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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Kowa Demos at Eagle Optics (1 Viewer)

but can we get them fixed……..

who's 'we' ? are you saying you have to spend a lot of money to get a good warranty? I don't think that's true. I called Leupold yesterday b/c I want to send in my Katmai (stiff focus). The guy on the phone said send it back and if they can't fix it I get a brand new binocular.
 
To St. Elmo

I must have missed your previous messages on Kowa service. I have a Kowa Genesis 10.5 x 44. About an year ago the diopter adjustment ring broke. I had put the binos, without the case, in my backpack which I use for carry-on when traveling by plane. The backpack has padding on the back but not on the sides. We had landed and were about to exit the plane when I started to retrieve my pack from the above the head storage compartment. The guy behind me fell and knock me off balance and the side of the backpack hit the exposed metal part of the arm rest really hard. When I got home I noticed that the diopter ring had broken, probably it was were the binos took the hit. It was the only damage to the binos or anything else in the backpack.

I went to the website got a phone number for the service dept, called and got a return merchandise authorization (RMA) number and the email of the person with whom I talked. Then I shipped the binos via UPS and sent an email advising my contact that I had shipped the instrument and also sent the tracking number. I got a phone call when they received the binos and another just before they sent it back to me fixed. Including shipping time it took about 5 weeks. The only cost I incurred was the cost of shipping the binos to Kowa which I insured for its full value.
 
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I called Leupold yesterday b/c I want to send in my Katmai (stiff focus). The guy on the phone said send it back and if they can't fix it I get a brand new binocular.

Just this week I recommended a new to market manufacturer to have a look at the Leupold warranty for just this reason ; it speaks volumes in 'customer care'.
 
I have a degree in economics and think spending money for something other than utility is foolish not to say stupid.

Whoa Steve.

Think carefully about this because it can be very hard to define where utility stops and other factors play a part.

What are clothes for? To keep us warm and dry or to make us look good? Warm and dry sound utilitarian to me but some folks will say, no thats not enough, to work for me, clothes need to make me look good too. When you lift up any gadget, hand tool, cutlery, mobile phone, computer mouse or whatever, is it enough that it does its job or should it feel nice too?

Bins have many qualities to consider apart from optical quality and even within optical quality there are differing opinions about what is good and bad. Do you like the warm view offered by Leica or the neutral (cold to some) of Zeiss and where does utility come into that discussion anyway??

If you have ever bought anything because on balance it looked nicer or felt nicer than something else that could also do the job then you have bought into non-utilitarian values.

And when you said 'not to say stupid', regretably, you did say 'stupid' which is a rather unkind and sweeping condemnation of how other folks choose stuff.

Lee
 
who's 'we' ? are you saying you have to spend a lot of money to get a good warranty?

"We" are those who would own a Kowa instrument.

and

"No."

All I was trying to find out is the quality level of Kowa service in the U.S. I have absolutely no information on this. For other brands, there is a range that goes from excellent to poor. I've experienced both. The only response I've ever received that is on point is above. Five weeks does appear a rather long turn around time.

Mike
 
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"We" are those who would own a Kowa instrument.

and

"No."

All I was trying to find out is the quality level of Kowa service in the U.S. I have absolutely no information on this. For other brands, there is a range that goes from excellent to poor. I've experienced both. The only response I've ever received that is on point is above. Five weeks does appear a rather long turn around time.

Mike

Ok got it...wasn't quite sure what you were getting after there.
 
Does anyone have an opinion on the KOWA BD 10x32 they have ex-demo at EO?

Seems like a large discount and they aren't selling (down to $299 from close to $600)

I even emailed EO for some advice and specifically asked about them, and they replied, but didn't mention those at all. I mentioned them again to make it a total of THREE separate emails. I could easily have been persuaded to get them but they ignored it - THREE TIMES. It was Pythonesque.

I have bought some binoculars elsewhere now, but does anyone have an opinion on the BD 10x32, because I am still interested in knowing, and they do look nice.

Robert
 
Robert, The BD 10x32 has a very narrow field of view. The 10x32 Genesis is a completely different animal though and I really like mine.
 
Robert, The BD 10x32 has a very narrow field of view.

I decided against them partly for that and partly because I assumed that they were 10-year-old technology which could probably be bettered with a new pair of $300 binos...

I still think I would like a pair of KOWAs sometime though.
 
Way outside of my range Stephen. [The EO guy did something similar - I said $300 was my extreme upper limit so he came back and recommended 2 binoculars in the closer to $400 range....(!?)]

Anyway I got me some Mojaves so I am good - I was just interested as to why no-one wants to talk about the 10x30s, like they must be really bad or something.

R
 
To RDPX
I had the 8X33 Genesis for a couple of weeks and didn't find the view while good to be up to the big Genesis. They are made of different material and even the 8X had some shake. Don think the BD's are that good. with 10X I would need more weight to hold them steady.
To Tmblweed1
Good for you! I think the feel and weight will make the tens seem like 8's. They do for me anyway.
Steve
 
To RDPX
I had the 8X33 Genesis for a couple of weeks and didn't find the view while good to be up to the big Genesis. They are made of different material and even the 8X had some shake. Don think the BD's are that good. with 10X I would need more weight to hold them steady.
To Tmblweed1
Good for you! I think the feel and weight will make the tens seem like 8's. They do for me anyway.
Steve

They are really great, and the weight does make a difference.
 
Steve and Tmblweed1 - your posts are turning out to be very bad for my bank account! <grin> But perhaps good for my viewing...?

I just ordered a pair of 10.5x44 Genesis demos from EO, and they are scheduled to arrive on Monday. I am hoping that they will give me the steadiness of 8x with the increased magnification of 10.5x. I will post my impressions when they arrive!
Steve
 
After a few months with them.

I've had a pair of the demo 8.5x44 Kowa Genesis from Eagle for a few months now and once I got the diopter adjustment right all I can say is WOW these are good. I've done a lot of side by side comparing with my Nikon EDG 8x32. I keep wanting to come to the conclusion that the Nikons are clearly better, but I can't get there. The Kowas show just as much detail, are brighter (obviously), and to my eyes it's a virtual dead heat. Both are really really good.
 
Welcome to the land of the Heretics. Just don't put the money you saved into a camera! I'm just finding out how slippery a slope that is.
Steve
 
I just got back from my local Barnes & Noble. There are a number of magazines on the photography rack devoted specifically to Nikon and Canon Cameras but there are no magazines on their binoculars, or anybody else's binoculars for that matter!

You think bins are an important part of their business?

Bob
 
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