Quitting binoculars and quitting smoking (1 Viewer)

Wow, quitting binoculars is as bad as quitting smoking.
There is an old fashioned and interesting Eschenbach 8x30 Item number: 270060619079 on fleabay that i crave as much as a cigar.

These Eschenbach optics look like Made in Japan optics to me, imported and branded with a German name.
Their spotting scope ("Spektiv") looks like a $600 Leupold Sequoia.

Well, i'll unplug this damn thing and go and shovel some ice. It helps.

So you are quitting buying and just surviving with what..dozen?...you have?

Actually, i've sold almost all. I will keep the EL 8x32 and the Ultravid 10x42. I am still thinking whether i will keep a 7x42 and which one. I still need to sell a SLC 10x42 and an FL 8x42.

You and me both Luca. I have decided to narrow my collection down to two bins. I have to put four high end bins up on fleabay this weekend and I honestly don't know how I am going to choose between them.

FrankD said:

You and me both Luca. I have decided to narrow my collection down to two bins. I have to put four high end bins up on fleabay this weekend and I honestly don't know how I am going to choose between them.

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Keep a 7 x 42 and a 10 x 42. Lately, that's all I've been using. (Trinovid and SE) They are good for these gloomy days and the 3x jump from 7x to 10x is readily apparent unlike 8x to 10x. My 8 x 30 EII is getting lonely, but I'm keeping both of them along with their big brother 10 x 35. The 8 x 20 Triny and the 7 x 26 Custom are too useful to get rid of also. You can amputate your arsenal down to 2 binoculars if you want to, but that is much too traumatic for me!
Bob
:frog:

ceasar said:

Keep a 7 x 42 and a 10 x 42. Lately, that's all I've been using. (Trinovid and SE) They are good for these gloomy days and the 3x jump from 7x to 10x is readily apparent unlike 8x to 10x. My 8 x 30 EII is getting lonely, but I'm keeping both of them along with their big brother 10 x 35. The 8 x 20 Triny and the 7 x 26 Custom are too useful to get rid of also. You can amputate your arsenal down to 2 binoculars if you want to, but that is much too traumatic for me!
Bob
:frog:

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I do not have a choice Bob. || Christmas time is right around the corner and I have some bills to pay. My Nikon 8x42 LXs are the first to go then the 8x20s. Those decisions are pretty much made. Where I am struggling is deciding which one of three others to keep...Trinovid 8x32, Trinovid 7x42 or Meopta 8x42. I made the mistake of heading to Cabelas the other night and was sort of putzing around the optics counter as usual. I couldn't resist the temptation to look through some of the high end models and was again struck by how much I liked the 7x42 FL. I sold the last one because of too much astigmatism but the one they had on display seemed to exhibit significantly less. Add to that the fact that it was their last one and I received a discount because of it and I had some gift cards.........well, you know the rest.

So, what to keep? I guess one would think that the 7x42 Trinovid is then immediately expendable since it is of the same configuration. However, I really have grown attached to them after using them as my primary hawkwatching bin over the last three months. I guess the 8x42 Meopta could easily be singled out since its image quality isn't quite as good as either of the Trinovids but it really is brighter than either and has a larger apparent field of view. Lastly, I could get rid of the 8x32 Trinovid since smaller exit pupil binoculars just aren't anywhere near as comfortable for me as ones that exhibit a 5 or 6 mm opening. I am throroughly confused. ||

Maybe you can get a few Bushnells to keep your lonely remaining binoculars company. You don't have to use them, just get assorted sizes, keep them with the rest.

ceasar said:

Keep a 7 x 42 and a 10 x 42. Lately, that's all I've been using. (Trinovid and SE) They are good for these gloomy days and the 3x jump from 7x to 10x is readily apparent unlike 8x to 10x. My 8 x 30 EII is getting lonely, but I'm keeping both of them along with their big brother 10 x 35. The 8 x 20 Triny and the 7 x 26 Custom are too useful to get rid of also. You can amputate your arsenal down to 2 binoculars if you want to, but that is much too traumatic for me!
Bob
:frog:

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Bob,

When I carry I two glasses, I carry a 10x32 and a 7x42, as you wrote, a very useful combination of magnifications.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :brains:

Maybe you can get a few Bushnells to keep your lonely remaining binoculars company. You don't have to use them, just get assorted sizes, keep them with the rest.
__________________

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I was eyein' up the Elite Tero as the pair I was handling the other night seemed sharper than the refurbs I bought from EO back in August. Maybe an Excursion 8x28 would be in order.

FrankD said:

I was eyein' up the Elite Tero as the pair I was handling the other night seemed sharper than the refurbs I bought from EO back in August. Maybe an Excursion 8x28 would be in order.

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I think that binocular might be a sleeper. Because of their low price, I would like to have the opportunity to try out several of them before I decided which one to buy. And it doesn't have those accursed double hinges!

Bob

And it doesn't have those accursed double hinges!

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I could not agree more Bob. The next step in the evolution of the compact roof prism bino is to design one with a single hinge similar to that of the Zeiss compact but more centrally located. Maybe a small locking mechanism could be installed on two small "sub-hinges" right next to the barrels. They could be locked when in use but then unlocked when someone goes to put them back into their case or a shirt pocket.

The 28mm Bushnells are well designed with ergonomics and if you don't mind the small weight, you could walk around with them all day around your neck without much bother. The 10x optics did not work for me, and for others as well require constant focusing. So stay with 8x.

Bob and Frank D,
What is it that you find troublesome about double hinged pocket roofs? Do you have problems with cheap, floppy hinges (solution: buy a better grade of bino)? Or is it a matter of ergonomics? If the latter, perhaps the following observations might be of help.

I certainly have always appreciated the ergonomics of the Zeiss 8x20 Victory, which is an off-center single hinge design made for right handed/focusing users. It allows me a very solid/stable grip deep in the palm of my right hand, with plenty of room for and a comfortable grip shape for my (big) right thumb on the interior side of the right barrel, and positions my right index finger perfectly over the focus wheel. My left hand, placed overlapping and with thumb forward of my right thumb plays a seconday role in stabilization.

When I got the Leica 8x20 Ultravid BCL, my initial impression was of inferior ergonomics overall to the Zeiss Victory--didn't fit so firmly/comfortably/deeply in my palm, not quite enough room for my thumb, the distal joint of my thumb had a tendency to bonk into the diopter release button, and the reach to focus knob was actually too short such that I had to bend my finger and then focus using the end of the tip of my first finger (thus losing some focus precision compared with focusing using the "pad" of that finger). Inconsistency in precisely how much I opened the left versus right hinges to adjust the interpupillary distance made for a slightly different grip from day to day, making it harder to get accustomed to using the binos well enough that it did not require conscious attention. In particular, I wasn't as successful in getting the little exit pupils lined up to my eyes as quickly, perfectly, and reflexively as I could with the Zeiss each time I lifted them to my eyes for viewing.

By taking a lesson from my Zeiss Victory, I have now optimized my use of my Ultravids such that I now find their ergonomics just as good, if not better than the Zeiss. To set the interpupillary distance, rather than opening both sides approximately symmetrically, I now fully extend the right hinge before opening the left side to the correct overall adjustment. This simple act makes using the bino a completely different experience! It allows me to grip the Leica like I do the Zeiss, moves the diopter adjustment button out of the way of my thumb, extends the reach to the focus knob so that I can focus quickly and precisely with the pad of my right index finger, and makes the fit to my hand completely consistent from one use/day to the next such that I can now lift them to my eyes consistantly with perfection.
--AP

To set the interpupillary distance, rather than opening both sides approximately symmetrically, I now fully extend the right hinge before opening the left side to the correct overall adjustment. This simple act makes using the bino a completely different experience! It allows me to grip the Leica like I do the Zeiss, moves the diopter adjustment button out of the way of my thumb, extends the reach to the focus knob so that I can focus quickly and precisely with the pad of my right index finger, and makes the fit to my hand completely consistent from one use/day to the next such that I can now lift them to my eyes consistantly with perfection.
--AP

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Nice tip Alexis. Your comments touched on the exact issue that I had with the double hinged compacts. I think it is human nature to want to have the oculars even when adjusting the interpupilary distance. With your little suggestion it makes using them an entirely different experience. I have someone interested in purchasing my little Nikons from me. If the deal falls through for some reason I may just have to keep them now. I wish it were just that easy but with Christmas around the corner....

Truth be told I think my issue with them is a bit more than that. The shorter barrel length of the 8x20 LXs doesn't quite suit my hands as well as I would like. I have fairly large hands and find that a bin like the Nikon Sportstar 8x25 fits my hands much better. Ofcourse the optical quality isn't the same but I find I need that perfect balance of ergonomics and optical quality to truly be happy with any set of bins.

Thanks again.

I think there is room for someone to make a really nice 10x28 and 8x28 pair of products, double hinged or not. Those of us that prefer a little bulk like the intermediate sizes. I like to hold my cheapo 8x32. The 10x28 Bushnell really fit my hands perfectly, I just wanted more from the optics. I also returned the Sportstar 10x25 due to the optics, the 8x I can live with.

Tero said:

I think there is room for someone to make a really nice 10x28 and 8x28 pair of products, double hinged or not. Those of us that prefer a little bulk like the intermediate sizes. I like to hold my cheapo 8x32. The 10x28 Bushnell really fit my hands perfectly, I just wanted more from the optics. I also returned the Sportstar 10x25 due to the optics, the 8x I can live with.

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Tero,
as you know I have been surprised at how useful I have found the $100
buck Excursion 8x28s. Based on this I think the 28mm format may be a
sweet spot for a properly designed field glass for birding.

So...

1. Bring up on axis performance to the level of say a Nikon Monarch.

2. Come out with a 7x28 with a field of view of 450 feet like my Zeiss
7x42s and with the brightness of my Leica 8x32s.

3. Use not a double nor a single hinge but rather an open bridge design (Swaro EL).

4. Keep at about 15oz no more nor less.

Price it under $400 and I would buy it.

SF

I think those binoculars would cost rather more than $400.00 as you envision them. But there probably would be a market for them anyway.
Bob

The closest thing out there is an 8x, so there really may be a need for some smaller 7x bins. Olympus made a 7x21 reverse porro, still out there somewhere. other than that, there is only the Bushnell Custom Compact 7x26.

ceasar said:

I think those binoculars would cost rather more than $400.00 as you envision them. But there probably would be a market for them anyway.
Bob

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Yes could be.

I only put down the $400 limit because I already have so much invested in other bins.

However if I was starting at square one again and knowing what I know now...

if Zeiss, Swaro, Leica or Nikon were to design, from the ground up, a no holds barred 28-30mm bin like I mentioned...

I wouldn't hesitate to consider them as my primary birding bins and pay as much as a $!000.

Also I would add one more stipulation:
Tero is right about how well the 28mm Excursions fit the hand so these new uber bins could not be much bigger nor smaller in over-all size and proportions than the 28mm Excursions. I think this size range works well ergonomically because it is neither full size nor sub-compact nor are they what has traditionally been called compact.

BTW I dont consider 32mm bins compact-my leicas certainly are not-they are as much a hassle out in the field as my Zeiss 7x42s if not more so.

SF