I scoured though the web when I was deciding on if I should purchase these, and there really isn't much user feedback on them besides on retailer's websites. Now that I have them I posted these impressions in another thread, but thought I'd put them in a separate thread so any future potential buyers can find it with google.
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Out of box this thing is tiny, it literally is pocketable. When unfolded it's about the same as 8x25 reverse porro, however when folded (which single hinged binoculars can't really do), it halves in size, measuring only 111x59x38 mm, easily stuffed into a coat pocket.
The body and hinge plate is made of metal alloy, as are the lanyard loops, which are only about 1.5mm thick cross section. The hand grip section is covered in rubber, and the top of hinge plate is covered in hard plastic. I hate this part, not that I'm against plastic but the type they used looks and feels very cheap, very thin and hollow sounding, and the brand/model is only chromed on. If they had used good material and metal inlay it would instantly make the binocular look more upscale, as is I've seen $15 ones that looked better.
Focusing knob is located at bottom of hinge plate, which feels strange because I have to use my middle or ring finger to adjust it, which is not as dexterous or strong as pointer finger. Diopter adjustment is located below right eyecup, not locking but has enough resistance to stay in place. The focusing knob works very quickly and precisely, I can switch between 10 and 200 meters without reposition my fingers on the knob.
Another big annoyance, no lens caps, not even on eye piece end. On both end the lens are only 2 or 3 mm recessed into the tube, so with no cover you'll have to be mindful to not bump them into stuff or let dirt/water fall on them when hung around neck. The neck strap is tan colored pleather, which looks out of place with an all black binocular.
In sunny daylight, I can tell the image is less bright than same sized porro, however it makes no difference in practice because there are enough light either way. I can't tell you how it compares to others with technical terms but to me the image is perfectly clear, no noticeable distortion and maybe just a bit soft right next to edge. The FOV is smaller than the other two (8x25 porro and 10x42 roof), so sweeping and looking for object will be a little more difficult. At 200 meters I can read car license plates easily.
Eye relief is listed as 15mm, same as the other two I have. However in practice it's the shortest of the three, with glasses on I can just see the entire FOV, whereas the other two there are a bit of wiggle room.
I think these bushnell binoculars offer great performance for the money, and widely available in local stores anywhere in North America. Not sure why are they not more popular, perhaps because the brand isn't seen as a "proper" binocular brand and not as chic as others?
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Night time in suburban setting, again compare to 8x25 porro and 10x42 roof. For places that's lit up by street lamps (the white brighter type), similar to daytime where I can see the image brightness difference (10x42 being brightest and 10x25 lowest), however again it makes no significant difference in practice because there's enough light to see with all three. Interestingly at around 200 meter, I can read letters better with 10x25 legend than 8x25 porro due to the extra magnification, despite the less bright image.
Moving to shadowed/not lit areas, where it's dark enough to not be able to tell colors. Now here the differences really start to show. With 10x42 I still have good contrast to see things clearly, but consider it has all the goodies like ED glass, phase correction and AR coating, and dielectric mirror prism I guess I shouldn't be surprised. the 8x25 porro didn't need any of those (except AR which it has in FMC), but the smaller objective limited enough light to only show weaker contrast. The legend 10x25 didn't do well at this point, I can see the difference if it was higher contrast, but if it was close everything appears as black. Note this is mostly in unlit areas, in shadowed area there was still enough contrast to see objects.
So IMO it functions amazingly well for its size and price, and very usable in wide range except the darkest conditions despite its small exit pupil. I don't have any of the alpha brand bino so I can't really compare.
I don't have any places with absolutely zero artificial lighting that's close and open enough for me to just drop by, so observation under those conditions may come later.
----------------------------------
Out of box this thing is tiny, it literally is pocketable. When unfolded it's about the same as 8x25 reverse porro, however when folded (which single hinged binoculars can't really do), it halves in size, measuring only 111x59x38 mm, easily stuffed into a coat pocket.
The body and hinge plate is made of metal alloy, as are the lanyard loops, which are only about 1.5mm thick cross section. The hand grip section is covered in rubber, and the top of hinge plate is covered in hard plastic. I hate this part, not that I'm against plastic but the type they used looks and feels very cheap, very thin and hollow sounding, and the brand/model is only chromed on. If they had used good material and metal inlay it would instantly make the binocular look more upscale, as is I've seen $15 ones that looked better.
Focusing knob is located at bottom of hinge plate, which feels strange because I have to use my middle or ring finger to adjust it, which is not as dexterous or strong as pointer finger. Diopter adjustment is located below right eyecup, not locking but has enough resistance to stay in place. The focusing knob works very quickly and precisely, I can switch between 10 and 200 meters without reposition my fingers on the knob.
Another big annoyance, no lens caps, not even on eye piece end. On both end the lens are only 2 or 3 mm recessed into the tube, so with no cover you'll have to be mindful to not bump them into stuff or let dirt/water fall on them when hung around neck. The neck strap is tan colored pleather, which looks out of place with an all black binocular.
In sunny daylight, I can tell the image is less bright than same sized porro, however it makes no difference in practice because there are enough light either way. I can't tell you how it compares to others with technical terms but to me the image is perfectly clear, no noticeable distortion and maybe just a bit soft right next to edge. The FOV is smaller than the other two (8x25 porro and 10x42 roof), so sweeping and looking for object will be a little more difficult. At 200 meters I can read car license plates easily.
Eye relief is listed as 15mm, same as the other two I have. However in practice it's the shortest of the three, with glasses on I can just see the entire FOV, whereas the other two there are a bit of wiggle room.
I think these bushnell binoculars offer great performance for the money, and widely available in local stores anywhere in North America. Not sure why are they not more popular, perhaps because the brand isn't seen as a "proper" binocular brand and not as chic as others?
------------------------------------
Night time in suburban setting, again compare to 8x25 porro and 10x42 roof. For places that's lit up by street lamps (the white brighter type), similar to daytime where I can see the image brightness difference (10x42 being brightest and 10x25 lowest), however again it makes no significant difference in practice because there's enough light to see with all three. Interestingly at around 200 meter, I can read letters better with 10x25 legend than 8x25 porro due to the extra magnification, despite the less bright image.
Moving to shadowed/not lit areas, where it's dark enough to not be able to tell colors. Now here the differences really start to show. With 10x42 I still have good contrast to see things clearly, but consider it has all the goodies like ED glass, phase correction and AR coating, and dielectric mirror prism I guess I shouldn't be surprised. the 8x25 porro didn't need any of those (except AR which it has in FMC), but the smaller objective limited enough light to only show weaker contrast. The legend 10x25 didn't do well at this point, I can see the difference if it was higher contrast, but if it was close everything appears as black. Note this is mostly in unlit areas, in shadowed area there was still enough contrast to see objects.
So IMO it functions amazingly well for its size and price, and very usable in wide range except the darkest conditions despite its small exit pupil. I don't have any of the alpha brand bino so I can't really compare.
I don't have any places with absolutely zero artificial lighting that's close and open enough for me to just drop by, so observation under those conditions may come later.
