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Would you consider 6x ? (1 Viewer)

R

Robert Ellis

Larus marinus
I know the majority of birders hover around 8x, with a big chunk also using 10x and a good following for 7x but would any of you consider using a 6x? After using 10x for my formative years, even 7x didn't seem to bring me close enough, now I am normally in the 7x to 8.5x range and have no qualms about those magnifications.

6x glass is hard to come by, relatively. I see plenty of surplus 6x30 porros floating about but not much in use, EO does a 6x Ranger, Leupold does a 6x Katmai, then there is (was) the venerable 6.5x ED Celestron and the new 6.5x Papilio (intended for butterflies primarily).

I suppose 6x would work for casual birding, but the lack of "bring the bird closer" detail might omit them from distance work (unless one is spotting ships).

Thoughts?
 
Robert, you have an addiction there (buying binoculars). As a smoker, i should be the last to judge you.
6x does not work for everyone and all birding. I did use one when surveying spoonbills and herons from a boat, but i would not use it for small birds or far away birds.
 
i imagine 6x wouldnt be too usefull if used as your main bino, too underpowered. i suppose they would be fine if paired up with a scope, and used as a wide angled tool instead.

i tend to stick to 10x for all my birding needs, but thats me, not you.
 
Robert, if you consider 6x binocular, you are a confirmed binoholic! (Just kidding). The image scale may be too small for birding. Interestingly one of my favorite bincular is Asahi Pentax 6x30 Mariner, fully coated optic. The glass was purchased from a "killer shop (the shop targets to tourists)" during SARS crisis 2 years ago. From my recollection the color rendition was not very good due to outdated coating technique. However, the image was extremely sharp and the overall view was highly stereoscopic! I regretted selling it for extra cash (although I did make some profit from it!) to finance Pentax 7x50 PIF (another excellent binocular and another best buy I made).
 
This is a good spot for yet another plug for one of my all time favorites - Leitz 6x24 with a 212 M field of view. Not great for distance, but well made, small and great field. I wish leica would make a 6x30 ultravid with a very wide field.
 
I would write that if you had a very unsteady hand, six power would make sense. The EO 6x32, which has a terrific near focus, lacks good resolution off center but it is brilliant and small. It happens to make an excellent glass for the opera as I used it when I heard Handel's Rodelinda with Renee´ Fleming. I have quite a collection of old, individual focus, six power glasses, which I would not use for bird watching as I have seven and eight power glasses.
Today an eight, and certainly a seven, power glass with multicoating might provide almost as much brilliance as an old six power glass with the same objective diameter. Why bother using a six, if you can hold the stronger binocular steady?

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood
 
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All you have to do is look through a pair of 10x for a week. Then try some 7x. If the increase in field of view is like a god send, then buy them. If you miss the extra magnification and ability to ID birds (my personal bias here) then get 10x.
 
I have never missed an ID with 7x and I definately like a wide field of view. Personally a 10x image is jiggly enough that I lose detail. I also like the ability to hold steady and "watch" birds as opposed to a quick "spot and ID" that many listers are after.

I have come to the opinion that much of the "gain" in magnification is psychological when discussing the amounts birders often use.
 
The only time I would consider a pair of 6-7 x bins would be for a lightweight "shirt-pocket" sized pair to bring when I did not really bring bins. Otherwise, I am a 10x guy that possibly could be talked into an 8.5x pair if there was a significant saving in weight.

Niels
 
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The 6x was quite popular in times past, before coatings were improved. I used a vintage 1950s Canon 6x30 porro for a while, but now stick with 8x and 10x. My one-eyed friend loved them, because the depth of field and field of view gave him maximum depth cues.

-elkcub
 
Really, I think it all in our heads beyond a reasonable limit. I am thinking that limit is around 6x, when we see the bird "bigger enough" in our perceived image. Since it seems to me to be a mental and subjective preference I can easily see why some are satisfied fully with low power bins and some crave higher magnifications. Good for us that the companies give us the choices.
 
I would do it for such purposes. Actually, I own a pair of Bushnell X-wide 5x25. That is almost 6x...What can I say about these binos? Yes, the nearly 13 degrees real FOV makes them great for sports and other circumstances when you want to come closer without lose the overview. 5 power is low power, but here we can really talk about stable image! No need for stabilization...
They are in no quality aspect (sharpness, contrast, coating) in par to my Minolta 8x25 D WP XL. But the low power makes them night glasses in compact format, yet they are not real compact.

5x magnification and more than 60 degress AFOV means they are very comfortable and pleasant to use. The disadvantages are that they are "anti-aspheric" with a considerable "globe-feeling", and very strong reflections and ghost images, especially at night against street lanterns or car beams.

The stated eye relief is 12mm, but has to be more than that in reality. I can see the entire FOV with glasses on, thought they are best without glasses. The ocular lenses are huge 20mm diameter!

I am not satisfied with the optical performance of them, but a low powered binos of 5-6x has it's area of use. If a manufacturer would produce a real high performance binos of 6x30 model (preferably roofs), at least 17mm eye relief and wide angle, I would get them.
 
I found one...

Robert!

I recently ordered another roof prism waterproof 6x32 on a sales or return basis. It doesn't have wide angle, but seems to be nice in many other respects. I don't know if the optical performance will satisfied me, but will see in the middle of next week.

Regards, Patric
 
6x Binocular

Robert Ellis said:
I know the majority of birders hover around 8x, with a big chunk also using 10x and a good following for 7x but would any of you consider using a 6x? After using 10x for my formative years, even 7x didn't seem to bring me close enough, now I am normally in the 7x to 8.5x range and have no qualms about those magnifications.

6x glass is hard to come by, relatively. I see plenty of surplus 6x30 porros floating about but not much in use, EO does a 6x Ranger, Leupold does a 6x Katmai, then there is (was) the venerable 6.5x ED Celestron and the new 6.5x Papilio (intended for butterflies primarily).

I suppose 6x would work for casual birding, but the lack of "bring the bird closer" detail might omit them from distance work (unless one is spotting ships).

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Iam thinking about purchasing a pair of 6x32 rangers from Eagle Optics... but Ive only read their review. Iam looking for a center focus, small , waterproof bino with low power to keep in the car and to use as a all-round bino and possible star gazing at night.Has anyone had the chance to look thru these?
 
The point of binoculars is to bring whatever is being viewed close enough that it can be enjoyed in closeup and (for birders) ID'd sufficiently well.
My 10 x42's do this very well indeed (often noticably out-performing other birders 8X bins when finding distant birds) with my 8 x 32's performing less well in this regard (but good for lightweight 'wandering about' birding nonetheless).
To me, I can't see the point of a 6X when the falloff between 10X and 8X is so obvious, unless there is a specific 'target' use, whatever that might be.
 
Steve Jones said:
The point of binoculars is to bring whatever is being viewed close enough that it can be enjoyed in closeup and (for birders) ID'd sufficiently well.
My 10 x42's do this very well indeed (often noticably out-performing other birders 8X bins when finding distant birds) with my 8 x 32's performing less well in this regard (but good for lightweight 'wandering about' birding nonetheless).
To me, I can't see the point of a 6X when the falloff between 10X and 8X is so obvious, unless there is a specific 'target' use, whatever that might be.
Click to expand...

The falloff in image size may be obvious, but the usefullness is just as great despite the magnification. I have never missed a bird with 7x that others have got at 10x.
 
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