looksharp65
Well-known member
After a very long time of anticipation I finally got the opportunity to buy my own sample of this very special binocular. It is no secret that I fell in love with it more than two years ago and I'm finally at home now.
Another well-known fact is my love for the Meopro and Fury 6.5x32's.
When I first bought the Fury I discovered that it could do all, and more than my Minox HG 8x33 did, so I went from 8x33 to the Fury and my old man's trusty Zeiss 10x40 BGAT.
It soon became obvious that the Zeiss wasn't up there with the Fury so when I got the opportunity to replace it with a 10x32 FL, I thought I was done.
I argued that a set of a 6.5x or 7x and a 10x covers the bases much better than a single 8x and used that combo with great success, along with a 10x32 HG/Venturer that made a deep impression on me.
Then an 8x30 E II crossed my path and did so with a vengeance. I was already using Nikon Fieldscopes and had tried the EDG binoculars briefly.
The 8x30 could show every tiny detail as good as the FL despite its lower magnification, which made my theories fall to the earth.
I also bought the Meostar 8x32 as a beater and soon saw it become my favourite to-go binocular, albeit with a lesser image than the E II.
Thus, the FL was largely redundant and the thought of getting hold of the EDG 7x42 by selling the FL was formed in my head.
The time with the FL, and the E II's exquisite image, made me see the slight shortcomings of the Fury. I found it had a clear advantage over both 8x30/8x32's in dense habitats, but that its slightly low magnification and less than stellar sharpness disqualified it from being the only binocular I would use.
My idea with the EDG 7x42 is to try to use it as my stand-alone serious birding binocular when I'm using spectacles, the E II for the same task when I wear contacts and the Fury or Meopro for more casual walks and from indoors.
I expected it to have all of the Fury's virtues and a brighter, overall better image with less CA, sharper edges and more brilliant colours.
These are my first impressions:
The build quality is very solid and reassuring with the start resistance of the focus knob as the only and minor flaw. I also find it hard to push in the objective covers enough to make them stay in place.
A thousand years ago I tried the Bushnell or B&L Discoverer 7x42 and remember the magic feeling of lifting a big, flat, stone-like thing and suddenly see things with an amazing ease.
The EDG feels like a device rather than a big, flat stone but I reckon its image is a lot better and it focuses clockwise towards infinity.
The Meostar 7x42 would mimic the Discoverer's feel but I don't care for that yellow hue of the image.
Eyecups must be lifted about 5 millimeters although I'm wearing spectacles so the eye relief is excessive.
To be continued ...
Another well-known fact is my love for the Meopro and Fury 6.5x32's.
When I first bought the Fury I discovered that it could do all, and more than my Minox HG 8x33 did, so I went from 8x33 to the Fury and my old man's trusty Zeiss 10x40 BGAT.
It soon became obvious that the Zeiss wasn't up there with the Fury so when I got the opportunity to replace it with a 10x32 FL, I thought I was done.
I argued that a set of a 6.5x or 7x and a 10x covers the bases much better than a single 8x and used that combo with great success, along with a 10x32 HG/Venturer that made a deep impression on me.
Then an 8x30 E II crossed my path and did so with a vengeance. I was already using Nikon Fieldscopes and had tried the EDG binoculars briefly.
The 8x30 could show every tiny detail as good as the FL despite its lower magnification, which made my theories fall to the earth.
I also bought the Meostar 8x32 as a beater and soon saw it become my favourite to-go binocular, albeit with a lesser image than the E II.
Thus, the FL was largely redundant and the thought of getting hold of the EDG 7x42 by selling the FL was formed in my head.
The time with the FL, and the E II's exquisite image, made me see the slight shortcomings of the Fury. I found it had a clear advantage over both 8x30/8x32's in dense habitats, but that its slightly low magnification and less than stellar sharpness disqualified it from being the only binocular I would use.
My idea with the EDG 7x42 is to try to use it as my stand-alone serious birding binocular when I'm using spectacles, the E II for the same task when I wear contacts and the Fury or Meopro for more casual walks and from indoors.
I expected it to have all of the Fury's virtues and a brighter, overall better image with less CA, sharper edges and more brilliant colours.
These are my first impressions:
The build quality is very solid and reassuring with the start resistance of the focus knob as the only and minor flaw. I also find it hard to push in the objective covers enough to make them stay in place.
A thousand years ago I tried the Bushnell or B&L Discoverer 7x42 and remember the magic feeling of lifting a big, flat, stone-like thing and suddenly see things with an amazing ease.
The EDG feels like a device rather than a big, flat stone but I reckon its image is a lot better and it focuses clockwise towards infinity.
The Meostar 7x42 would mimic the Discoverer's feel but I don't care for that yellow hue of the image.
Eyecups must be lifted about 5 millimeters although I'm wearing spectacles so the eye relief is excessive.
To be continued ...
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