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

Compact bins (1 Viewer)

see above......

32s......

Although, frankly, I don't think I'll get a pair. The more compact roofs I try, the more I realize just how good my 18 yr. old Venturer II reverse porros are. I like the 8x Vortex Hurricanes, but they have the issues you expect with a compact roof (touchy eye position, flare, etc... but I got 'em for $60, so I'm not complaining...) Still, I'll keep them (the reviews here may have been a bit harsh).

I think the Nikons, Hurricanes and my ZRS HDs probably cover it. I've also got some no-name Chinese 10x25s that are surprisingly good (poor QC, though- I tried out probably 10 pairs before I found the good ones....)
 
double hinge and weight Nkon 8 x 20

In my post above I should have used eyecups instead of eyepieces.

The double hinge, while a minor negative, is quite stiff in my Nikon 8 x 20 and this is a good thing since when hung around the neck they hold position. When walking/hiking I carry them hung around my neck, since they are so light this is fine and allows me to be always ready. As Kimmo suggested above the diopter adjust is quite handy. I use this bin almost everyday

Spunky12
 
Add me to the Zeiss Victory single hinge, amazingly bright, and light camp. I have looked through and owned a few but the Zeiss is one. Since you will use it or have it with you more than you might think it is worth the extra money. I keep mine in my briefcase constantly and on my belt on weekends and even at the zoo once it was the bomb with the kids and grandma. It is almost hard to believe how clear a view it has and the curved single-hinge design makes it fit in your hand so perfectly that I often keep it there while walking.
 
For those who have commented on double versus single-hinge pocket roofs and fiddling w/IPD, please note that the Leica Ultravid is a double-hinge design but it has positive stops that limit how far the sides unfold. Consequently, it can be used just as easily as the single-hinge Zeiss Victory design. If you focus w/ your right hand, fold the right side out all the way, then adjust the IPD by unfolding the left side the correct amount while looking though the binos. As a bonus, this technique places the focus knob so that it can be rolled efficiently with the pad of your finger instead of the tip.

--AP
 
The short answer seems to be Zeiss Victory 8x20 though for a number of reasons. Assuming you can afford it.

I really do not get on with the Zeiss compacts, I spent some time trying the top end ones and the Zeiss were bottom of the pile for me. I do think that the Nikons are probably the best value (over £100 less than the Swaro or Leica) and are excellent optically. IMO the Leica (I went for 8x20 BR ultravids) are the best compact out there but they are very expensive.
 
A quick vote for the Swarovski 8x20. I tried the other alphas and found that the optics were too close to call but the Swaros were the lightest and most compact. None of them is as comfortable to use as a reasonable 8*30 but they are ... compact.
 
For those who have commented on double versus single-hinge pocket roofs and fiddling w/IPD, please note that the Leica Ultravid is a double-hinge design but it has positive stops that limit how far the sides unfold. Consequently, it can be used just as easily as the single-hinge Zeiss Victory design. If you focus w/ your right hand, fold the right side out all the way, then adjust the IPD by unfolding the left side the correct amount while looking though the binos. As a bonus, this technique places the focus knob so that it can be rolled efficiently with the pad of your finger instead of the tip.

--AP
Your comment is so true. This is exactly how I use my Ultravid 10x25's.

FWIW, I first got the Nikon 10x25 LX L and returned them for the Ultravid 10x25's. Of course I wanted to save some money and perhaps it's true that the image quality is similar, but to be quite frank I though the Nikons were ugly, bulky(even when folded) and most of all, the Nikons do not have the rubber coating on the barrels; They are bare metal. When you set them down on any hard surface it really jars the binocular.
Yes I paid a lot more for the Leicas, but they are so comfortable, they fold up nicer, are fully coated with rubber, and are much more pleasing to look at and hold in my opinion. After all, I plan on having these for many, many years.
 
I did 4 months of thinking about this issue. About ten times I started at the same thought. "I just need a small cheap bin for when I am not birding but still want a bin with me just in case." "Im gonne buy the nikon 8x25 dcf". "but hmm, I get a much better bin if I just double the price.. maybe a minox 8x25". "hmm if i just double that price i get a victory or leica.. hmm". "But it´s to expensive, but what if im not happy with the cheap one?, and what if im not happy with the semi-expensive one? But I cant really afford the alpha ones!" and back to square 1. I bought the cheap nikon now. Going to unpack it in 2 minutes. Never tried it.

If I don't like it i am going to buy the leica or zeiss. I can´t feel the motivation to buy a medium price bin in this case.
 
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Know what you mean. Cheap excellent pocket binoculars just do not exist.

On the other hand, yesterday when I tried them the light was quite dim. Today when I tried em the lighting was good and i liked them a lot more. They might be keepers.
 
Kristoffer,
Have you decided to stay with the DCF's?

Hi,
it´s almost funny. Just when I decided to keep them since they actually worked quite ok in good lighting, they malfunctioned and suddenly the image is mirrored, something happened to the optics. I see everything two times when I try to look through it. So I talked to Nikon and I can switch to 8x25 EX. Hopefully they are better build (However I was probably unlucky, both guys at Nikon said that they very seldom have problems with DCF, they work there though;) )
 
Hi,
it´s almost funny. Just when I decided to keep them since they actually worked quite ok in good lighting, they malfunctioned and suddenly the image is mirrored, something happened to the optics. I see everything two times when I try to look through it. So I talked to Nikon and I can switch to 8x25 EX. Hopefully they are better build (However I was probably unlucky, both guys at Nikon said that they very seldom have problems with DCF, they work there though;) )

I know I'm being the devil's advocate, but I almost did the same thing by getting an inexpensive pair, then I realized that when I finally do see the elusive Bald Eagle I've been looking for for 25 years, I'll only have my 'cheap' pair of compacts to view him through. No way! When the time comes, and I'm quite positive it will be when I only have my compacts, I want to see every detail possible on that great raptor!!!

I definitely feel the pain of the $700+ I just spent on the Ultravid compacts, but in a year or two that won't matter anymore and from that point on I'll have the best compacts in the world with me almost all the time.

Sorry if I am causing more stress, but I just want to share my experience.

Buz
 
I know I'm being the devil's advocate, but I almost did the same thing by getting an inexpensive pair, then I realized that when I finally do see the elusive Bald Eagle I've been looking for for 25 years, I'll only have my 'cheap' pair of compacts to view him through. No way! When the time comes, and I'm quite positive it will be when I only have my compacts, I want to see every detail possible on that great raptor!!!

I definitely feel the pain of the $700+ I just spent on the Ultravid compacts, but in a year or two that won't matter anymore and from that point on I'll have the best compacts in the world with me almost all the time.

Sorry if I am causing more stress, but I just want to share my experience.

Buz

Haha, yeah I have had the same thinking over and over again. I definitely feel that it would be worth the money to get the leica if I consider how long and how often I will use it, so you do cause some stress! Hehe.
But at the moment I cant afford the leica, only some medium price bin so il rather buy the cheapest one now, and in a year or two il get the leica. I think il get more regrets if I got for the medium choice now instead of leica later. I think. ;)
 
Haha, yeah I have had the same thinking over and over again. I definitely feel that it would be worth the money to get the leica if I consider how long and how often I will use it, so you do cause some stress! Hehe.
But at the moment I cant afford the leica, only some medium price bin so il rather buy the cheapest one now, and in a year or two il get the leica. I think il get more regrets if I got for the medium choice now instead of leica later. I think. ;)
Well then I have to agree with you 100% there. It IS better to have a cheap pair than no pair at all. And the medium choice will ALWAYS have you longing for the best.
Given your plan/goal, my opinion is that you ARE making the best decision possible.

Buz
 
Well then I have to agree with you 100% there. It IS better to have a cheap pair than no pair at all. And the medium choice will ALWAYS have you longing for the best.
Given your plan/goal, my opinion is that you ARE making the best decision possible.

Buz

Yeah, think so too. And the nikon aint that bad in good lighting, it works. Not anything like the leica though, tried it once. It´s immense. It will outperform my viper in good lighting too hehe.
 
Yeah, think so too. And the nikon aint that bad in good lighting, it works. Not anything like the leica though, tried it once. It´s immense. It will outperform my viper in good lighting too hehe.
Yes, the Leica's are like holding a small piece of happiness in your hands.:bounce:
And I'm positive you will achieve your goal of owning them. Money well spent!
 
Funny, but ZR just removed the 32mm specs from that page. Maybe they're not sure about making them? I should add a plug here for the Vortex Hurricanes. Although (as posted before) the 10x examples I got were poor, the 8x are enjoyable. I was able to do a side-by-side with my new ZRS 10x42 yesterday, including viewing long and short-distance subjects (50' to about 2 miles), IDing birds, scanning fields and brush-covered hills, etc. The ZRS were a little better for everything, but the Hurricanes were fine, and a pleasure to use as long as the IPD is set correctly. There was a bit of stray light, but I had to be within about 15 degrees of the sun, and it could be easily controlled by slightly angling the binoculars. The Hurricanes actually had a more even edge-to-edge sharpness than the ZRS (I've emailed ZR about this - it may just be the sample I received). They're quite a deal at the $80 closeout price (or especially if you got a pair for $60 from Jayhawk, as I did).


I asked dusty where that 36 came from and he said this page

http://www.zen-ray.com/summit.shtml

which only mentions a future 8x32 and 10x32 ZRS.

How they had totally escaped me up until this point! But not quite compacts.
 
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