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Pentax DCF SP 8x43: too much eye relief? (1 Viewer)

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baj

Active member
I was looking at the Pentax DCF SP 8x43 and I liked it a lot, but it seemed like I had to be careful not to hold the eye cups too firmly against my face or the image would start to black out. I mentioned it to the shop owner and he said that the eye cups are not quite tall enough for the 22mm eye relief.

Has anybody else noticed this? Not a big deal in the grand scheme, but (for my budget) these are expensive binoculars and I'm afraid this would bug me.

I wonder if the same is true of the 8x32 model (it only has 17mm eye relief, but I wonder if the eye cups are correspondingly shorter). Or the DCF WP models (the 8x42 also has 22mm eye relief).
 
Hi there, I have the Pentax DCF SP 8x32. Unfortunately I never had the chance to compare them to the 8x43's. Mine work perfectly for me. When I'm not wearing my glasses I twist the eyecups two times (or two clicks) towards my eyes (as if your bins become a little longer) and I hold my eyes very close and touching the eyecups. I think it's a lot about trying the diffrent positions and then see what works best for you. If you already tried to do so I'm very sorry but I'm not an expert enough to help you any further.
 
Gufo said:
When I'm not wearing my glasses I twist the eyecups two times (or two clicks) towards my eyes (as if your bins become a little longer) and I hold my eyes very close and touching the eyecups.
Click to expand...

Hi Gufo,

How many "clicks" can the eye cups be moved? When you say you lenghten them by 2 clicks, are they then out as far as they can go or can they be made even longer?

Do you use the binoculars with your glasses sometimes, and if so do they work well with your glasses?

Thank you very much for your reply! I have not been able to find the 8x32 in any shops so I am glad to hear about your experience with them.
 
Hi again!
When I use my glasses I don't pull the eyecups out at all. I just put the bins in contact with my glasses and can see very well. If you consider this as the first position you have three more using the twist mecchanism. That makes four positions. I use the second click (position number three). So I could, if I wanted to, pull it out even further. I think you really have anough choices to find one that fits your eyes or face. You should try with the pair in the shop so you wouldn't be taking any risk. I bought them in ebay from a dealer somewhere in England without trying first but I'm very happy with them. The 8 x 43 are supposed to be even better!. If you have any more questions I will try to help you but can only answer you tomorrow because I'm in Italy and it's evening here and I'm going home!
 
I had exactly the same problem with the 8x43's. I solved the problem by buying the 8x32s which work perfectly for my eyes. I have had the problem of too much eye relief causing black spots with quite a few binoculars. Must be my eyes (I don't wear glasses). Anyhow, I highly recommend the 8x32s. I don't think you can get better glass for the money. I love mine. Hope that helps.
 
Thanks! I'm glad to know it's not just me.

I was looking for a full-size binocular, but I liked everything about the 8x43 except for the blackout issue. I'll give the 8x32 some thought.
 
I have the Pentax 8x43 DCF SP since about two months ago and I am very satisfied with them. They work well with eyeglasses when the eyecups are fully downfolded, if they are twisted one step up the eye relief will not be adequate for an optimal image. Without eyeglasses the eyecups have to be fully uptwisted to avoid blackouts. The eye relief of 22mm is long, but I don't find it too long. According to several discussions with other binocular users I need a bit more eye relief than the most people, however.

Regards, Patric
 
baj said:
I was looking at the Pentax DCF SP 8x43 and I liked it a lot, but it seemed like I had to be careful not to hold the eye cups too firmly against my face or the image would start to black out. I mentioned it to the shop owner and he said that the eye cups are not quite tall enough for the 22mm eye relief.
Click to expand...

I had the identical problem with my Swarovski SLC 7 x 50. The solution (which Swaro suggested) was to fit rubber eyecups over the existing eyecups to gain more eye relief. The result was (and continues to be) startlingly effective. If you like the Pentax SP 8 x 43, it might be worth giving it a try.
 
I have finally (almost 3 years later!) tried the DCF SP 8x32 and had no problem at all with image blackout. So it seems that for some people (myself and PCH BIRDER at least) the combination of the eye relief and eye cups on the 8x32 works but the 8x43 doesn't.
 
The eyecups on my 12.5x50's are only half as tall they should be. This is actually a pretty common occurrence on the part of manufacturers not to make their eye cups go out far enough I find.

I would just mod the Pentax eye cups but then if I wanted to sell them I'd have a problem, even if I improved them.


I always wonder how a company spends so much money producing a good product and goes and messes up some little thing like this and ruins the whole experience. Don't these people ever look through these things before they sell them?
 
My main binoc is the Pentax 8x43. Sold a pair of Swarovski 8x32's because of inadequate eye relief.

Eye relief issues for me depended on my type of glasses.
 
The problem with Pentax is not that the eye relief is too long, it's that the eyecups are too short. I just modded my Pappillos out an extra half inch, it's very easy, Ill make a thread about it.
 
Nessus said:
The problem with Pentax is not that the eye relief is too long, it's that the eyecups are too short. I just modded my Pappillos out an extra half inch, it's very easy, Ill make a thread about it.
Click to expand...

This sounds like the problem I have with the Leupold 6x30 Yosemite. The focal point seems to extend beyond the eyecups so I have to pull my eyes back from eyecups to avoid blackouts. But this could be due to my presbyopia.

IMO, the main problem with the 8x43 Pentax ED is that they are asking $999 for a bin with only 6.3* FOV, which makes it a "dinosaur" with ED glass.

With ChinBin ED clones costing less than half the price and having larger FsOV, I can't see how they can compete.
 
brocknroller said:
IMO, the main problem with the 8x43 Pentax ED is that they are asking $999 for a bin with only 6.3* FOV, which makes it a "dinosaur" with ED glass.

With ChinBin ED clones costing less than half the price and having larger FsOV, I can't see how they can compete.
Click to expand...

Agreed, Brock. I've liked Pentax since 1999 when I bought the original 8x42 DCF WP. Great glass and I used it for ten years. Trouble is, aside from updating to aspheric eyepieces (SP) and then ED glass, Pentax hasn't changed a thing. They are simply too conservative for their own good. Minox is pulling out the stops to compete--Pentax should as well. There is a big niche for "half-price alphas." Just look at Meopta. The build quality on Pentax has always been superb (I don't even need my 8x32 ED but I'll probably keep it just because it feels like two thousand dollars in hand). All Pentax needs to do is update the designs, work on that last inch of image quality, and they can be contenders. Oh, one more thing: nobody needs 22mm of ER as near as I can tell. That's where the missing FOV will come from.
 
I've always found Pentax's FOV to be smaller than others of the same specs, and no brightness gained from it.

Her's how I fix my Pentax's so they give me one perfect circle that looks great. The glue that holds on the rubber eyecups is total garbage. Some of you have probably had them fall off already. I gently pulled both off. Then brought them to the hardware store and bought the right size O rings so I could extend the cups out a little. Right now I just have em held on there by pressure but I'm thinking of running a round or two of black electrical tape along the bottom to keep em there. Don't use glue, I did that in a cheap pair once and it burns your eye's just a bit even weeks later. Plus it just didn't hold anyway. I hear tape can corrode plastic so make a decision if your going to keep these or potentially flip them before you do things like this. (I doubt anyone is flipping thier Pappillo's which benefit greatly from this procedure if you can't get a solid circle)

Zeiss Conquest have the same problem. Their cups are held on by pressure only. Pop em up and let em sit a quarter inch higher and you'll get that perfect circle that you always had trouble with before. At least I did. Ony thing you can go too high or let in light on the side from the screw slot. A quarter inch should do it.

Many manufacturers screw up the relief of their eyecups. Even the $700+ models.
 
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I think I've got a problem related to eye relief with the Pentax 8x42 HRc I just got used. I've used my Leitz Trinovid 7x35s for nearly a quarter century, and wanted something on hand so I could send my Leitz off for servicing--enter the used 8x42 HRc.

I've tried setting the cups on the first notch, but they don't always seem to stay put. If there were broccoli bands just the right size, I might try them.

But with my old Trinovids, I've never had a problem--not even with progressive lenses. (Even though they're Zeiss Gradals, they get along fine with the Leitz!)

Still, even if I figure out the eye cup problem, I'm not sure about the ergonomics of the Pentax. I can send them back, but I think I'll spend more time with them first. (I think the feel of old Trinovids has spoiled me. . . .)
 
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