Porros in the cold (1 Viewer)

Hi everyone,

I have read in the forums a few times that the focus on porros will stiffen up in cold weather. Does this happen on all porros or some more than others? Are there any porros that don't do this at all?

The reason I ask is that I have just bought a pair of Meopta Meostar 8x32s. I think they're excellent but suspect that in winter I shall find I need some extra light gathering.
So I am thinking of buying some low price porro 8x40/42 as a back up pair for darker days. I spent more than I should on the Meoptas and don't expect to need the extra light gathering too often so a cheap pair of porros is the thing for me I reckon. Also being cheap I can leave them in the car all the time for unexpected birdingopportunities and not worry about them being stolen/lost/damaged.

I looked through some Nikon Action EX 7x35s and 8x40s recently and was impressed. Great view for their price and waterproof but somewhat heavy. I think 8x40s probably best for me as I couldn't see the extrawide fov of the 7x35s because I wear glasses.

Any idea what lowest temperature the Nikons will work at?
Or suggestions of other porros that work well at low temps gratefully received.

Thanks,
Martin.

I'd wait until you can try the Meopta's in winter. You need it to get rather dark to get to 4mm pupil size (when it starts to make a difference). And I know birding in overcast with rain in December at 3pm it's pretty dark in the UK. But I'd still wait to try it first. After all you spent a bunch of money on these it would be a shame not to use them as much a possible.

The main problem with external focus porros is they tend to use a sliding tube that is sealed with grease and that grease gets more viscous in the the cold.

So you could go with non-waterproof porros ... but it's winter in Norwich so that doesn't sound so good.

A possibility would be to get internal focus porros like the Opticron HR WP or the similar looking Minox porros. The former are not too expensive but have (for me) a rather narrow FOV. But they do have a light focus action.

But it seems you might be in the £100 region.

Hi,
I use porro Nikon 8x32 SE and stiff focus action in winter is a problem. That's one of very few drawbacks of this bino, but quite annoying sometimes. Plus painfully cold metal parts.

Kevin Purcell said:

A possibility would be to get internal focus porros like the Opticron HR WP or the similar looking Minox porros. The former are not too expensive but have (for me) a rather narrow FOV. But they do have a light focus action.

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I tried the Opticrons the other day and found focus action very slow, way to slow for my taste.

Kevin Purcell said:

I'd wait until you can try the Meopta's in winter. You need it to get rather dark to get to 4mm pupil size (when it starts to make a difference). And I know birding in overcast with rain in December at 3pm it's pretty dark in the UK. But I'd still wait to try it first.

Click to expand...

Very good advice IMHO. I would wait till winter.

Cheers

Hi Kevin & Macs,

I know you're right to tell me to wait til winter but I think I may be developing binocuholism. Over time I can see myself getting as bad as some others on BF and gending up with a huge collection of bins. Far more than I actually have use for.
I really only need one pair to be honest but, despite having better things to spend the money on, I've got a strong hankering for porros. Think it may be nostalgia for my early days of birding in the 1980s.
Perhaps I should wait for winter and if I decide I don't need 8x40s I'll try some 8x30/32 porros as a back up pair. At least they'll be lighter. Those Nikon AEs are heavy.

Thanks for the replies guys.
All the best,
Martin.

Martin for around £100 you will get a fantastic pair of Russian, 7x50's or 10x50's of a well known internet site, you could even get a pair of 8x 40's.
Russian optics are seriously underated by those who dont own them and 'bigged up' by those of us who do.
If you go this route then Komz or Zomz are very good binoculars, occassionaly they do have a slight yellow tinge to the image but boy are they sharp(generally) they are robust built to last and for use in cold climates...so you cant loose, look here for Komz and Zomz logo's
http://cameras.alfredklomp.com/logos/ the earlier Zomz logo used until 1962 is on here http://www.zenitcamera.com/qa/qa-logos.html the 14th set of symbols down.

My 10x42SEs got seriously stiff in cold weather, and coupled with a slow focus dynamic were essentially unusable. I use 8x32 and 10x32s in the winter with no real issues as to light.

potts34137a said:

Martin for around £100 you will get a fantastic pair of Russian, 7x50's or 10x50's of a well known internet site, you could even get a pair of 8x 40's.
Russian optics are seriously underated by those who dont own them and 'bigged up' by those of us who do.
If you go this route then Komz or Zomz are very good binoculars, occassionaly they do have a slight yellow tinge to the image but boy are they sharp(generally) they are robust built to last and for use in cold climates...so you cant loose, look here for Komz and Zomz logo's
http://cameras.alfredklomp.com/logos/ the earlier Zomz logo used until 1962 is on here http://www.zenitcamera.com/qa/qa-logos.html the 14th set of symbols down.

Click to expand...

Thanks Potts, I'll check them out. I remember my Dad saying he'd tried some Russian bins in a shop in the 80s and he thought they were really good. He bought some others instead and always regretted it.

Cheers,
Martin.

I would second the comment about the internal focus Opticron porros. I have the Leupold version (Cascade porro) in 8x42 and find myself reaching for it more often than many of my other models. It does have a bit narrow of a field of view but I find that it does not seem to bother me as much as you would expect. The excellent apparent depth of field...apparent sharpness, color representation and brightness make this a very easy binocular to "fall in love" with. I would highly recommend it. I am not sure how much the Opticron version sells for but the Cascade porro can be found in the US for $140-$150 normally on Ebay.

I do have to agree with Kevin's post about the 8x32 Meostar though. The Meopta's, in particular, really do quite well in low light conditions. I have compared the 8x32 and 8x42 versions side by side back in January. I did not find light gathering ability to be noticeably different between the two until the very last few minutes of usable light. The weight, size, and general ergonomics of the 32 mm Meostar are excellent and way above average in my experience. Glad to see you bought one!