8 Years with Bausch & Lomb Discoverer 7x42 Roof (1 Viewer)

This post was lost in the 'crash' earlier this year, I am re-submitting it.

When the Discoverer 7x42 Roof Prism binoculars came onto the market in the mid 1990's, they had a recommended retail price of £599, and came with a ultra modern look and ergonomic design. The bird watching press gave them favourable reviews, however it wasn't too long before their mid priced optic market rival's caused a rethink and then a price reduction down to a more realistic £400, and this is still the RRP to the present day.

I was most fortunate in being able to purchase a pair (as a result of the buy-out by the Jessops Group of the Techno chain of stores in the UK) for the bargain price of £250, and they have been my primary bin's for all of my bird watching and natural history pursuits during these past 8 years or so.

These binoculars are built to last and you immediately get a comforting sense of solidity and build quality on initial handling, and to this end they come with a limited lifetime guarantee. Mine came complete with good quality rainguard, 38mm/1.5" wide webbing strap, and a soft leather look protective carrying pouch.

When I bought them I didn't wear spectacles, now that I do I'm more than pleased with the 20mm long eye relief, and check out the generous field of view at 140 metres at 1000 metres or 420 feet at 1000yards. The BAK-4 Prisms are silver multi-coated and provide a lovely bright image and sharpness that is only bettered by top end bins costing two or three times as much, they also have Raingard coating to dispel or shed raindrops or moisture collection in adverse weather conditions. They are fully waterproof and weigh approximately 820 grams/29ozs, are 138mm long 123mm wide 52mm deep, the pop-up eye cups can add an extra 15mm to the overall length.

Focusing is smooth and firm from the large centrally located focus knob, and diopter click stops are also found at the top of the focus knob. Ergonomics are fine and the rubber finish provides a good slip proof texture, so no problems there. By today's standards the weight at 820 grams may seem a little heavy, but it has never really bothered me. The one feature I have always enjoyed is the close focus at 2.5 metres/8+feet very handy for Butterflies or Dragonflies.

And so for anyone looking for the best value for money you can find, check out the Discoverer 7x42 (or even the 10x42 at a little extra cost) or at least put them on your short list. I see them currently for sale at Warehouse Express for £279 which really is super value.

Hope this info can be of use to someone,

Best Wishes,

Bill.

Bill,

I would 2nd everything you wrote... the B&L Discoverers are in my opinion the best bargain in mid-priced roof prism binoculars currently available. I have purchased both the 7x and 10x models, and find that they easily hold their own when compared to my high-end Leica, Zeiss, and Nikon optics. I would further add that they are VERY well built, I would say they are beat only by Leica in terms of rugged construction.

Best wishes,
Bawko

I'll agree with almost all of this. I bought a pair of 7x42 Discoverers for bad weather, and as my first roof prisms. They feel very nice in the hand - compact but solid. They are a pleasure to look through (at least as long as I don't disturb the dioptre setting, and that's a common problem), and I'm pretty sure they will last (they guy I bought them from said he serviced them for the British Antarctic Survey, and the only pair that came back unusable had had a bad case of lens meets rock).

BUT - my other optics in the same price range are Swift Audubon 820 and Nikon 8x30 EII, and these do provide a sharper image, even taking into account the magnification difference (I don't know if my Discoverers versions have Phase Coating or not - I bought them as ex-demo, so they may be quite old).

PS - looking at Warehouse Express, does anybody know if these are actually the same optics as the Opticron Orca? It seems to have a very similar specification, except that Warehouse Express have the FOV of the 7x42 Discovers wrong - my version is marked 140 feet at 1000 yds.

Bill,
How is the depth of field in those bins. The misses wants to play birdies with me and would like something very easy to use. She has a tough time focussing and steadying most of my binocs (besides the fact that she wants something of her own). Wide field and lower power (and reasonable price) make this model appear ideal.

Robert,
The field of view with the Discoverer 7x42's is right up there with the top line bin's, check out the details on my original post.

My only reservations for these excellent value binoculars for your lady is the weight, they may be a little on the heavy side, having said that my wife hasn't complained yet !!

My apologies for the belated reply, hope this information is of use, and if at all possible try them out first.

Best Wishes,

Bill.