My next binoculars, magnification/FOV considerations (1 Viewer)

Hello again.
I saw yesterday an Athena Noctua that lives on my roof. I could hear it the last 3 years and I saw it a couple of times flying to the rooftop of my neighbor but yesterday I had my 8x42 at hand and saw her still, staring at me and she was gorgeous.
Moments like this prove the worth of equipment at hand. And make me less hesitant to consider my next purchase. First a few words about me.
I'm not a birder or an astronomer, although I do both. I'm not dedicated though, I just like observing everything with my binoculars, field scope, telescopes, microscope and loupe and read about what I see. I usually choose best buys, not the premium, neither the budget choices. And that because I want quality in the experience but I also want to experience in a multitude of ways and I live in a country with financial and market limitations.
What I have, bino wise.
Pentax Papilio I 6.5x21
Pentax Asashi 8x30 Porro
A Soviet 8x31 monocular
Zeiss Terra ED 8x42
Bresser 10x50 (budget beater bin)
Canon 12x36 II IS
Canon 15x50 UD IS
Manfrotto tripod with Novoflex MagicBall mount
Berlebach Universal bino mount and a heavy duty L bracket.

What I want next.
1. Pentax Papilio II
I chose 6.5x21 for my I, should I replace it with a 6.5x or keep it and add the 8.5x21 to have both? I EDC this binocular, I mean every single day, so I expect to EDC the II version instead.
2. A 32mm from Zeiss. Might be Conquest or Terra, according to financial factors. Since I have the Terra 8x42 (which I intend to replace with Victory in the long run, perhaps a used pair from the classifieds here), should I go for 10x32 or 8x32?

In both cases, choosing the lowest mag I gain field of view, larger exit pupil and steadiness. Choosing the higher mag I gain resolution. The 32s tend to have a bit more AFOV. Also, I have a lot of 8x binoculars, so I would add diversity. Greek landscape tends to be very bright and I find my three 3mm exit pupil bins bright. Would it hurt to add a 2.5 and 3mm ep bins that would give me resolution?
I intend to carry my 32s more than I do my 42s and I might have both for some observations, so it would be nice to have different magnifications if I leave my Canons home.
In the other hand I have difficulties to spot and follow flying butterflies, shallows and particularly swifts (we have a lot where I live) and the 8 degrees of the 8x Conquest would help but just a bit (I have difficulties with my 2 7.5 degrees bins too).
I also think that we should treat the 2 choices as a pair. 8.5x21 and 10x32 makes more sense than 8.5x21 and 8x32 if and when I carry both. But do two roofs 8x42 and 10x32 make a good pair?
Sorry for tiring you and thanks in advance.

That`s a lot to take in, personally I`d add a Kite Lynx HD 8x30, this could become your EDC, 8.6 deg fov, close focus 1.3m, near alpha image quality.

They aren't available here. I know nothing about this brand and
model.

kkokkolis said:

They aren't available here. I know nothing about this brand and
model.

Click to expand...

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=280537

Thanks.
Tight eye relief, unknown if it is waterproof and phase coated, I can buy a Kowa or Zeiss with the same money or less that have all these.
Still, 8x or 10x?

kkokkolis, post 5,
The Kite Lynxes are waterproof and phase coated and cheaper than the Zeiss Victory and the Kowa models of comparable quality. Morover, Kite has an excellent service level.
Gijs van Ginkel

Good to know. Are you saying it is comparable to Victory, so better than Terra AND Conquest?

kkokkolis, post 7.
The Kite Lynx is a very good binocular for its price and I prefer it over the Terra. No it is not better then the Victory, but that binocular will you cost a lot more.
Gijs van Ginkel

OK, I've red encouraging reviews about the Kite. My question is, what about the 10x32 version, is it as good and which one should I choose?
To give you a hint, I was thinking Zeiss for two reasons. First we have a Zeiss (and Kowa) representative here in my country. Second, I like the Terra 42 very much. I would change just 3 things.
1. Eyepiece AFOV (60 degrees and over). All models have that, even the Terra 32.
2. The sweet spot size. Kite has glowing remarks on that but Terra 32 amd Conquest 32 have also larger sweet spot.
3. The color abberation. It's not bad but sun in Greece plays tricky games. I want better color correction, color fringe annoys me, particularly inside the sweet spot. How good is the Kite Lynx and the two Zeiss I'm interested in this regard?

In CN, all I have to put in the title to draw more attention is one of the words:
"Brandon, Questar, Docter, Zeiss (Abbe Orthoscopics), Leica (Aspheric Zoom), Televue (whatever)"

What about BF. Which are the magic words?

Kkokkolis, post 10,
Observation pleasure.....
Gijs van Ginkel

What about the Granite 7x33 ED? It has 9 degrees FOV.

I decided to low magnifications since I have 12x and 18x binoculars with IS and a fieldscope that goes up to 50x with the Baader Zoom.

The Granite is heavy but it gives 1 degree of TFOV for its minus 1x, in comparison to the Conguest. At its price it should be close to the Terra. Is it?


So we have the Terra, Conquest, Lynx and Granite for the moment.

By the way, now I have the Collins I can recognize birds and my appetite for something EDCable is huge. I saw today on the boat to Syros Cory's Shearwaters flying low over the waves and fishing and Mediterranean gulls (melanocephala) followimg the ship. And many Yellow Legged Gulls but I see them everyday from my balcony. Some days before they would be just "Seabirds" for me. So I want to maximize my chances by using a durable and portable binocular of high quality. Conquest is my budgetary plateau but I search about alternatives that would leave me some money to spend elsewhere.

kkokkolis said:

What about the Granite 7x33 ED? It has 9 degrees FOV.

I decided to low magnifications since I have 12x and 18x binoculars with IS and a fieldscope that goes up to 50x with the Baader Zoom.

The Granite is heavy but it gives 1 degree of TFOV for its minus 1x, in comparison to the Conguest. At its price it should be close to the Terra. Is it?


So we have the Terra, Conquest, Lynx and Granite for the moment.

By the way, now I have the Collins I can recognize birds and my appetite for something EDCable is huge. I saw today on the boat to Syros Cory's Shearwaters flying low over the waves and fishing and Mediterranean gulls (melanocephala) followimg the ship. And many Yellow Legged Gulls but I see them everyday from my balcony. Some days before they would be just "Seabirds" for me. So I want to maximize my chances by using a durable and portable binocular of high quality. Conquest is my budgetary plateau but I search about alternatives that would leave me some money to spend elsewhere.

Click to expand...

I would go for the 8x32 Conquest HD:s,
I think they have the best ergonomics,

lynx hd/monarch M7:s are nice, but they might feel too small/light in the hands
if it is the birding that is the main subject of the day,

and the conquests probably have the best second-hand value,
but also the most expensive of course,



photo is from this thread;

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=271587

Meanwhile I've seen a pair of Shags, a Long Legged Buzzard, two male Mallards (they are tame but nevertheless beautiful) and some flocks of passerines I couldn't identify.
We swam near the diving shag. They were on a rock 100m from the shore. First I thought they were cormorants. My experience with the Terras 8x42 on them is that I needed more magnification (but I wouldn't bring the delicate Canons on that shore) and/or less CA. Their black figure against a bright sky produced a greenish tint. I couldn't see their bill. Later one dived and started fishing and we got closer, so I saw its slender bill and figured out what it was. While swimming we saw the buzzard spiraling on a thermal above the land. I memorized the underwing pattern and identified it later with the help of Collins.
So, since I will choose 8x again I want less color aberrations. That means Conquest? Does it have the less colour aberrations of all the models mentioned?

kkokkolis said:

So, since I will choose 8x again I want less color aberrations. That means Conquest? Does it have the less colour aberrations of all the models mentioned?

Click to expand...

I hate to admit it but I would probably choose the M7 8x30 over the Terra ED 8x32. The higher resolution and excellent color rendition will be well-received.

You might get a larger center sharpness in the Conquest HD 8x32 but at 2.5x the cost.

I probably would choose the M7 over the TED, too, even though I like the TED, but for me, it's primarily because of the fast focuser on the 32 TED (low stiction even though it the range is 1.5 turns). However, you like the 8x42, and its focuser is even faster (3/4 turn from cf to infinity), so you might be very happy with the 8x32. It's a very good buy for the money, at least over here, Europeans seem to get charged more for the same optics (even before the 20% VAT).

I see you are getting some very different opinions over on the Dark Side. And I see you are a moderator now!

Cloudy Nights_my-next-binoculars-magnificationfov-considerations/

How is it that you can write English so well? I hate to admit it, but you write English prose "gooder" than some Americans on BF and better than your predecessor on CN despite his honorary title.

Brock

I made the same "original" post in both sites in order to attract more opinions. But the 8x32 binocular will be of a de facto birding/traveling/general use utility, so your opinions here count more. In CN they are biased towards more aperture, greater exit pupils and porro designs.
"Moderator" isn't a honorary title, we are people that give back to the forum spending some of our time as peace keepers, or, as Eisenhower put it, custodial engineers.
About English, I don't really know. Maybe the fact that I learned English from books and medical literature is the reason I give this impression. I don't really understand a lot of spoken English, British, American, Canadian and Oceanian alike.

As seen on the photo, the Conquest's have the strap-lugs slightly above the focus wheel,
so you can grip them in a comfortable way and avoid marks of the strap-lugs in you hands.


Cnick6:
"You might get a larger center sharpness in the Conquest HD 8x32 but at 2.5x the cost"

In Europe the Conquests HD:s are less expensive, about 2x the cost of the Nikon M7.

The M7:s don't handle glare very well, I suspect that the Conquest are better in that aspect.

"Glare/Stray Light:
For me, this is where most of the money goes, if you spent more of it. The Nikon creates definitely quite a bit of reflections in difficult light, like viewing against the sun and also has a little washed-out look under these conditions. The Kite Lynx is a bit better here, but you can still see reflections. The Kite has additional coatings to protect the lenses from scratches and to let water run off easily, which the Nikon doesn´t have. This might be a reason for the slight advantage. The Conquest HD is really a lot better here! The other two are no match, which could be expected.
The view at night towards street lights shows the same result: Conquest HD, then Kite, then Nikon."

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=271587

Thank you very much. It seems I made a decision. I will buy the Conquest, probably just after my holidays and in cash (we still have restrictions in buying foreign goods here), so having a Zeiss representative really helps. It goes for 890€ currently in my country.

kkokkolis said:

Thank you very much. It seems I made a decision. I will buy the Conquest, probably just after my holidays and in cash (we still have restrictions in buying foreign goods here), so having a Zeiss representative really helps. It goes for 890€ currently in my country.

Click to expand...

890€ for the Zeiss 8x32 Conquest HD:s???
Seems expensive to me

In Sweden:
Zeiss 8x32 Conquest HD - 690€
Zeiss 8x42 Conquest HD - 765€
Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 - 349€

And still the exchange rate for the swedish currency (SEK) vs the Euro is not especially good at the moment.