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Vintage binoculars, what is good? (1 Viewer)

Bring on the memories, wow!!!! The old Swift 8.5x44 Audubon's and Ultra Lites we sold Hundreds of them. The B&L Elites 8x42 B&L Custom 7x26, the Celestron Ulitma ED and Non ED binoculars , Zeiss 7x42 and 10x40 Dialyts, The Tasco 7x50 made in Japan. The 8x30 Jena etc.

Mike
 
I see binoculars like the Bell+Howell 8x40 wides either described as excellent or
horrible. Having gotten a few pair (and others like them from Wards or JC PEnney),
I think the answer is: Both!

Very nice glass in shaky and sometimes brittle plastic hardware.

Bushnell Customs bear up very well, but sometimes have really dinged
and caps on the objectives...study the photos!
 
The worst problem with the Bell and Howell binoculars is the rock in the focus shaft. Results in focus shifting about all the time.
 
Hi Simon:

I’m probably going to be ready to steal some of your photos soon. I’m in talks with SPIE and Springer about the book.

After retiring and having the time, I went back through it. What a disjointed mess! So, I had to rewrite EVERYTHING. So, I have sent out the “official” proposals and we’ll see what we see when we see it. It’s gotten to the point that I just want to see it . . . gone. I have other things to do.

Cheers,

Bill

PS on this forum, I’m WJC.
 
Hi Simon:

I’m probably going to be ready to steal some of your photos soon. I’m in talks with SPIE and Springer about the book.

After retiring and having the time, I went back through it. What a disjointed mess! So, I had to rewrite EVERYTHING. So, I have sent out the “official” proposals and we’ll see what we see when we see it. It’s gotten to the point that I just want to see it . . . gone. I have other things to do.

Cheers,

Bill

PS on this forum, I’m WJC.

Bill:

It is good to see you posting again. You are on my "goodguy" list.

I am looking forward to what you have to say about binoculars.

Jerry
 
You're too kind, but then . . . you knew that. I'll TRY to be as active as I can be, until HE shows up. Then, I'm outta here, too.

Bill
 
Just bought an old roof, a Mamiya 7x with 155 m FOV. I believe it is a 7x20 but time will tell. Their other 7x21 porro II (?) is found now and then although it's not common.

Well I know porros are a better bet. The lack of multicoating, phase-coating and the fact that it probably has aluminium coated prism should mean it has an image that's not spectacular.
But Mamiya knew how to make great optics and great mechanics, and from the images it looks to be in a very good condition.

It has quite small ocular lenses so the eye relief should really be on the tight side.
After finally having found 1-day toric contacts that suit my eyes, I can practice some more freedom.
My only other decent vintage binocular is the Meopta porro. Its eye relief is so tight (despite the about 50 degree AFOV) that it requires pushing it very closely to the eyes. 6 mm?
But the image is nice.

The Mamiya seems to have push/pull eyecups, if adjustable at all.

http://www.ebay.fr/itm/VINTAGE-PAIRE-DE-JUMELLES-MAMIYA-2-8-687019-7X-155-1000M-BINOCULARS-COMPACT-ZOOM-/201040747435?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:DE:3160

//L
 
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BilllC Its great to hear from you. I tried rocking the apple cart only to receive a few warnings from CL admin.3:).
 
BilllC Its great to hear from you. I tried rocking the apple cart only to receive a few warnings from CL admin.3:).

They're big on warnings. Several people who know my biggest crime was standing up against self-serving ego maniacs who preyed on the unwary. From what I hear, some of them have received warnings. Their forum is for the average guy, unless the average guy says anything they don't want said. Being of value to the community makes no difference.

I queried them 3 weeks ago, after being invited to do so. The response was that they were thinking about it and (after a year's time) would get back to me when they made their decision.

Perhaps my decision will be made first. It's plain to see, they are much more about pacifying and learning.

RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP--1958

Bill
 
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Bill add me to the glad to see you posting on here!! I still have that picture of the person balancing on one foot.

Hi Steve!

I don't think I can be as helpful here as over there. And, unlike some, that's what I'm all about. After 44 years at the bench and on the sales floor, I don't have to convince ME of anything. I just try to save some from themselves by injecting things they may have not considered.

Cheers,

Bill

PS I'm in negotiations with a couple of firms for the book.
 
Hi Steve!

I don't think I can be as helpful here as over there. And, unlike some, that's what I'm all about. After 44 years at the bench and on the sales floor, I don't have to convince ME of anything. I just try to save some from themselves by injecting things they may have not considered.

Cheers,

Bill

PS I'm in negotiations with a couple of firms for the book.

Bill,

I have no doubt you can be a lot more helpful being :loveme: here than braving the :storm: over there.

Ed
 
Hope so! So far, I've not seen as many outlandish comments. That's a good thing. I'll bet the folks here even know how to pronounce "Leupold."

Bill
 
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Hello to all, have just joined the forum today and came across this thread - glad to find others with a shared interest in vintage binoculars !

I have found most people just "don't get it" when it comes to this area interest and look at me as though I were crazy when I tell them I own a number of vintage binos as well as new ones. The reply I usually get is "Why do you need more that one set of binoculars, I don't understand?"


But ... more to the point of "What's good in vintage binos?"

I just acquired a vintage Japanese-made Swift Audubon 8.5 x 44 model 804 binocular this past Friday via eBay. Circa 1961, very good condition externally, but most importantly: crystal clear optics, perfect collimation !

Photos attached for reference.

I own a French made 60s era 7x35 bino that is on par with other contemporay European binoculars, as well several Japanese-made binoculars from the "Golden Era" of the Japanese Telescope Inspection Institute (JTII)
in 7x35, 7x50 and 10x50. They are all solidly built binos with very good optics from a time when the JTII imposed strict production and quality standards on Japanese binoculars and affixed the little gold or silver JTII oval sticker you see on those old binos.
This Swift Audubon outdoes them all in image quality, build quality and refinement.


Overall impression:

Superb image quality, especially considering its age - 1961! Clear, sharp image with minimal distortion at edges of field of view and good control of chromatic aberration (ie: distortion of colors especially at the egdes of an object you are viewing). They also produce a remarkably bright image even when dark, such as during dusk/dawn so very good light-gathering ability.

I am sure modern fully multi-coated high end binos can outdo these, but to me they lack the appeal of the black, all metal-pebble-grain era of the vintage binos! And with these Swifts I don't feel I am giving much up at all in image or build quality. (I can find absolutely NO plastic parts on these, not even the Inter-Pupillary Distance scale !)


Without any doubt, the best image quality of any binocular I own. On a par with or better than some high-end binos I have personal experience with, to include the modern Japanese made Nikons we own for birdwatching, the US military issue M22 Steiner & M22 Fujinon binoculars - as well as various allied forces Hertel & Reuss, Carl Zeiss, Leica, Kern binos I have had an opportunity to use during a 20 + year career in the US Army.


I was also surprised at some of the other features of this 53 year old bino:

- screw-up/down aluminum eyecups with a 5mm range of adjustement.

- 22mm ocular lens diameter. Significantly larger than most binoculars, is of the 'Erfle"-type 5-piece ocular design - a different design than most typical porro prism binoculars.

- BaK4 prisms

- Fully Multi Coated optics (though the prism cover plates only read "FULL COATED OPTICS" )

- Neoprene seals - designed to keep internal optics clean
(NOTE: just sealed, not dry inert gas-purged so weather resistant but not waterproof or fogproof)

All this is verified by a research paper on the History of the Swift Audubon 8.5x44 bino - link to download this 3-part research paper is at post #15 on another thread on this forum:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=42944

other data:
Stamped on front of objective end of hinge arms:

JB45 - which indicates Tamron Co., Ltd., Tokyo as the final assembly company.

JE47 - which indicates Tokuhiro Koki Seisakusho Inc., Tokyo as the manuf of the bino body.


In summary:
Excellent binocular for bird watching & most other use. Sharp bright image which allows you to discern even minor variations of a bird's plumage, color, beak shape and all the other small details other binoculars often cannot pick up.

The Swift Audubon binoculars were designed specifically for birdwatching from the very first model - they have been in continuous production since approximately 1960 - and it is abundantly obvious when you make use of them. I now understand all the accolades this bino has gotten over the years and why it has achieved near-iconic status.

Highly recommend it if you can locate this bino. There are usually several posted on eBay. You could also consider the current version now made in a roof prism as well as a porro-prism model; the new ones have the advantage of being dry-nitrogen purged & O-ring sealed and thus waterproof and fogprooof. The Swift Sport Optics company is a US Company that is still owned and managed by the same Swift family that founded it in the 1920s.




All the best,
Pierre
 

Attachments

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Hope so! So far, I've not seen as many outlandish comments. That's a good thing. I'll bet the folks here even know how to pronounce "Leupold."

Bill

Bill:

Leupold, is it "Leo" or Loo". I think I know the answer. How many others
know the answer to that one.

That's why I like having you around. ;)

Jerry
 
Bill:

Leupold, is it "Leo" or Loo". I think I know the answer. How many others
know the answer to that one.

That's why I like having you around. ;)

Jerry

Leupold (as in Leupold & Stevens), is pronounced, LU-pold, not LEO-pold; LEO-pold was an orchestra conductor (Leopold Stokowski, 1882-1977) referenced in a Buggs Bunny cartoon and Disney’s Fantasia. . . . One down; 999,999 to go. :eek!:

Bill 
 
Originally posted by FrankD
Pierre,

How was the eye relief on these with the eyecups fully screwed in?





Frank

Not great - I would say near 0 mm !!
With eyecups fully screwed in, I still have to touch the lenses of my glasses to get as wide a view as possible - and still get the black ring "tunnel effect" compared to the clear full view I get when I take my glasses off.

The 60s/70s binoculars in my experince over the years all seem to have little to no eye relief. However that may just be my personal experience based on the binoculars I own and remember using.

I have just looked through the small collection of vintage binos I still own.
I consider all to have good optics and image quality, but they all have the same lack of eye relief regardless of the varying fields of view, magnification, exit pupil size between them.

French made: "STESCO' 7x35 (circa early 60s)

Japanese made - JTII era, all from 60-70s :
1) Manon 10 x 50
JB191: Seiwa Optical Co., Ltd., Wako-Shi
JE17: Otake Kogaku Kogyo Co. Ltd., Tokyo

2) Consort 7 x 35
JB4: Toei Kogaku Co. Ltd., Hatogaya-Shi

3) K-Mart 7 x 50
JB133: Kamakura Koki Co. Ltd., Warabi-Shi
JE54: Suzuki Kogaku Seiki Co. Ltd.

4) Swift Audubon 8.5 x 44 (circa 1961)
JB45: Tamron Co., Ltd., Tokyo
JE47: Tokuhiro Koki Seisakusho Inc., Tokyo


For comparison I also tested a newer Nikon Action Egret binocular we own
and they do have an improved eye relief, approx. 10mm as close as I can tell.

I also recently tested the new model Swift Sport Optics Audubon 8.5 x 44 porro prism (regular & ED model) the long eye relief is noticeable when I looked through these with my glasses on. Nikon specs state 16mm for these
and it's abvious when using them.

In my case, I do wear glasses, but always take them off when using binoculars as this is most comfortable to me, even with the newer long eye relief binoculars available.


All the best
Pierre
 
The strongest showing in my 'oldies' collection is the 1950-1965 7x35
Binolux extra-wides (10 and 11 degree). Such flat, sharp views.
When I screw off the shallow eyecups, there is usually decent eye relief
from the giant Plossl-plus oculars.

There are a fair number of ordinary binoculars from the 40s and 50s that do well, too.
They are designed so you unscrew the very deep eyecups and put them right on
your glasses. That's a strong trend from 1947 to about the mid-50s:
standard eye relief and deep screw-off cups. It got muddled later.
Amost all the 6x30 monocs I made from 6x30 IF binocs have great eye relief, but
you have to unscrew the Bakelite. Stellar is one of the finest, for coatings and
sharpness and good eye relief. From photos you can tell by the depth of the
eyecup. 8x doesn't usually have as much eye relief. Bear that in mind: more
power is less eye relief, without extra measures.
 

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