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Review: Maven B2 9x45: Has the $1,000 game just changed? (1 Viewer)

Ingraham's reviews were the reason I purchased my Nikon 8x30 EII sometime around 1990. I still have it but the papers that came with it are long gone.

Bob
 
I think you meant 1999. They came out after the 8x32 SE, which was introduced in 1998.


Yes. That is right. It was more like 2000 or 2001. The current 2015 BVD site has been updated so often that I can't determine exactly when I got it but I know it was around that time. I bought it from Astronomics or Christophers for $235.00. I remember that.

It is getting late!:cat:

Bob
 
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Steve,

If Maven can duplicate the test results of the Conquest HD, that would be the best marketing they could do, better than their "mountain town" mumbo jumbo. I was really impressed with that video. It's comforting to know that if I'm out birding on gamelands and a hunter shoots at pheasants or turkeys and misses, the Conquest will absorb the buckshot. :eat:

Brock
FWIW when I was talking to Maven about this video, they did say in no uncertain terms that If I tried to replicate the torture test their warranty would fix or replace the binocular. I asked for confirmation of that at least twice.

I have no intention at this point of doing that ;)
 
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I think you meant 1999. They came out after the 8x32 SE, which was introduced in 1998.

Brock, just a reminder. The Nikon history page has the introduction year for the 8x32 SE wrong. I bought my pair in Oct. 1997 from the first shipment received by Eagle Optics. I still have the receipt.

Henry
 
Steve

I've come late to this and haven't read all the posts.

But congratulations on a terrific review.
Really well done.

Lee
 
Just a quick follow up. The eye cup assemblies of this binocular unscrew from the frame. This lets a user insert an 0-ring if needed for some increased effective eye relief.

I've been using these pretty heavily and thy still impress me as a quality binocular. I've repeated the SV comparison a couple of times at the dealer and those observations still stand.
 
There has been some curiosity about the case for the Maven. It is a heavy drawstring bag. It is actually big enough for the binocular, and will fit in a pocket of jacket or vest, or rear jeans pocket.
 

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Brock, just a reminder. The Nikon history page has the introduction year for the 8x32 SE wrong. I bought my pair in Oct. 1997 from the first shipment received by Eagle Optics. I still have the receipt.

Henry

Yes, I remember you getting your 500xxx 8x32 SE in late 1997. Perhaps 1998 was the world launch date, and they shipped some samples to the US in late 1997. My 501 sample was purchased in late 1998. I think the papers were in the box when I sold them. They were either from B&H or Adorama.

Production years don't necessarily have to begin in Jan. and end in Dec. Quite a while ago, I read a history of Zeiss binoculars on europa.com, and their production started in the middle of one year and went into the spring of the next year.
 
There has been some curiosity about the case for the Maven. It is a heavy drawstring bag. It is actually big enough for the binocular, and will fit in a pocket of jacket or vest, or rear jeans pocket.

In this case, it seems the word "dust cover" is more befitting than "case." They might have made it this way because they expect hunters to put the Maven in their backpacks where a hard case or even a bulky soft case would take up more room than a soft cover that takes the shape of the bin and fits in the nooks and crannies of the hunter's pack.

As Dundee might say, now THAT's a case....
 

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It's not a big issue.

You can buy a case from Eagle Optics for $18.99 or get a fancy Swarovski Case for it for $68.95 from Eagle Optics. Or maybe you would prefer that Maven just split the difference and added $50.00 to the price of the binocular and included a case with it? The manufacturers don't get these free from their sub-contractors you know! Ask Brock. He writes news articles for a business oriented journal in central Pennsylvania.

You might even have an old case laying around you could use. That's what I'm using with the Zeiss 8x32 TerraED I just got. It came with an old Eagle Optics 6x32 Platinum Raven I bought over 10 years ago.

Bob
 
Hi all! New to this forum here and I know this post is kind of late, really late. I have been researching binoculars for quite some time now to purchase my bucket list bino and had my heart set on a pair of Leica Trinovid 8x42's (2012-2015 version).....unitil I read some reviews on the Maven B2 9x45's. I had ordered a pair of the Trinies but, alas I was sent the newer HD's so I sent them back and renewed my search further. Well, I got a demo pair earlier today from Mike Lilygren and wow, I have my new bucket list bino! I am a die hard Leica glass lover as I have an older M6 rangefinder (film at that) so I know Leica glass....I cannot get this performance from any other maker unless I spend much much more. I really hope Maven the Co. makes it in this business as they make outstanding optics for what one pays for. I know the big 3 make superb optics probably better than anyone as they do have a vast amount of experience to call upon. I'm just rooting for the little guy too :) (there is room for them in the market). I want to thank everyone who has done a review here and on other forums on this bino and company.
 
! I am a die hard Leica glass lover as I have an older M6 rangefinder (film at that) so I know Leica glass....

My first camera was a Leica IIIg with an f2.8 Elmar lens (yep, I'm old) and I, too, have long regarded Leitz/Leica optics and cameras as a very high standard, indeed. My reason for pointing this out is the same as yours: to lend credibility to my views on the Maven 9 x 45 B2. Put simply, this is the finest binocular I have ever used or owned (including some really great binoculars from Leica, Swaro and Zeiss) for the totality of the user experience, namely ease of use, ergonomics and balance, and optical excellence. I have owned mine for about a year, used it extensively, and am surprised and delighted every time by how good it really is. Perfect -nope, but darn close. Steve deserves real thanks from me and others for his thoughtful review and recommendation.
 
Thank you for the responses chartwell99 and Torview! chartwell99, your Leica IIIg is an oldie but, goodie! My M6 is in mint condition...my favorite film camera I have ever purchased! But, yes, to all you said above about the Maven B2 9x45...it just does everything so well! I love the razor sharp clarity along with the very wide almost field flattener view and the neutral color bias...tank like in build, a great focuser for me too. I find the view to be oh so lucid and well, addicting without being tiresome with great balance. My friend came to check it out and had a hard time putting it down! LOL. Torview, I really hope this company goes overseas! So yeah, thanks again to all reviewers of this splendid glass!
 
SteveC,

Re your thread 88, I thought putting an O ring spacer decreased the eye relief, not increased it.

Maybe I am screwed up on this, if so I apologize for this post.
 
Wandy

Steve can answer for himself but may I answer too?

Steve's trick is something I have employed from time to time and the confusion over increasing or decreasing eye relief is easy to get lost in due to it meaning different things to different folks.

An illustration: On Conquest HD 8x32 with the standard eyecups some folks find they get blackouts and this includes me. This is because the eye relief is a bit long for some people. As a result Zeiss has made slightly longer eyecups available to raise the eye up to meet the exit pupil at the right place. Before I obtained some of these longer eyecups, I achieved the same thing by fitting o-rings under the standard eyecups just as Steve suggested.

Doing this doesn't increase what the manufacturers call eye relief, but it does increase the height of the eyecup and I think this is what Steve is referring to when he talks about it increasing the relief.

Lee
 
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My first camera was a Leica IIIg with an f2.8 Elmar lens (yep, I'm old) and I, too, have long regarded Leitz/Leica optics and cameras as a very high standard, indeed. My reason for pointing this out is the same as yours: to lend credibility to my views on the Maven 9 x 45 B2. Put simply, this is the finest binocular I have ever used or owned (including some really great binoculars from Leica, Swaro and Zeiss) for the totality of the user experience, namely ease of use, ergonomics and balance, and optical excellence. I have owned mine for about a year, used it extensively, and am surprised and delighted every time by how good it really is. Perfect -nope, but darn close. Steve deserves real thanks from me and others for his thoughtful review and recommendation.
I would second that. Now that I have the Maven B.2 9x45 I see no reason to spend $2500.00 on a Leica, Zeiss or Swarovski. I can say the same for the Tract Toric 8x42 I own. Both excellent binoculars.
 
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