Looking for long eye relief binoculars (6 Viewers)

[etudiant]

I am looking for binoculars with eye relief of ~20mm or more and so far have found the following-
Pentax ZD 8x43EDd- Amazon.com - 22mm eye relief.
Bushnell Forge 8x42 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F4KR6XZ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A2G3IE5A14HC2W&psc=1 - 19mm eye relief

I am wondering these are a good choice and any others worth considering in the $500-$1000 range? I have been scanning the rankings at- Binoculars rankings - 8x42 - AllBinos.com and the Bushnell's look like a good performer at a reasonable price. I plan to use them on a parallelogram mount so not worried much about them being heavy.

The one drawback I read about the Pentax above is that they have a narrow field of view. The Pentax come in a non-ED version but thinking they would not be much different than the Pentax 8x32 DCF SP that I currently have - Amazon.com Also, any thoughts on how much better the either of the above will be over my current Pentax will be appreciated. I must have deep set eyes because even though my current Pentax are listed at 17mm of eye relief, I can't see the whole field of view even with my glasses pressed up against the eyecups. Any thoughts or recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I have no recent knowledge of the various recent commercial models, but was just blown away by the ease of viewing provided by the ancient
Zeiss Jena DF-7x40, aka the Checkpoint Charlie glass from the 1950s-60s..
This glass was made for use while wearing a gas mask, so it has tremendous eye relief (about 25mm estimated).
It is of course heavy and not optimal for birding, because it is an IF design, plus the yellow color cast from its rad hardened glass skews the image..
Nevertheless, this antique gave a superbly comfortable view, everything was strain free, crisp and clear, as if seen through a close up window.
No modern binocular that I've looked through is as nice.

 

[adamsdp]

Kowa BD II 8×42 XD – Binoculars Today

Since my writing that, some (credible) concerns were voiced by users about the reliability of the focuser. I don‘t have any issues on mine.

Thanks for posting the review and sound like a good choice. I have read of some having issues with the focuser and hopefully a small minority. I am thinking of ordering through Amazon which I think has a good return policy in case I get a bad sample.

 

[petec62]

I am looking for binoculars with eye relief of ~20mm or more and so far have found the following-
Pentax ZD 8x43EDd- Amazon.com - 22mm eye relief.
Bushnell Forge 8x42 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F4KR6XZ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A2G3IE5A14HC2W&psc=1 - 19mm eye relief

I am wondering these are a good choice and any others worth considering in the $500-$1000 range? I have been scanning the rankings at- Binoculars rankings - 8x42 - AllBinos.com and the Bushnell's look like a good performer at a reasonable price. I plan to use them on a parallelogram mount so not worried much about them being heavy.

The one drawback I read about the Pentax above is that they have a narrow field of view. The Pentax come in a non-ED version but thinking they would not be much different than the Pentax 8x32 DCF SP that I currently have - Amazon.com Also, any thoughts on how much better the either of the above will be over my current Pentax will be appreciated. I must have deep set eyes because even though my current Pentax are listed at 17mm of eye relief, I can't see the whole field of view even with my glasses pressed up against the eyecups. Any thoughts or recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi, I can thoroughly recommend the Viking peregrine 8x42. 20.2mm eye relief. I wear glasses and tried absolutely loads of binoculars including high end expensive. The peregrines are around £318, great value, super sharp and bright. Don't be put off by the low price, these are up there with the big names. For me, best binoculars I've owned, and ive had zeiss, leica .Brilliant binoculars. I spend most of my time watching peregrine falcons and these are the first pair of binoculars ive owned where i can pick up a flying bird whilst wearing glasses and looking through binoculars. Oh, and only 600g in weight. As a 62 year old I've got alitle wiser and do not wish to have heavy binoculars around my neck or weighed down with tripods and cameras. So these fit the bill perfectly. A must for spectacle wearers.
See the review on YouTube by Northern optics.

 

[Patudo]

Glad to have another fanatic here. Do you watch them in urban areas or further out? I'm just back from Barcelona ... the wind and rain felt a bit different to watching them in the Catalan sun, but the drama and suspense of a peregrine's flight moves me just as much when cutting through grey London skies as when I'm abroad.

 

[petec62]

Glad to have another fanatic here. Do you watch them in urban areas or further out? I'm just back from Barcelona ... the wind and rain felt a bit different to watching them in the Catalan sun, but the drama and suspense of a peregrine's flight moves me just as much when cutting through grey London skies as when I'm abroad.

Hi, im on the South East Coast, Kent and lucky enough to watch them on the cliffs. Also have nesting Ravens and often witness a scuffle or two. Hope to visit London at some point and watch the urban peregrines.

 

[jring]

Hi,

not sure if it is in budget, but all Conquest HD models are infamous for providing more ER than some folks w/o glasses can use, especially the 42mm models... Zeiss sends out longer eyecups to those poor souls on request.

Joachim