. Though sometimes there are other factors that take charge more immediately, of course, in reality, than is hard to use so well at the moment in explanation. May be just settings of the diopter and such that keep things changing and not so clear to us for the making, or our eyes and their variable nature even to our own, let alone comparing them to others.
I THINK this problem was due to my fatigues eyes, and not my comparison of roofs to Porros, so let's let this go for now. I did find the more I used the Sightron BSII 10x32s, the more comfortable they were for me. I've checked since, comparing them to other bins I have, and I did not get that weird feeling that I had at first, with the BSII's. I think that the diopter was not adjusted to the optimum for my eyes, and why I felt the eyestrain in the first place. I have not experienced it again, so it should probably condsidered an error in observation from me, even if my left eye continues to be the weakest link in the chain. That is easy enough to assign to the weakest link, but try to remember it is an individual effort here that matters most to the overall good of the many.
I do not know why the live views have been sub par, though if I spend time with them and a leaning to better focusing, that usually solves things more quickly, for sure. Though sometimes there are other factors that take charge more immediately, of course, in reality, than is hard to use so well at the moment in explanation. May be just settings of the diopter and such that keep things changing and not so clear to us for the making, or our eyes and their variable nature even to our own, let alone comparing them to others.
Last edited:
bluespiderweb
Great Grey Looking Out
Hey, I don't even quite know what I said in that last post, but my advice is don't try to figure it out-if I can't, then forget it! ; ) I was probably tired-that's when words and thoughts go wrong for me.
What I have learned lately is that setting the diopter well seems to make a big difference to my eyes, and they haven't been great lately-watering like allergies are making them irritated, which isn't helping my viewing of course.
I also found that under certain lighting conditions, items appear not to be as sharply focused (bright overcast) as they are in better light (partly cloudy), but using the same binoculars, so now I know it's not the binocular. But rather the lighting, and my eyes at times, and other times, the diopter settings that affect the apparent sharpness and quality of the view. And of course, IPD and eyecup settings too.
So I have learned some important things from this strange view I first experienced with a new pair of bins, and not to jump to conclusions about it until I checked all the variables I now realize contribute to this, in any bin, whether roof or Porro.
I should probably buy Bill Cook's book to learn more about binoculars in general, and some other fine points about their design and usage. I would like to know a little more about the differences in designs that affect
what we see and why. Got anything like that in the book Bill? Sounds like Chuck really enjoyed it!
What I have learned lately is that setting the diopter well seems to make a big difference to my eyes, and they haven't been great lately-watering like allergies are making them irritated, which isn't helping my viewing of course.
I also found that under certain lighting conditions, items appear not to be as sharply focused (bright overcast) as they are in better light (partly cloudy), but using the same binoculars, so now I know it's not the binocular. But rather the lighting, and my eyes at times, and other times, the diopter settings that affect the apparent sharpness and quality of the view. And of course, IPD and eyecup settings too.
So I have learned some important things from this strange view I first experienced with a new pair of bins, and not to jump to conclusions about it until I checked all the variables I now realize contribute to this, in any bin, whether roof or Porro.
I should probably buy Bill Cook's book to learn more about binoculars in general, and some other fine points about their design and usage. I would like to know a little more about the differences in designs that affect
what we see and why. Got anything like that in the book Bill? Sounds like Chuck really enjoyed it!
WJC
Well-known member
At this point, you won't find a great deal about the various designs. But, have a look at what readers are saying and determine if it would be helpful to you. I’ve given all this stuff away MANY times. So, if you are willing to scour several bino forums post over the last 15 years, you can have the whole thing ... free. That’s kinda like wrecking the car to turn the radio off. But, hey, it’s an option. :cat:
Bill
