[Richard Scott]

When I began birding back in the seventies I remember the old-timers talking about the legendary British made Ross Stepruva 9x35 binoculars. Now I’m in the market for a pair of top-notch bins to replace my 10 year old Leicas, I can see that Leica, Swarovski, Nikon and Zeiss only seem to produce 7x, 8x, 8.5x and 10x magnification with a 32 or 42m objective for the birding market. What's happened to the number 9?

I think a designation of 9x35 or 9x36 would make a great birding binocular. It would be an ideal compromise between the 8x32 and 10x42. It would have the same exit pupil (near enough), and the size, weight, magnification, field of view and depth of focus would be fall between the two.

Swift made a brave move back in the late 70s (?) when they launched the 8.5x44 Audubons and cornered the birding market and more recently Swarovski had a similar effect with the 8.5x42 ELs. If one of the top brands were brave enough to launch a 9x36 I’d be the first in the queue for a pair.

Rich.

[henry link]

I agree. Both Nikon and Bausch&Lomb used to make excellent 9X35 porros. I have a one-of-a-kind pair of 9X35's I assembled by combining the eyepieces and prism housings from a Nikon 8X30 E with the objective tubes from a 7X35 E. Nikon could do the same thing with the EII or the SE by just making 35mm objectives with the proper focal length. They came close but then IMO blew it making a 10X35 EII instead. I'd be the second one in line for a really good pair of 9X bins.

[chartwell99]

I owned a Bausch & Lomb 9 x 35 for quite some time and liked it a lot for its bright and crisp image, coupled with excellent handling. Unfortunately, its lower power sibling, the 7 x 35 porro, has also fallen completely out of favor. In the end, I found the Leica 10 x 32BA a more useful glass, with a nearly as bright an image, better eye relief and much closer focussing. The real shame is that Leica/Swaro/Zeiss doesn't make a modern 7 x 35.

[Tero]

They are a bit ahrd to come by, 9x in general. I always want to compare, and if the same manufacurer has 8,5 9 and 10x all to compare, that would be the ideal situation. Most times I can pick between 7x 8x and 10x and go with one of those for the day, so 9x is not always needed.

[Atomic Chicken]

Greetings!

Eagle Optics makes a 9x32 roof prism "Denali" model, but the field of view is rather small compared to other 8x and 10x options. As you say, none of the high-end manufacturers are making 9x binoculars, the closest you will find are some 8.5x models like the Swarovski EL and the Swift HHS or ED models.

Best wishes,
Bawko

[AlanFrench]

This brings back memories. My first good pair of binoculars was a pair of B&L 9x35 Zephyrs. My wife later got a pair of B&L 9x35s, which by that time were called Discoverers (still Porros). They were excellent, and we still have her pair. Unfortunately, they have no eye relief, which was a big problem when I stopped wearing contacts.

Clear skies, Alan