Seeing as there's not many reviews of these binoculars from a birders point of view I thought I'd post one. It'll have to be a first impressions first before the review as I've only just opened them after finishing work at 8pm and I'll be stuck in work for another 12 hours tomorrow before being able to test them on the weekend.
A bit of a back story to my optics use leaving out cameras and lenses as I use to do wildlife photography. for a long time I was using Hawke frontier 10x36 ED, then moved to Bushnell forge 10x42 but these had to be returned due to the loop that was part of the barrel that holds the eye cups on breaking after a month. They were heavy but optically quite sharp though not too wide a view compared to what I had. I then got Hawke ED X 10x42, nice quality low weight bins but everything was quite loose on them. the eye cups, focus, the hinge. they also needed a large diopter adjustment to get them to be right. I wear glasses but usually only need a hair of a adjustment, my girlfriend who doesn't wear glasses also needed to adjust these a lot for a sharp view. optically there decently sharp though Im wondering if they might need to be sent back for adjustment. View is fairly wide and CA is well controlled. My girlfriend now has these and I decided to move up to Swarovski EL 8.5X42. FP. A big step up but I felt the need for better to see what Alpha bins can give you especially for those wearing glasses as I noticed a lot of white out with the ED X and the other Hawke's.
A high quality binocular with a stunning wide view, no CA that I can and fantastic build quality. Only downside being the weight and the slight lack of range though I made the conscious choice to go for the 8.5x over the 10's as I felt they didn't seem too far from the 10x's of the past but also I didn't get as much shake as I did with the 10x EL's which have the same 800+grams to contend with. Due to various reasons including financial I've decided to try the much cheaper Kowa BD X bins in the hope they are still up there in quality but obviously saving me a lot in money with the potential to purchase a pair of NL Pure's in the future. Possibly the 12X as having tried them I was very impressed at the view and how steady they are. I also moved up from a Hawke Nature Trek scope to a Kowa 773 which I love the quality, so Im hoping these bins love up to Kowa reputation.
First Impressions
The box they come in feels nice and it's simple in design like the one my Scope came in but not quite that quality. The included case isn't too bad, it's not something I would use but a carrying strap would have been nice for others who like to use them to protect the bins when carried around.
The binoculars themselves feel really nice enough in the hand. light weight but pretty nicely constructed with a grippy rubber body and decent eye cover and cups. The feel of the focus ring is very smooth, with the right tension not too loose or tight to turn. In fact almost as smooth if not slightly better feeling than the EL's. The eye cups felt really tight to twist up. Tighter than any bins I've used in the past which to me is a plus. I have them kept twisted down for wearing glasses, so it's nice not to have them loose as Im not a fan of when they twist up unexpectedly perhaps when storing away and you wonder for a moment why they don't feel right. If you don't wear glasses it's a good plus too as setting them to the right position should be something you can do and not have to worry about them moving. The EL's feel quite loose though again I use them down, I just wonder if they might move over time if they are twisted up.
Now to the only fault with build I've found. The strap. Sadly the end of the strap which is usually sealed with plastic to it doesn't come apart has not been done properly and the end frayed when threading it through the eyelet which I had to do twice as I forgot to put on the eye covers on. It's a shame that this has happened but I've emailed Kowa to see if I can get a replacement. Besides the issue the stray feels quite comfortable. The one thing I did find odd was the placement of the eyelets for the strap on the bins which is lower down the barrel compared to what I've had with every binocular in the past so they sit quite differently on the chest when worn. It might not be a bad thing but thats something I'll have to check with some real world use.
I've only took a quick look through them in the house but what I did look at seemed sharp and free from any obvious CA. But thats my first impressions. I'll be posting a review after the weekend. So stay tuned.
A bit of a back story to my optics use leaving out cameras and lenses as I use to do wildlife photography. for a long time I was using Hawke frontier 10x36 ED, then moved to Bushnell forge 10x42 but these had to be returned due to the loop that was part of the barrel that holds the eye cups on breaking after a month. They were heavy but optically quite sharp though not too wide a view compared to what I had. I then got Hawke ED X 10x42, nice quality low weight bins but everything was quite loose on them. the eye cups, focus, the hinge. they also needed a large diopter adjustment to get them to be right. I wear glasses but usually only need a hair of a adjustment, my girlfriend who doesn't wear glasses also needed to adjust these a lot for a sharp view. optically there decently sharp though Im wondering if they might need to be sent back for adjustment. View is fairly wide and CA is well controlled. My girlfriend now has these and I decided to move up to Swarovski EL 8.5X42. FP. A big step up but I felt the need for better to see what Alpha bins can give you especially for those wearing glasses as I noticed a lot of white out with the ED X and the other Hawke's.
A high quality binocular with a stunning wide view, no CA that I can and fantastic build quality. Only downside being the weight and the slight lack of range though I made the conscious choice to go for the 8.5x over the 10's as I felt they didn't seem too far from the 10x's of the past but also I didn't get as much shake as I did with the 10x EL's which have the same 800+grams to contend with. Due to various reasons including financial I've decided to try the much cheaper Kowa BD X bins in the hope they are still up there in quality but obviously saving me a lot in money with the potential to purchase a pair of NL Pure's in the future. Possibly the 12X as having tried them I was very impressed at the view and how steady they are. I also moved up from a Hawke Nature Trek scope to a Kowa 773 which I love the quality, so Im hoping these bins love up to Kowa reputation.
First Impressions
The box they come in feels nice and it's simple in design like the one my Scope came in but not quite that quality. The included case isn't too bad, it's not something I would use but a carrying strap would have been nice for others who like to use them to protect the bins when carried around.
The binoculars themselves feel really nice enough in the hand. light weight but pretty nicely constructed with a grippy rubber body and decent eye cover and cups. The feel of the focus ring is very smooth, with the right tension not too loose or tight to turn. In fact almost as smooth if not slightly better feeling than the EL's. The eye cups felt really tight to twist up. Tighter than any bins I've used in the past which to me is a plus. I have them kept twisted down for wearing glasses, so it's nice not to have them loose as Im not a fan of when they twist up unexpectedly perhaps when storing away and you wonder for a moment why they don't feel right. If you don't wear glasses it's a good plus too as setting them to the right position should be something you can do and not have to worry about them moving. The EL's feel quite loose though again I use them down, I just wonder if they might move over time if they are twisted up.
Now to the only fault with build I've found. The strap. Sadly the end of the strap which is usually sealed with plastic to it doesn't come apart has not been done properly and the end frayed when threading it through the eyelet which I had to do twice as I forgot to put on the eye covers on. It's a shame that this has happened but I've emailed Kowa to see if I can get a replacement. Besides the issue the stray feels quite comfortable. The one thing I did find odd was the placement of the eyelets for the strap on the bins which is lower down the barrel compared to what I've had with every binocular in the past so they sit quite differently on the chest when worn. It might not be a bad thing but thats something I'll have to check with some real world use.
I've only took a quick look through them in the house but what I did look at seemed sharp and free from any obvious CA. But thats my first impressions. I'll be posting a review after the weekend. So stay tuned.
