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

Dakota Elite series (5 Viewers)

lilcrazy2 said:
Well, I finally dragged my second pair out of the box today and they have one major problem that Frank hit on earlier about the 8x32. In looking thru the left barrel I notice a black squiggly thread extending from the right side into about the right 25% of the FOV. Highly noticeable and definitely annoying. Turning them over and looking thru the objectives, there is a fleck of fiber about the size of a matchhead stuck to the edge of the first ring in from the objective. No amount of shaking has dislodged it.

This pair had more green in the occular coating, but the reflection in one barrel was dark green and the other was light green indicating a lack of coating uniformity. The sweetspot was a little wider in this pair and the CA not as noticeable as the first pair, but the problem with white object CA was there. Stray light and glare issues were about equal to the first pair, which is to say fairly poor anywhere near the direction of the sun.

Now if they had just stuck a black squiggly thread on the other side of the left tube I could use them as an M24 ranging recticle.

Needless to say, these are going back.

Tom
Click to expand...

Tom:

Too bad for you, it sounds like this was not a "white room" manufacturing
plant, with some quality control, of atmosphere, and little regard for much.

It sounds more like a Chinese barber shop, where anything goes. :eek!:

"Just Good Enough".

Is that the binocular, that you want to take on a day long birding trip ?.;)

Jerry
 
The apparent highly variable quality pf the Dakota Elites reported here concerned me when I sold my first 8x32 pair and ordered a replacement. Fortunately I seem to have lucked out and gotten a reasonably good sample both times.
 
Jerry
As usual you have some sage advice, but as always, some of us just like to have some good old cheap fun - no harm, no foul. Its not always about getting the best optics, but the anticipation and possibilities. I went into this with my eyes wide open and few expectations, so its not like I'm crushed.

"White Room"?? Probably a few guys/gals sitting on the rug eating lunch and decided to assemble a few pairs of binos.

Doesn't this just take you back to our old 8x30 Celestron Nature thread?;)

Tom
 
lilcrazy2 said:
Jerry
As usual you have some sage advice, but as always, some of us just like to have some good old cheap fun - no harm, no foul. Its not always about getting the best optics, but the anticipation and possibilities. I went into this with my eyes wide open and few expectations, so its not like I'm crushed.

"White Room"?? Probably a few guys/gals sitting on the rug eating lunch and decided to assemble a few pairs of binos.

Doesn't this just take you back to our old 8x30 Celestron Nature thread?;)

Tom
Click to expand...

Good old cheap fun, except planet Earth is taking a terminal beating for it.

Have "fun" with that,

Mark
 
NDhunter said:
Frank:

Good of you to reply, as you started this post. For most here, and especially those
that enjoy birding, a binocular needs to have a solid base on which to enjoy the hobby.

I am thinking that these were not a good choice to post about.

Cheap does not mean a good value.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Jerry,

I certainly do not disagree with your logic. For a majority of birders a good solid binocular is essential to their enjoyment of the sport.

As for the rest, we are of course all entitled to our opinion.

I would have no problem using either of the two configurations of the Dakota Elite that I have in my possession for birding. Nor would I have a problem using the Pro Optic 8x42, the Celestron Nature 8x30 or the Zen Ray 7x36 (original version). I seem to have developed a fondness for Chinese binoculars and hope to continue to experiment and post about them in the future.
 
lilcrazy2 said:
Jerry
As usual you have some sage advice, but as always, some of us just like to have some good old cheap fun - no harm, no foul. Its not always about getting the best optics, but the anticipation and possibilities. I went into this with my eyes wide open and few expectations, so its not like I'm crushed.

"White Room"?? Probably a few guys/gals sitting on the rug eating lunch and decided to assemble a few pairs of binos.

Doesn't this just take you back to our old 8x30 Celestron Nature thread?;)

Tom
Click to expand...

Tom:

It does take me back a little ways, but I only use and enjoy binoculars.

The manufacturing standards and expectations do count with those that watch
these simple threads. I am thinking that many do expect a simple minimum
expectation for something of quality.
I do realize that $20-$30. will not get you much in the way of optics.

But I am findiing that there may be some that read these, and may easily be
disappointed, just by this thread as a recommendation, and I find that lacking.

When it seems a large percentage of these are not meeting that minumum
expectation, then why even add to the promotion.

Many users here, would like to hear about some quality optics that they can
use in the hobby. I will always call out some subpar types that may not.:t:

Jerry
 
FrankD said:
I did find a very nice price for a Pentax PCF 8x40 recently and bit on one of the 8x28 Excursions after reading some of the nice reviews on them. I will continue to keep my eye out for any "good deals".
Click to expand...

Frank

I guess you bit on that pair being sold out of Canada as nobody has bid on them in a while? I have bought 2 pairs from that guy and keep toying around with getting a 3rd to put away in the top of the closet. While they have a lifetime warranty, all that will happen is that Bushnell will replace them with a new pair of 8x36 Excursion EX's in the event something were to go wrong and they needed to be sent in.

I have even been toying with the idea of trying a pair out in 10x28 (330 ft FOV)but can't find any for less than $100. Will mull it over for a while longer.

While the 8x28 Excursions are not quite as good as my 8x30 SLC's, they are fairly close, and at 4-3/8" long and 15 oz, just a lot of fun. Sort of like Dennis and his 8x SV's and then getting the 8x32 Leica BN's - same idea, less bucks.

Its a shame that last pair of 7x28 Dakota had that hair stuck inside as i would have kept em.

Tom
 
Tom,

If you want one of the 7x28s that I have then you are more than welcome to it. I owe you that much for keying me in on the 28 mm Excursions. I picked up that Pentax porro from the same clearance center that is selling the Dakota Elites. They have another one up there now for $51.00 IIRC.

Yes, it is the same seller that you mentioned. Receive an email that they were being shipped today. I look forward to giving them a try.
 
Frank
I bought my 2nd pair 2 days before the Canada post strike (6/11) and the guy voided the shipping label and sent them UPS expedited and I got them in 4 days. First pair I bought in Jan took 2 weeks Canada Post. First pair I bought at auction for $51 and then he had the BIN for $99 for months but wouldn't take less than $89.99 till he started running $69.99 auctions in June when I got my 2nd pair.

Let me know what you think after you try them. The focus knob is kinda stiff out of the box but loosens up nicely.

Tom

I saw that Pentax and was tracking a few cameras and video recorders from them as well
 
NDhunter said:
Tom:

It does take me back a little ways, but I only use and enjoy binoculars.

The manufacturing standards and expectations do count with those that watch
these simple threads. I am thinking that many do expect a simple minimum
expectation for something of quality.
I do realize that $20-$30. will not get you much in the way of optics.

But I am findiing that there may be some that read these, and may easily be
disappointed, just by this thread as a recommendation, and I find that lacking.

When it seems a large percentage of these are not meeting that minumum
expectation, then why even add to the promotion.

Many users here, would like to hear about some quality optics that they can
use in the hobby. I will always call out some subpar types that may not.:t:

Jerry
Click to expand...

Jerry

Don't be such a stick in the mud. I doubt that anyone reading this thread wouldn't know what they were getting into by now with the caveat "proceed at your own risk". And after reading Henry's take on the 8x32 I wish I had picked up a pair at $30. BF has a plethora of forums where people can rave about their quality Leica, Swaros, Zeiss's and whatnots. God knows we certainly hear the same thing over and over and over and over and over on those forums.

To me threads such as this are like a breath of fresh air blowing into the room. Some people are happy with their Dakotas and others not so much. Nature of the beast and the makings of a spirited forum.

If you want to talk about some quality optics then I'll discuss my Swaro SLCs, of which my 2nd pair is back at SONA for repair. Interesting enough, today the repair people finally acknowledged to me that the SLC's had a major design flaw in that the nitrogen purge gas was creating a chemical reaction with the prism glue. It was causing a crystallization to adhere to the inner objective tubes, thus causing a loss of contrast. They wouldn't say how long they have known of this problem, or when it was corrected - go figure.

Isn't this thread kinda like your parents telling you not to stick your hand on a hot stove or you'll get burned? But you just have to do it anyway just to see if they were right.;)

Tom
 
NDhunter said:
Tom:

Too bad for you, it sounds like this was not a "white room" manufacturing
plant, with some quality control, of atmosphere, and little regard for much.

It sounds more like a Chinese barber shop, where anything goes. :eek!:

"Just Good Enough".

Is that the binocular, that you want to take on a day long birding trip ?.;)

Jerry
Click to expand...

My wife and I spent the day at the Jersey Shore yesterday and we took along the Dakota Elite 7x28 and the Pro Optic 8x42 as our only optics. We had a great time observing the terns, especially a Royal Tern that entertained us for at least an hour. We were passing the two glasses back and forth, commenting on the Royal's particular field marks and we felt that these two "Chinese barber shop" bins were more then "Just Good Enough". For the two of us these bins were plenty for "a day long birding trip".
I called Wolf Camera regarding my DOA 8x32 Dakota Elite's and they are sending a replacement pair. Very nice folks to deal with.
Tom
 
Last edited:
brownpelican1 said:
My wife and I spent the day at the Jersey Shore yesterday and we took along the Dakota Elite 7x28 and the Pro Optic 8x42 as our only optics. We had a great time observing the terns, especially a Royal Tern that entertained us for at least an hour. We were passing the two glasses back and forth, commenting on the Royal's particular field marks and we felt that these two "Chinese barber shop" bins were more then "Just Good Enough". For the two of us these bins were plenty for "a day long birding trip".
I called Wolf Camera regarding my DOA 8x32 Dakota Elite's and they are sending a replacement pair. Very nice folks to deal with.
Tom
Click to expand...

Glad to hear that you had a good time at the beach Tom. Just out of curiousity, where did you go? We are taking the kids to Sandy Hook one day next week. :)

I will take the same two bins (my kids love the 7x28 as does the significant other because of its size and handling) along with the 8x32. Shorebirds aren't my cup of tea when it comes to birding but it is fun to see such a variety in one area.
 
FrankD said:
Glad to hear that you had a good time at the beach Tom. Just out of curiousity, where did you go? We are taking the kids to Sandy Hook one day next week. :)

I will take the same two bins (my kids love the 7x28 as does the significant other because of its size and handling) along with the 8x32. Shorebirds aren't my cup of tea when it comes to birding but it is fun to see such a variety in one area.
Click to expand...

Frank,
We spent the day at Island Beach State Park.
Tom
 
Tom,

I agree that Jerry is coming down a little too hard on some dirt cheap binoculars. My expectations before I saw them were also quite low. I wouldn't have bothered if they hadn't been available in a store 10 minutes from my house. Well, my expectations were confounded. When I applied the very same tests I use for alpha binoculars the 8x32 held up pretty well. It's an optically decent binocular I could easily use in a pinch and not worry about missing much. Obviously this opinion only applies to samples that are not defective. How long it will last I have no idea.

Henry
 
Last edited:
Tom was that the real Jersey Shore or this one?:)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore,_Pennsylvania

Sorry I couldn't help myself.

brownpelican1 said:
My wife and I spent the day at the Jersey Shore yesterday and we took along the Dakota Elite 7x28 and the Pro Optic 8x42 as our only optics. We had a great time observing the terns, especially a Royal Tern that entertained us for at least an hour. We were passing the two glasses back and forth, commenting on the Royal's particular field marks and we felt that these two "Chinese barber shop" bins were more then "Just Good Enough". For the two of us these bins were plenty for "a day long birding trip".
I called Wolf Camera regarding my DOA 8x32 Dakota Elite's and they are sending a replacement pair. Very nice folks to deal with.
Tom
Click to expand...
 
Ewwwwww :( This could be the subject of a WHOLE new thread. Strange birds indeed! Might need to have the CDC check for any avarian borne illnesses.
 
Kammerdiner said:
Good old cheap fun, except planet Earth is taking a terminal beating for it.

Have "fun" with that,

Mark
Click to expand...

Guess I don't fully understand your point on how these 7x28's are giving a terminal beating to planet earth??? Zooooom. Would you care to elaborate?

Tom
 
lilcrazy2 said:
Guess I don't fully understand your point on how these 7x28's are giving a terminal beating to planet earth??? Zooooom. Would you care to elaborate?

Tom
Click to expand...

It's obviously not just the Dakotas; it's all the scattershot junk the Chinese (and others) produce without regard to energy, the environment, labor--in short, the future. Or in this case, evidentally, even without regard for the quality of the end result. What happens to all those crud Dakota units? Landfill I guess. I sure as heck don't want them. Neither does Wolf. Neither does the manufacturer.

It's also about us consumers (myself included, though I've been working on it) who get caught up in buying all this junk without regard for the future. We have to remember that the cost of almost everything is, in fact, paid by the planet.

Unfortunately, the "global economy" is rapidly becoming a "global bonfire." I'm just tired of squirting lighter fluid on it.

Sorry to elaborate. Carry on.

Mark
 
How many kids do you have Mark?

I have two; still in college. I worry about prospects for them but I'm not nearly as gloomy about those prospects as you are.

Bob
 
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