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Kowa BD XD 8x32? (1 Viewer)

I only see the full sized 8x42 and 10x42 BD XDs listed on Kowa's American and European Websites. Are the 32s in the works?

Bob
 
I only see the full sized 8x42 and 10x42 BD XDs listed on Kowa's American and European Websites. Are the 32s in the works?

Bob

I tried them at Birdfair and saw the X32s and the other new models and saw them on at least one website back in the summer but I can't find them now either. Very strange.

David
 
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They are listed on a site called Astro Shop and also on Amazon.com and listed as coming from 17th Street Photo. Only the photo is correct however and when you try to add to cart you are directed to the old BD 8x32.
 
I have seen them listed for sale on Eagle optics, But I think they are not out yet to purchase but coming soon. They are listed new and will be for sale soon , just keep an eye out on Eagle optics and google search. They look very nice and Kowa makes excellent optics I own the Kowa Genesis 8x33 myself excellent binoculars.
 
http://www.optyczne.pl/index.php?test=lornetki&test_l=300

Kowa BD XD 8x32 tested. Great performance/price ratio! Soon there should be english version of this test on allbinos.com

Thanks for the link. The BD XD is a model I've treated with curiosity and some caution since it's launch. When the x42s first arrived the view was marred by very high levels of CA and I thought it simply wasn't worth the original price tag. Both have improved a lot since then. I still wouldn't say the CA control throughout the range was particularly good, or it particularly merits all the high praise, but would agree that at the revised UK price of £269 it has become a much more attractive option.

Binoview,

At the end of the report it says:
"Warning! In this test, a transmission was measured from the wavelength of 532 nm (green) and 657 nm (red) with an error not exceeding 1%. Taken after four measurements for each track and the result averaged."

Is this measurement replacing the full transmission profile we normally see in the Allbino reports? The wavelengths don't appear to have any useful relevance. What does it mean?

David
 
As far as I know the procedure has changed marginally. Measurement in the center of the range (532 nm) corresponds very well to what was previously taken for evaluation. Measurement for 657 nm says about slope of the graph and color of the image that is regardless checked independently (both visually and photographically methods). In Arek's (editor-in-chief of optyczne.pl) opinion results can be compared directly to each other without any problems. He said that if he was not sure that the result is OK and compatible, it would not be published.

Sorry for my English
 
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Why would you just measure green and red and not blue?

Traditionally transmittance was measured at 555nm and 505nm as the peak sensitivities for photopic and scotopic luminosity. I suppose it's common practice to use 450, 550 and 650nm to represent blue, green and red. Possibly a CIE RGB integration might be more scientific. 532 and 657nm tell us nothing about the colour characteristics of the instrument or perceived luminosity.

Sorry, have I misunderstood something?

David
 
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Hello,
please, do anyone own the 8x32 BD XD? If yes, please share the opinion on product quality in comparison to f.e. Conquest HD 8x32. Do the KR coatings works well? I would like to get some 8x32, previously I had the Conquest HD 8x32 which was fairly good, only cons was the blackout issue. Now evaluating if the additional 400euro is worth the zeiss quality and aftersales compared to kowa.
Thanks
 
Typo,

I have understood, sort of and possibly from you, that Arek is an astronomer and that Allbinos reviews for the astronomy market, but why then marks are deducted for poor close focus is beyond my comprehension, and for acuity, only occasionally. Maybe astronomers are less interested in colours, especially blue.
 
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Typo,

I have understood, sort of and possibly from you, that Arek is an astronomer and that Allbinos reviews for the astronomy market, but why then marks are deducted for poor close focus is beyond my comprehension, and for acuity, only occasionally. Maybe astronomers are less interested in colours, especially blue.

If I remember rightly, Arek is a Professor of astrophysics. I think it's fair to say that some of his weightings and scoring reflect his astronomical preferences. Close focus might carry the lowest weighting of any category, being only scored out of two, but the Kowa does get a 100% score. Whiteness of Image is scored out of 5 so would seem colour is considered more important, but resolution must be irrelevant for astronomers as there is no score at all.

David
 
Typo,

Looking at the review of the Nikon EDG II 10x42 Allbinos says that the image is "perfectly sharp image throughout the whole field of view". Similarly it states that for the Swarovski EL 10x42 Swarovision "perfect image sharpness level kept practically to the very edge of the field". By contrast for the Carl Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 the review is silent withe regard to sharpness.

Such inconsistencies abound for a quantitative critical review site, for associated comments throughout the site, or lack thereof, appear to be subjective and arbitrary
 
Sooo... quite some time has passed since the original post BUT not much talk and reviews about this one... which surprises me!!! Allbinos rates them on par with Swarovski EL (both scoring 134)... not bad for a $425 china bin????

CG
 
I'm by no means an expert in binoculars, but given my limited experience I'd say that they're pretty good both in terms of image quality and build quality. I've compared them to both my Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42 and Opticron Discovery 8X32 WP PC.
More and more I am convinced of two notions that are often pointed in this forum when it comes to optics:
1. You get what you pay for.
2. Differences in quality get smaller as soon as the price gets higher (that is to say, the difference between a 50 € and a 150 € pair of binos will be a way bigger than that between a 800 € and 950 € pair of binos, although the price difference is the same, 150 €).
- Build quality: the binos feel really sturdy and solid. The quality feeling (to my eyes) is at the same level of the Zeiss. The rubber armor is really rugged and the grip is reassuring. I was comparing the Conquest and the Kowa side by side yesterday at dusk, observing Eurasian stone-curlew among vineyards, and obviously the Zeiss has a brighter lens (I was surprised that it is not a "much" brighter lens, or an "incredibly lighter" lens). The Kowa are obviously a little less bright, but they have a very good contrast. Maybe one of the clearer differences is the % of the view that is flat/usable. In the Kowas this is smaller, obviously (and gets even smaller in the Opticron).
So, given the prices I payed for them (in € Zeiss 800, Kowa 350, Opticron 250) I think the Kowas are the best value for money of the three. I haven't looked through the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x32 (mines are 8x42), but given the price difference (the Zeiss are roughly twice the price of the Kowa) IMHO you really have to like the Zeiss over the Kowa to invest that money. So we came to point number 1 and 2. I am not saying that Kowas are on the same level as the Zeiss (they belong to a lower category), but the value for money (price/performance) could be more than satisfying for someone interested in birds but who doesn't want to break the bank.

- Pros: brightful, good contrast, build quality, value for money
- Cons: heavy and not the smallest (compared to the Opticron, for example)
 
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