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Minox Binos (1 Viewer)

scampo said:
Yes -but for that price you could also buy Nikon Superior E for example and own a binocular that has optics equal to the very best available anywhere.


Hello Scampo

Very true, and I should Know, as I have the 8x32 SE, and very good they are, too. However, I think a new pair costs around £440 and they are not waterproof. It depends on whether Mike needs the waterproofing or not, and how much he wants to pay. Sorry to upset you by reccommending anything other than Nikon :eek:)

Clive
 
mike hawley said:
Many thanks everybody for your comment and advice.
I guess buying binos is subject to the law of diminishing returns and the difference the extra ££££s make gets less the more you spend. I can't really justify spending £800 on binos so the Minox seem about right for me.
Thanks again for all your help.

The RSPB and Opticron do bins at the same price. Try and get to use all of them and see what you prefer.
 
william j clive said:
Hello Scampo

Very true, and I should Know, as I have the 8x32 SE, and very good they are, too. However, I think a new pair costs around £440 and they are not waterproof. It depends on whether Mike needs the waterproofing or not, and how much he wants to pay. Sorry to upset you by reccommending anything other than Nikon :eek:)

Clive
Well - I use Swaro myself! Are the SEs the same as the Superior Es? I thought the latter were about £280-00. I must be getting confused.
 
scampo said:
Well - I use Swaro myself! Are the SEs the same as the Superior Es? I thought the latter were about £280-00. I must be getting confused.

Oh dear I'm going to enjoy enlightening mr Nikon ;)

The Superior Es = SE and retail at approx £450. The EIIs retail at about £280. There is a review on BVD.
 
scampo said:
Well - I use Swaro myself! Are the SEs the same as the Superior Es? I thought the latter were about £280-00. I must be getting confused.


So do I! I have the same as you, the 8.5x EL, and there's nowt wrong with them either, if you exclude the slow focus, of course. I wont mention the E11's, Pete's already sorted that.


Clive Jones
 
It was the EII model I was confusing the SE with - that's the favourite of some chap at Ace Optics it says on their ad (and he should know!).
 
The Minox binos are an excellent product for the money and you don't see any real improvement in quality without spending a significant amount of money and steppiing up to the Leicas. Minox is actually a Leica subsidiary. They purchase their glass from Japan after it has been made to the Minox specification. The Minox will do 90+% what the Leica will do, which is more then enough for most people. As far a magazine reviews go, they are fun to read but take them with a grain of salt. Magazines make their real money on advertising dollars and the reviewers themselves have corporate sponsorships. There is just too many obvious conflicts of interest for me to take them seriously.

ranburr
 
Last edited:
I'm only about six months too late weighing in my comments on Minox bins - I didn't notice this thread at the time. I bought a pair of Minox 8x32 in the States about 5 years ago and have been using them ever since. I think they're excellent, although when I've compared them to friends' Nikon 8x32s I've noticed that the image isn't quite as big, i.e. if the Nikons are true 8x then the Minox seem nearer 7.5x.
Andy
 
ranburr,


ranburr said:
The Minox binos are an excellent product for the money and you don't see any real improvement in quality without spending a significant amount of money and steppiing up to the Leicas. Minox is actually a Leica subsidiary. They purchase their glass from Japan after it has been made to the Minox specification. The Minox will do 90+% what the Leica will do, which is more then enough for most people. As far a magazine reviews go, they are fun to read but take them with a grain of salt. Magazines make their real money on advertising dollars and the reviewers themselves have corporate sponsorships. There is just too many obvious conflicts of interest for me to take them seriously.
ranburr

I agree with your post completely, and will add this. Today, while comparing the Minox 10x42 BR to a Leica 10x42 Trinovid, I was amazed to see that the Minox actually had a noticeably lower level of chromatic aberration when viewing high-contrast vertical details. I was surprised - surprised enough to request a 2nd pair of Leica just to make sure the first wasn't defective. I saw identical results with the 2nd pair... very interesting indeed. If the two binoculars were the same price, it would be a difficult decision to make. However, with the Minox being almost half price and several ounces lighter, it's a no-brainer.

Best wishes,
Bawko
 
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