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two power levels for bins (1 Viewer)

Sancho said:
I think you're taking this "duality" thing a bit too far....;) (i.e. double-post)

What about Duovid 10x plus 15x? Anyone using it for birding?
Click to expand...


sorry about the double post-I did not notice it.

I use the duovid for birding, with a bino harness, for more open areas for raptors and seabirds. I use it as a 10x, but go to the 15x when a closer view is needed.

For the cost, and weight, two binos could be used; but only one is easier for me to manage.

edj
 
Going from 7x to 12x you would go from nice steady view to shaky view.

I've had half the mind to carry my three binoculars around my neck. lol. But the weight of my two 10x's and my one 8x would be like carrying a brick around my neck. When I am driving to one of the state parks I do load up the back seat with binoculars tho.
 
By this time, the technology should be available for a telescopic lens implant for the average eyeball (or a complete replacement like the bionic Steve had). You just think 6x or 12x or ? and beepbeepbeep, it's done, and without a decrease in fov. Wooden it b wunnerful? ('Course Leica, Bushnell, Me Opta, et al might not like it too much, but....)
 
hI,

I have just bought a pair of Opticron SR GA 7-18x42 (they were going cheap) and i can't put them down. The optical quality is really pretty good at 18x and at 7x they are the sharpest binos i have ever seen. I tend to use them at about 9x....which just feels right...zooming up to 18x to make distant ID's. i can hold them still enough to get the ID. Living near the coast they are proving invaluble and i don't always now need to take the scope. Weight wise they only pitch in at 797g so not to weighty....great binos
 
Having seen some assessments of the Pentax PCF WPII 20x60 elsewhere, I decided to order a pair. (They will replace a pair of cheap monster 20x80 I got last year, which although sharp and bright, have appalling CA.) That will give me a weighty "dual-power" combo of SV 8.5x42, plus Pentax 20x60. Really I want the 20x60 for 2-eye scanning of seas when my right eye tires of ´scoping on long days out. I´ll post my reaction to the Pentax when I try them out.
 
How about this alternative!

I found this thread interesting, and as many have pointed out, the issues
with the zoom or dual power bins.

Two of my recent binocular purchases are shown here in the pic. The Nikon 12x50 Action EX, which I mainly use as my house bin, as I live on a farm, I can grab this one off the shelf and watch out my house window for my looks up to over a mile away.

The other one here is the Leupold 6x30 Yosemite, highly rated on this forum,
these little ones can go with anyone, anywhere, and I am pleased with the nice bright view, and nice edges. I like them both. ;)

Some advantages I see here, are 2 very nice porros, economical cost, both by solid well known companies, with full warranty.

So here you have dual power, 6x and 12x. But not in the same frame.
 

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Edwin:
I don't carry both at the same time, but a person could I guess. I just thought it was fun to show both of these and the size difference.

Jerry
 
My Pentax 20x60 PCF WP II arrived, but I´m sending them back. A very quick assessment:

Pros: Lightweight (for high-mags), well-built, easy to hand-hold for short-ish periods, very bright, and very sharp.

Cons: Medium CA, narrow oculars, difficult/unforgiving in terms of eye-placement, slightly difficult eye-cups, and the deal-canceller for me, very narrow FOV (advertised as 2.2 degrees, but I think it´s actually less).

It´s a pity really, because if the FOV were wider, even by one degree, I could live with the other "cons" because the pros are really, really nice. With a field of over 3 degrees, they could really fill a "niche" for me, i.e. long-distance scanning on seawatches when the eyes tire of scoping.
 
Sancho said:
My Pentax 20x60 PCF WP II arrived, but I´m sending them back. A very quick assessment:

Pros: Lightweight (for high-mags), well-built, easy to hand-hold for short-ish periods, very bright, and very sharp.

Cons: Medium CA, narrow oculars, difficult/unforgiving in terms of eye-placement, slightly difficult eye-cups, and the deal-canceller for me, very narrow FOV (advertised as 2.2 degrees, but I think it´s actually less).

It´s a pity really, because if the FOV were wider, even by one degree, I could live with the other "cons" because the pros are really, really nice. With a field of over 3 degrees, they could really fill a "niche" for me, i.e. long-distance scanning on seawatches when the eyes tire of scoping.
Click to expand...

Sorry they didn't work out for you Sancho! I agree on the fov quite narrow for sure! I don't have a problem with the eyecups, I fully extend them and have no problem with being able to see the narrow fov:( That said for as often as they will be used I will keep mine rather than spending more on something that will not be used very often! Can't replace a good scope!? Though if I could find the right glass it might? Bryce...
 
stereotruckdriver said:
Sorry they didn't work out for you Sancho! I agree on the fov quite narrow for sure! I don't have a problem with the eyecups, I fully extend them and have no problem with being able to see the narrow fov:( That said for as often as they will be used I will keep mine rather than spending more on something that will not be used very often! Can't replace a good scope!? Though if I could find the right glass it might? Bryce...
Click to expand...

LOL! Yeah, the scope can´t be replaced....yet. I have a stonking big pair of cheap "Nippon" astro-bins, 20x80, not waterproof, weigh 3 kilos, that I use on a monopod (while seated) with my scope beside it. They have huge oculars, and a 3.5 degree FOV. Very bright, not quite as sharp as the Pentax, and the CA is appalling....but they´re very easy on the eyes while seawatching. It was nice to try the Pentax, but I found it very hard to lock onto flying birds with the narrow FOV.
 
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