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Nightowl (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Hoferwill
- Start date
:hi:
Hi Hoferwill,
Welcome to Bird Forum!
They are old but very good, make that excellent, binoculars that go back into the 1990s. A lot will depend on their condition and the price you are going to pay for them.
Here is a recent review of them: The review notes that they "were made in limited quantities and are quite rare now."
http://www.oregonphotos.com/Astro-binocular-reviews-BJ.html#anchor100108
My thinking is that if you look around you might do better seeing if you could find something like a Zeiss 10x42 Victory FL. Zeiss FL Victorys were recently discontinued and will have more modern coatings on them than the Night Owls will but I am not discouraging you from buying the 10x56 Nightowl if it is in good shape.
As a comparison, here is a Zeiss 8x56 FL Victory Demo that may still be available: It is not inexpensive as you can see. It has modern, up to date coatings on its optics.
http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/zeiss.pl?page=525608
I own a Zeiss 7x42 Victory FL which I was able to purchase at a close out sale after they were discontinued. They are my favorite binocular.
Bob
Hi Hoferwill,
Welcome to Bird Forum!
They are old but very good, make that excellent, binoculars that go back into the 1990s. A lot will depend on their condition and the price you are going to pay for them.
Here is a recent review of them: The review notes that they "were made in limited quantities and are quite rare now."
http://www.oregonphotos.com/Astro-binocular-reviews-BJ.html#anchor100108
My thinking is that if you look around you might do better seeing if you could find something like a Zeiss 10x42 Victory FL. Zeiss FL Victorys were recently discontinued and will have more modern coatings on them than the Night Owls will but I am not discouraging you from buying the 10x56 Nightowl if it is in good shape.
As a comparison, here is a Zeiss 8x56 FL Victory Demo that may still be available: It is not inexpensive as you can see. It has modern, up to date coatings on its optics.
http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/zeiss.pl?page=525608
I own a Zeiss 7x42 Victory FL which I was able to purchase at a close out sale after they were discontinued. They are my favorite binocular.
Bob
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Thanks for info,the bino's are in mint shape and I did get them for $750. Haven't received them yet but am really anxious to look through a high end bino for the first time since all I've known so far are used $50 ones. Planning to compare them to the victory FL and see for myself the comparison. Would an untrained eye spot the real difference between mid range and high end bino's without having them side by side??
I think you got a pretty good deal on these binoculars and I hope they turn out well for you. I wouldn't mind having one of them myself.:t: If the only binoculars you have had experience with are of the $50.00 variety I think you are going to be in for a big surprise!
To see any real difference between it and the newer Victory FLs I think that you will have to compare them under less than ideal lighting conditions like late in the evening or in cloudy conditions. 42mm binoculars, all things being equal, like coatings and such, will have less light gathering ability than 56mm binoculars. And they will have smaller exit pupils.
On bright days when your own pupils are smaller you will have more room to move them around inside the 5.6mm exit pupil the 10x56 has. You don't have to be as precise in setting your IPD so that helps make it easier to use. It also helps make up for their heavy weight somewhat.
I'm sure other people will have more advise you for you. Good luck!
Bob
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Thanks for the reply Bob, any bino info for a greenhorn is welcome. I'll let you know how these things are once I get them. If I need less then ideal conditions to see a difference between the owl and the FL then how can a guy justify spending 3 times the money for such little gain?? Except for the weight of course.
There are many things involved in this and they are complicated.
Perhaps the best way to find out about them is to look at a website that rates binoculars like Allbinos and acquaint yourself with it. Lets go to their Ranking of 8x56 binoculars where the current Zeiss is rated #2 out of 17 binoculars tested.
Then look at the review of the Zeiss 8x56 here:
http://www.allbinos.com/177-binoculars_review-Carl_Zeiss_Victory_8x56_T*_FL.html
Note that they have cutaway designs of 3 models Zeiss had of the 8x56 over the years. (They didn't do this on all of the binoculars--you are fortunate here!) You will find that the one in the middle looks like the 10x56 you are getting. Examine them and you will find that the eye pieces have changed among many other things.
Scroll down the results of the Review of the 8x56 and note the factors they are rating. Then read the summary of the review; the Pros and Cons and then look at the transmission chart which runs from the ultraviolet range on the left to infrared on the far right and notes where in the color range the best transmission is.
You can see that lots of changes took place over the years in your binocular. You will see some changes yourself when you compare them with a later model but only you will be able to tell if they are worth your while.
The major complaint with your binocular was with its exterior design and not its optics although they were also changed and upgraded. For instance,notice how the eye cups on it are different from the most recent one.
Bob
Hoferwill
Your question may seem a simple one but its very difficult to answer. Much depends on what you mean by an untrained eye.
It also depends on what you consider important when looking through bins. What would you compare between bins? Field of view or sharpness in the centre? Brightness or sharpness at the edge? All of these or something else the ability to not show glare in difficult lighting conditions?
Lets say you prioritise sharpness. Pickup a $300 bin and check out feather structure on birds at your bird feeder or ducks in your local park. Do the same with a $900 bin and I would expect you to easily see that the details are more sharply rendered in the more expensive bins and more sharply again if you go to $1500.
But be aware that I am generalising an awful lot here. Less expensive bins have made great strides in recent years and the top ones less so because they were pretty good already. At the top end the improvements tend to be incremental, lower down the price range, more noticeable.
Going back to your question about needing poor conditions to see the difference between a great bin and a more modest one, you asked how can you justify spending the $$. There are many intricate issues in your question. But I will ask you back, what is the point in spending money on bins that only perform well in ideal conditions? This is the other side of the question you asked. I would say that (generalising again) the better the bins the better they hold up their performance when conditions get tough. When you go out into the country to use bins does the sky never get dark, does it never rain? If it does, don't you still want to tell which Loon you are looking at in the distance through the rain?
No body can tell you how to justify spending your own money. But to try to answer your question about an untrained eye, you need to write down what is important to you: sharpness, colour, field of view, edge sharpness, brightness, close focus, handling. When you have a rough idea of what is important check out some bins and make notes on how they stand up against your requirements and take the notes with you when you test other bins: its difficult to carry accurate memories of how bins perform so the notes will be helpful. By doing this you will be able to 'train your eye'.
Lee
brocknroller
porromaniac
Here's what Zeiss if offering today in a similar configuration for $2,499.99 (sale price).
zeiss-victory-10x54-t-ht-binocular
The 54 HTs have been panned by a couple experts on BF for having too much spherical aberration, something unusual for the price point. So in terms of raw optics, the Night Owls might have better optics despite their age.
Where they fall short is in the AR coatings and reflective prism coatings, both of which have improved substantially over the years. I assume the Night Owls have Abbe-Konig prisms, so they wouldn't need the reflective coatings, but the latest AR coatings improve light transmission substantially over models decades old and also improve contrast and color saturation.
Similarly, I've had some great old porros, which if they could be updated with the latest AR coatings, could equal roofs costing 3x to 6x more in terms of image quality.
For low light binoculars, light transmission is especially important. Your eyes can open wider with a 5.6mm exit pupil (if your pupils open that wide), and the 56mm objectives scoop in the photons, but ultimately, the light transmission determines how much of that light gets to your eyes.
The Night Owls have a legendary status with hunters. There are at least a couple members who own Night Owls on BF. Jerry might have one and Omid owns one or two. They might chime in with comments.
Here's a recommended accessory for the Night Owls:
Champion-C-5-Hernia-Belt-Large
Brock
Hello thanks for replying, I guess I should have said inexperienced eye. What I'm thinking I'm looking for in a bino is brightness, clarity of image and quality of bino build. I like the zeiss name cause I consider anything top notch that's made in Germany and (my roots are German). My goal was to acquire used high end optics for around $800 which I'm hoping I did. Like I said with me having no experience with good bino's I figured I'd get these to give me an idea what they're like and go from there. On a percentage scale where would the night owl be compared to zeiss FL or HT for optics and build quality? Again this question might raise a lot of opinionated areas but with me beig inexperienced I guess I can only ask by what I know or think. Weight is no big deal for me cause most of my viewing will be sitting or standing , I'm in the wide open prairies.
Hoferwill,
Although I haven't used that model Zeiss, I know exactly what it's like to move up to a good $800 used binocular. That's exactly how I got started here, with the purchase of an 8x42 Leica Trinovid BA back, duh, after I post this I'll look over to the left to see how long it's been. I'm sure you are in for a big time with your Nightowl. Quality optics and mechanics are very enjoyable. You may not notice any flaw at all until you have the opportunity to compare to a more modern Zeiss or such.
I currently own the next model 10x56 Zeiss, the FL, which is also a fine binocular. I imagine the Nightowl must be very similar. Although the FL has slightly more advanced coatings and will be a little brighter, Zeiss has always led the pack on brightness because of their coatings and especially for their rather unusual roof prism, the "Abbe Koenig", which has the special advantage of being perfectly internally reflecting, unlike the more common "Schmidt Pechan" prism which requires a mirrored surface and whose transmission is limited by that. A Zeiss 10x56 makes a great low light long distance instrument.
Ron
Although I haven't used that model Zeiss, I know exactly what it's like to move up to a good $800 used binocular. That's exactly how I got started here, with the purchase of an 8x42 Leica Trinovid BA back, duh, after I post this I'll look over to the left to see how long it's been. I'm sure you are in for a big time with your Nightowl. Quality optics and mechanics are very enjoyable. You may not notice any flaw at all until you have the opportunity to compare to a more modern Zeiss or such.
I currently own the next model 10x56 Zeiss, the FL, which is also a fine binocular. I imagine the Nightowl must be very similar. Although the FL has slightly more advanced coatings and will be a little brighter, Zeiss has always led the pack on brightness because of their coatings and especially for their rather unusual roof prism, the "Abbe Koenig", which has the special advantage of being perfectly internally reflecting, unlike the more common "Schmidt Pechan" prism which requires a mirrored surface and whose transmission is limited by that. A Zeiss 10x56 makes a great low light long distance instrument.
Ron
Just got the Owls today and the view is unbelievable clear and bright compared to what I'm used to. Heard so much about the newer victory fl or sf that I need to compare side by side and see what improvement has been made in the last 15 years. Can't imagine them being much better.where can I look up the age of these bino's? Serial# is 2652676? Thanks.
Hi
I think your Night Owls will serve you well. The FL that followed it had significantly different optics and thinner non-leaded lenses too. See the attachment. Your Owl is easily recognisable with its slanted eyecups and the bin under it is the FL. The HT is the current culmination of the FL design but uses higher transmission glass that gives benefits at dusk and dawn and in other situations of marginal light.
If it doesn't have slant eyecups then yes it sounds like someone has replaced them or cut off the slanted portion. I have never seen pics of Owls with flat eyecups so I don't think it was official unless Zeiss made flat ones available for those who couldn't get on with the slanters.
I haven't tried a Night Owl but I am sure you will enjoy using it.
Lee
I think your Night Owls will serve you well. The FL that followed it had significantly different optics and thinner non-leaded lenses too. See the attachment. Your Owl is easily recognisable with its slanted eyecups and the bin under it is the FL. The HT is the current culmination of the FL design but uses higher transmission glass that gives benefits at dusk and dawn and in other situations of marginal light.
If it doesn't have slant eyecups then yes it sounds like someone has replaced them or cut off the slanted portion. I have never seen pics of Owls with flat eyecups so I don't think it was official unless Zeiss made flat ones available for those who couldn't get on with the slanters.
I haven't tried a Night Owl but I am sure you will enjoy using it.
Lee
Attachments
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Not sure what the story is about the eyecups but they weren't cut. They're definitely a zeiss job cause they're made very nice and sturdy out of hard rubber.
Can a guy post pictures? How?
perterra
Well-known member
Get the window up where you type your reply.
Take a look at the top row of command keys and halfway along two places to the right of the smiley there is a paperclip symbol. Click this and up comes a field to help you choose a pic from your files.
Click the button marked browse and go to the file with the pic you want to post and select it. The file name that you have given the pic will then show up in the window. Click the upload button next to it and when the pic file name appears again this means that it willl appear with your post.
Note that BF will not accept pics of over a certain file size, so if you get a message saying that the file is too big go back to your pic, copy it and then resize to a file size suitable for emailing. Windows will do this and past the reduced file to a blank email in Outlook. You can go to Outlook and click on this reduced-file pic and then save it to your files with an appropriate name and then can attach it to your BF post as described above.
Lee
brocknroller
porromaniac
I don't think anyone answered your question about "build quality." That's something the Night Owls were famous for, and one reason why despite two new models later, some hunters still have their Night Owls and use them to hunt. Now just remember to eats yet spinach so your arms don't fall off!
Post a photo when you get the chance. Hit the "Go Advanced" button on the bottom of the message window, then look for the paper clip symbol about the message right of the A symbol (front color) and smile face and click on the paper clip.
That will bring up the attachment management window. Click on "Browse" below the words "Upload File from your Computer" and it will take you to your computer, chose "photos" or "pictures" whatever name you use for your photo files, hit that and it will bring up your photo files, find the file with your Night Owl photos, select the photo by clicking on it, and then hit the button underneath the file window that says "Open" and you will see the file name appear in the attachment management window. Click on "Upload" and that's it.
Sounds more complicated than it is, each step will take you to the next.
Brock
Post a photo when you get the chance. Hit the "Go Advanced" button on the bottom of the message window, then look for the paper clip symbol about the message right of the A symbol (front color) and smile face and click on the paper clip.
That will bring up the attachment management window. Click on "Browse" below the words "Upload File from your Computer" and it will take you to your computer, chose "photos" or "pictures" whatever name you use for your photo files, hit that and it will bring up your photo files, find the file with your Night Owl photos, select the photo by clicking on it, and then hit the button underneath the file window that says "Open" and you will see the file name appear in the attachment management window. Click on "Upload" and that's it.
Sounds more complicated than it is, each step will take you to the next.
Brock
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