Minox BD 10x44 BP (1 Viewer)

[SuperDuty]

I took these today hand holding my IPhone 13 up to the binocular, the amazing apparent
sharpness/resolution of this binocular isn’t at all being captured, but you get the idea, they we’re closed out in the $179-$220 range a few years ago. Neither of the two images were edited.

 

[yarrellii]

@SuperDuty Thanks for posting this. I've always been fascinated by this model (well, in its different incarnations under different brands). FOV is narrow, but the view by most accounts is remarkable (as is a quality waterproof porro). One thing that always makes me think about how good this are is that they are rarely seen on the 2nd hand market.

How would you describe its usability (focus wheel, eyeups, hinge, size, etc.)? The objectives look as if they were spaced really wide apart, so the three-dimensionality must also be extraordinary.

 

[SuperDuty]

@SuperDuty Thanks for posting this. I've always been fascinated by this model (well, in its different incarnations under different brands). FOV is narrow, but the view by most accounts is remarkable (as is a quality waterproof porro). One thing that always makes me think about how good this are is that they are rarely seen on the 2nd hand market.

How would you describe its usability (focus wheel, eyeups, hinge, size, etc.)? The objectives look as if they were spaced really wide apart, so the three-dimensionality must also be extraordinary.

I’ve always found them to be very acceptable in pretty much every way mechanically, I directly compared them to the 10X42 SV, 10X50 SV, and the 10X42 SF, they have a much narrower view, are a little darker, show somewhat more CA, but have an amazingly flat field, good edge performance, apparent sharpness/resolution is on par with the best, the images aren’t coming close to showing that as it really is.

 

[yarrellii]

Thanks, this is really inspiring. I think the fact that they very hardly show up used could mean a thing about their performance (well, beyond the fact that they were not probably the most popular model to begin with). I'm sure one day I'll find one waiting for me

 

[iveljay]

I have both 8x and 10x buried somewhere, from memory the thing that caused confusion for some was that the dioptre adjustment operated on the left eyepiece. Other than that they were a slightly unconventional shape, but the view made up for it as described above. Critically for me, the IPD went down further than some bins, giving those like me a comfort buffer by not having them hard against the stops to use them and the eye cups fitted my eyes and stayed put while in use.
I really must find them again......