If you find time, Ben, perhaps you could post a comparison with your Minox 6.5x32 IF ? Best wishes
Hi Samandag, The Minox 7x28 IF compact finally arrived, I have not had time to do an in depth comparison, i'm in the middle of some lengthy, debilitating hospital treatment, but have had a quick look through both in the garden. I quite like it, brighter than the Zeiss 8x20 and the Leica 10x25, personally I prefer it to both, but admit the Leica is certainly sharper. Very good depth of field for a compact, and gives a brighter image than many compacts, optically, I must say I slightly prefer the Minox BD 6.5x32, it has slightly better depth and slightly better clarity. With presumably larger prisms, and 19mm eye relief and a wider FOV, of 420ft@1000yds, this provides more forgiving and relaxed viewing as you would expect from what is a larger binocular, as you can see in the photo. But the BD6.5X is quite heavy, a full size weight at around 21oz, and pretty much a mid size bin. Both are stated waterproof and in terms of brightness, there is not much in it, the compact allows a surprising amount of light, both have a twilight factor of 14. I wanted something to just pop in the pocket when I go horse racing, that I don't need to fiddle and focus, and this should fit the bill. Set the individual eye focus at around 50yds and it is good for anything from around 25yds to infinity The single hinge allows for a nice grip on the barrels, soft covering on the pull out eye cups makes it useable with spectacles, the eye cups click nicely into position, but have only 2 positions, fully in or fully out. 15mm eye relief, 4.41 inch high, weight 12oz. Both are no use to anyone that requires close focus, this is for viewing at around 25yds plus. FOV is pretty good for a compact at 384ft@1000yds. Personally I would say, although I know some don't like it much, that if you want an IF binocular, and are not worried about the size and weight (just on 21oz compared to 12oz) the BD 6.5X32 is the better binocular, even though it is older and can be bought cheaper.