Canon 15x50 IS - longevity? (1 Viewer)

Hi guys,

I have the opportunity to buy a used pair of Canon 15x50s. About five years old.
I can see some old threads from the mid 00s about this model, so I wonder: are old 15x50s still working? Have they been repaired or replaced (due to high repair costs)? Or are they still working perfecly after these years?

Wolf

Well, I got mine 01Apr03 (sn#6800006C) and it still works perfectly....and I use it probably more than any glass I have currently or have had in the last 10 yrs or so (which number about 65, give or take). The left side armoring is loose from use, and the eyecups are a pain, but other than being a battery-eater supreme, it's a gem.

Thanks! Sounds great.
Battery life: so how long does a set of charged batteries last?
Do old binos eat more than when they were new?

Wolf Beam said:

Thanks! Sounds great.
Battery life: so how long does a set of charged batteries last?
Do old binos eat more than when they were new?

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I don't want to be the boy who cried "Wolf!" but one good sample that lasted 8 years and you're ready to jump on it and risk paying more than the price of a new 15x50 IS if they break down?

Perhaps you should hear a tale from the Dark Side before making your decision.

This is a story about Ron Durall, a 55-year-old retired Air Force [something or another] who owns RID Pest Control in SW Oklahoma, and who's been married 33 years with 2 kids, a 25-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son .

He bought his 15x50 IS in 2005 and four short years later, they burned out like a candle in the rain. Of course, he took Canon's moniker "All Weather" a bit too literally:

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1223193

Hopefully Doug from Cameraland was able to put in a good word with Canon and get him a better deal.

The hard fact is that electronic gadgets fizzle - computers, iphones, GPS devices, digital cameras, etc. - although Obama's blackberry is still going strong even though he added an iPad to his communications array.

And it's rare as a four leaf clover to get a lifetime warranty on an electronic item that the manufacturer knows is going to fizzle in time.

A non-IS bins can outlast you, but an IS bin will likely fizzle before they bring the curtain down, and that's going to mean, lots of out of pocket expenses, probably to the point where you're better off buying a new one. That's true of many electronic items.

But if you got a good price, it might be worth the risk.

Just keep them out of the rain.

Brock

Wolf,

I bought the 15x50 in 2000, and used it for about seven years. Had it repaired once after I dropped it on a stone floor which caused slight miscollimation. I then sold it to a friend after getting myself the 10x42 IS L, and the friend has continued using it to this day. I know of three other owners of the 15x50, and haven't heard of any of them breaking down.

As far as battery drain, if you have dependable rechargeables (ones that don't lose too much charge on their own) you should never need more than one spare pair with you for a day of birding. It has happened to me about a handful of times that the spares I had along had drained on me, and another few times that I have plain forgotten to bring spares. But then I have a perfectly functional non-stabilized binocular so the only issue is having to do with the jittery image every other binocular user has to tolerate all the time anyway.

But when buying a used IS binocular (or a new one for that matter), be sure to try it out before committing to it. You never know how a binocular has been handled and they can be damaged from banging about in ways that don't show on the surface but compromise the image.

Kimmo

Thanks Kimmo,
I have bought and used them for two days and they are better than I expected. I feel that these very binos are performing better than the new ones I have tried in stores. No side by side comparison though, but I dont see the focus moving back and forth a little bit, which I have seen in other Canon IS binos. One thing that surprised me is how usable they are with the IS switched off. The weight makes them stable, I think.

Brock: there are two reasons for me buying used ones.
1. I will give them a try for a few months and if it turns out that they are left at home most of the time due to bulk I can sell them and get my money back.
2. I will often use them while in my kayak on the Swedish coast and there is a small but realistic risk of them getting destroyed from me doing an accidental swim... So better not buy new ones... Perhaps there are insurances though, but I have not checked that.

Wolf

Wolf Beam said:

2. I will often use them while in my kayak on the Swedish coast and there is a small but realistic risk of them getting destroyed from me doing an accidental swim... Wolf

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:eek!:Wolfbeam, I have a pair of Canon IS 15x50, and I like them a lot for certain situations, but you do know they're not waterproof, don't you? "Weatherproof" doesn't really mean a lot except that they're rubber-armoured, and getting them wet even in a heavy downpour isn't recommended. I'm not sure if taking them out in a Kayak is such a good idea!

:eek!: too.

The 15x and the 18x are not submersible, the waterpressure when submerged will force water into the bins. For submersible bins a dry nitrogen/argon filling with slight overpressure is needed to avoid leaking under water.
The manual of the 15x and 18x 50's reads: "Can be used in heavy rain", the 10x42 L IS is waterproof, but not filled with dry nitrogen, so the seals must be very, very strong on these.

My 18x50's have never let in water or moisture in two years of use in adverse circumstances, like drizzle, sleet, downpours and beach sand blown over them.

So Sancho has a good point here, if you want to take the 15x50's with you in a kayak, a waterproof box might come in handy.

Best regards, and congrats on your 15x50's,

Ronald

Thanks for the concern. No, they are not waterproof but neither is my camera equipment.
The risk of an accidental flip is not that big in a modern sea kayak. I also use a waterproof deck bag if it gets rough. Until now I have mainly used my Pentax Papilios which are not waterproof either.

After some time I found out that my used 15x50s don't switch off by themselves after 5 mins as they should do. I have tested them för 15 mins and they don't switch off. So I run the risk of draining the batteries if I forget this.

Wolf