justabirdwatcher
Well-known member
Will be posting a full review (with photos) as I have time, but here are my initial impressions:
First the "bad" (if you want to call it that):
Diopter adjustment ring: Some slop in the movement. Never seen that before in any binocular. It still works fine, but there is a bit of squishy play there that should be fixed. Not sure if every unit has that or just mine. I plan to contact Maven about that and ask.
Then the "average":
Looks: Pretty plain - If they were going for plain and simple packaging, they nailed it. The orange highlighted diopter adjustment is about the only way you know these are not generic off-brand binos. Don't expect to be setting any trends with the C1. If that's important to you, pay the premium for the B series.
Eyecup extension: Several clear "stops" along the way from full in to full out, but I wish they locked in the full out position (really all the intermediate positions) a little better. As good as most binoculars but I was hoping for better than most in this area since I often leave my eyecups extended when I carry my binoculars in rough environments.
Eye relief: Pretty good, but I got spoiled by my Nikon HG-L's that had something like 19mm of eye relief. These are 16 or 17mm, which is what you'd expect. Nothing more.
Size: I'd say these are about what we should expect these days for 10x42's. Slightly smaller than the Vortex Vipers, but slightly larger than the Nikon Monarch 7's (still not sure how they got those 10x42's to be so small). Overall, about average or slightly better size-wise.
Weight: Again, about average. Feel good and solid in the hand. Not heavy but not particularly lightweight either. Again, somewhere between the Viper and the Monarch 7 is the impression I get.
Now the "good" (this is the really good part...)
Thankfully for Maven, we buy binoculars because we want them to produce an image, not because they are works of art or (for most of us) status symbols. And produce an image these do!
Wow! is not an inappropriate way to describe the C1's image. It pops for sure. For any binocular, it's very, very good. But for a $300 binocular it's nearly impossible to believe. Edge to edge sharpness on par with my old Nikon HG-L's (which is saying something). Color is very neutral to my eyes (to me Swaro's are too blue and my old Nikons were a touch warm - but in a good way). I am not one to ever notice CA, so I probably won't be the best person to evaluate how well these control it.
More later, but so far I'm darn impressed.
First the "bad" (if you want to call it that):
Diopter adjustment ring: Some slop in the movement. Never seen that before in any binocular. It still works fine, but there is a bit of squishy play there that should be fixed. Not sure if every unit has that or just mine. I plan to contact Maven about that and ask.
Then the "average":
Looks: Pretty plain - If they were going for plain and simple packaging, they nailed it. The orange highlighted diopter adjustment is about the only way you know these are not generic off-brand binos. Don't expect to be setting any trends with the C1. If that's important to you, pay the premium for the B series.
Eyecup extension: Several clear "stops" along the way from full in to full out, but I wish they locked in the full out position (really all the intermediate positions) a little better. As good as most binoculars but I was hoping for better than most in this area since I often leave my eyecups extended when I carry my binoculars in rough environments.
Eye relief: Pretty good, but I got spoiled by my Nikon HG-L's that had something like 19mm of eye relief. These are 16 or 17mm, which is what you'd expect. Nothing more.
Size: I'd say these are about what we should expect these days for 10x42's. Slightly smaller than the Vortex Vipers, but slightly larger than the Nikon Monarch 7's (still not sure how they got those 10x42's to be so small). Overall, about average or slightly better size-wise.
Weight: Again, about average. Feel good and solid in the hand. Not heavy but not particularly lightweight either. Again, somewhere between the Viper and the Monarch 7 is the impression I get.
Now the "good" (this is the really good part...)
Thankfully for Maven, we buy binoculars because we want them to produce an image, not because they are works of art or (for most of us) status symbols. And produce an image these do!
Wow! is not an inappropriate way to describe the C1's image. It pops for sure. For any binocular, it's very, very good. But for a $300 binocular it's nearly impossible to believe. Edge to edge sharpness on par with my old Nikon HG-L's (which is saying something). Color is very neutral to my eyes (to me Swaro's are too blue and my old Nikons were a touch warm - but in a good way). I am not one to ever notice CA, so I probably won't be the best person to evaluate how well these control it.
More later, but so far I'm darn impressed.
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