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Legend 8x42 Ultra HD Impressions (1 Viewer)

I had the 8x42 and a Pentax SP 8x32 out. The Pentax really did extremely well against this HD glass. Without glasses, the ergonomics are also better. With glasses on, the Bushnell gave me a wider field as expected.

Birds wfound: Yellow rumped warbler, two hawks, purple finch. Distant red bellied woodpecker was OK with both.

No reason not to get the Ultra and try it out and see if it works for you. Focus was about one turn from near to far.

Tero, it's hard not to like the SP 8x32! I will never part with the one I have, though it currently is on the back burner! Bryce...
 
Just to update. The first of two Camo Fleece pullovers we got as a freebie from Bushnell arrived today. Well-made fine-weaved thick fabric with weather sealed zipper. NICE!

Rick
 

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First two lifers with the 8x42s, a gull and a chickadee. I only took that pair along for some casual birding. Have got used to the eye cups now.

I notice there are some plastic parts in the strap, as there are in other brands. May change the strap to another one, though it was comfortable enough.
 
I went and replaced the original complicated strap, a bit oo long, with a standard Eagle Optics strap. That may be a bit shorter than my typical one by an inch or two, but works OK for this one. That is the one with my belt showing. Fot the 10x model, I left the longer strap, as I may have a heavy coat on for that, in winter. The 8x will get a lot of spring and fall use.
 

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I changed my strap too. Just too long for my liking. The Bushnell was also overkill for such a small bino. Now I use it on my Nikon dSLR.

Rick
 
FWIW, the highlight for me and the Ultra's was last Monday as we were the only bino "team" to make out the pale pink breast plummage of a rare slender bill gull, besting both the other Swaro EL and Leica Trino "teams" in the hide.
That's quite a claim. Did you borrow their binoculars to compare, or was it just that they said they couldn't see it? If the latter, is it possible that it was just that their eyesight wasn't as good as yours?
 
10x42 HD

Hi Guys and Venusians of course

Just reg'd and wanted to blather on a bit about these Bushnell 10x42 HD which I purchased untried thanks mainly to info provided by the enthusiasts on this forum so thanks to all for that.

First I am amazed that in the US these things only cost something like $200. Here I paid £300 and that was the cheapest available.

For these prices people now have access to truly wonderful optics which do seem much better value than the Alfa brands (my other recent purchase was the el 8x32 traveller and I like both).

Bought the el 1st but then missed not having a 10x (sold my old Opticron DBA) and could not afford to much so got the Bushnell 10x42 and these fill the gap perfectly. Of course in the US you seem to have access to a lot of other great alternatives such as the Zen Ray etc.

I had bought a pair of 10x36 Frontier and they were so soft off centre I found them unusable through eye strain although no complaints about the centre 30% but I didn't like the build or size and the tripod screw broke off within about 2 mins of taking them out of the box and the focus wheel was terrible.

The HD focus wheel on my pair is pretty awful also. Has slack and is lumpy stiff in several places. Think its rubbing off the rubber housing. I was offered a replacement but I could not be bothered with all the posting and deliveries again and besides they do achieve actual focus very well even down to macro so I decided that I would have it looked at if I ever needed to send them in for anything else and I was wary of changing them for a pair with some other problem.

The Bushnell 10x42HD are not as bright as the el nor as easy to use as the 8x but I have to say that when I have taken them out with me (in good light) I have really thouroughly enjoyed using them and therefore I rate them very highly. They actually remind me a bit of some Zeiss 8x32 that I used to own as regards the ED lens effect -which I missed after I sold the Zeiss- of course not just as bright but nonetheless very clear such that in certain light you get that feeling of no glass between your eye and what you are viewing which is really great.

For middle to long distance they are great with hardly any focusing needed. The colour is very saturated and muddier compared to the el (the el can seem paler)but it certainly is not bad. I think if the HD were brighter at the expense of a little saturation then they would be pretty much absolutley perfect.

As far as value is concerned I think the HD beat the el quite easily and I only paid 3+ times the price for my el over the HD.

I am very happy with both my new binoculars and I think they complement each other very well. I guess I am surprised that the HD even approaches the enjoyment of the el but it is my opinion that they indeed do although I wouldn't get carried away and say that they are better than the el. BTW the el has PF off centre and also softness off centre but its all pretty well controlled and I think they are a classic design which I fully intend to keep indefinitely. The crystal brightness is definitely the high point. I was watching some goldfinches sheltering behind a tree during a sideways snow storm (from the comfort of my bedroom) and I couldn't believe the beautiful clarity. Didn't have the HD then but I'm pretty sure they could not have matched that.

I have some older 8x32 Bushnell Legend and they still work perfectly well but I am glad to see binocular tech improving and to have upgraded my bin selection to some of these more recent products.

The other thing about the HD which I absolutely love is that they are actually no bigger than the el except for the objectives of course and they are also no heavier such that I don't even notice I am wearing them.

I tried the Swarovision 10x42 and I thought they were to large, heavy and not well balanced so I would never consider buying them which is good since I have no spare money but I really do look forward to a Swarovision 10x32 some day.

Now that I think might just be the absolute perfect binocular for me.

Maybe Bushnell or someone someday will produce something approaching that at a fraction of the price. Judging by these 10x42 HD I really now believe that that could/will actually happen?

Time for a nice cup of tea after all this talking.

On the downside I hope we aren't destroying the planet to much with producing all these new ED bins. Always a quandry.

Keep up the good work folks.
I hope this was perhaps useful for people considering some of these bins.
 
Doh!

Last week I made a very successful birding trip to a tiny island 50km offshore in the Sea of Japan and the HD's performed wonderfully including a day spent walking around in the rain. :t:

However, upon my return I noticed the left twist-up eyecup assembly had mysteriously come loose and was literally hanging by a thread. No problemo I figured to simply thread it back on.

WRONG! Somehow, through not paying close attention and not realizing the assembly threads on counterclockwise, I bunged it up and crossed-thread and locked the assembly down tight onto the eyepiece totally cockeyed with eyecup pointing inward. No amount of twisting/turning would let me remove it!:gn:

But while it looked stupid at least it did not affect the view so figured I would wait to send it Bushnell during my next trip back to the USA. Plus I still had the backup Ultra HD that my wife uses.8-P

However, I was lucky to find a cheap rubber strap/belt wrench (a UK import too!) and with the help of some friction tape to prevent slipping I was able to remove the twist-up assembly. Amazingly, I did not seem to damage any of the threads so I could now carefully reassemble the eyecup correctly. Yay!:king:

FWIW, the entire assembly is made from metal, NOT plastic, while the rubber guard is glued on to the twist-up part. By using a small flatblade screwdriver to CAREFULLY work in between the metal and rubber, it is possible to seperate the rubber from the metal without tearing. The twist-up component is held in place by 3 brass guide screws. For anyone complaining about TOO MUCH eyerelief I think it would be possible to slip an O-ring or two over the ocular to raise the assembly, thus the eyecups, further away from the lens and shortening the eyerelief. Just make sure you have the tools and some glue!

Rick
 
Rick:

Have you tried the Bushnell Elite E2, and how do they compare with the Legend Ultra.
It would seem there is more to an optic than HD glass. And so I wonder how some would
rate the Legend Ultra, Elite E2, and the Elite. Are they are all priced for value?

Jerry
 
No I haven't. As I have mentioned in other threads, their Japan distributor only offers Bushnell's cheapest sub-$50 "toy" bins here in Japan.

I suppose the new Elites with ED objectives are now more competitive at their new low price, but they still have a much narrower AFoV compared to the Ultra HD. I sold my Nikon 8x30 EII, Kowa BD 8x32, and Swift 820ED 8.5x44 shortly after acquiring these. Perhaps I am an idiot, but felt the views from the Ultra HD was better in every respect. Seeing that the Ultra HD is now back to its original $280 price point at most online dealers, I feel fortunate to have picked up two pair for only $196ea including the camo fleece jackets!

Obviously this entire issue was due to my own mishandling. Not having a lot invested allows me more confidence in making these little repairs.

Rick
 
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WRONG! Somehow, through not paying close attention and not realizing the assembly threads on counterclockwise, I bunged it up and crossed-thread and locked the assembly down tight onto the eyepiece totally cockeyed with eyecup pointing inward. No amount of twisting/turning would let me remove it!:gn:


However, I was lucky to find a cheap rubber strap/belt wrench (a UK import too!) and with the help of some friction tape to prevent slipping I was able to remove the twist-up assembly. Amazingly, I did not seem to damage any of the threads so I could now carefully reassemble the eyecup correctly. Yay!:king:


Rick

Good thing there was no damage. Often one can wrap a hot towel around whatever one is trying to remove, and get it to expand a little so that hard forcing is unnecessary.
 
Thought it timely to give a 1yr followup report.

I have spent the last 6 weeks bouncing around the senderos on our S. Texas ranch (been going here since I was kid teen and never realized how good for birding it was!). Experienced all kinds of weather conditions dawn to dusk and subjected the bins to 100's of miles rough, bumpy, dusty rides on the floorboard of the jeep and they have held up well mechanically EXCEPT I noticed when the protective cap came loose that the tripod holder has now developed rust. Not sure how long it has been this way since I have had them in the rain/sea spray while birding in Japan.

The optics continue to impress. Except for the early dawn moments, I almost always wore yellow/amber lensed sunglasses so the eyerelief issue is not a problem for me.
 
Because of th problems I had with the focus knob on the 10x36, I will stick to the 8x42, not get the 8x36. I have already learned to work with the eye relief on the 8x42.
 
i have the 10x42's and think they are absoluately terrific binoculars. Time will tell whether they hold up long term. No reason to believe they won't but i don't know.

only things I don't love...bino strap too long as noted above, eyecups should have 3 clicks although works for me fine. I also wish the eyecups would click up and lock into place more firmly. Last, small thing, but the focus wheel is faster than i prefer. That may be against what some of you desire but i like to tweak the focus for complete sharpness and these seems to adjust a bit too fast for me. However, despite those small points, I'd highly recommend them and definately buy again.
 
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