Pentax AD 7x32 ED (1 Viewer)

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I wanted to try the Pentax 7x32 ED because I think their Papilio is a great binocular for $100, so I ordered one from Amazon.com and got it a few days ago, so I have had time to field test it. It is an impressive binocular at the $300 price point. The FOV is 7.8 degrees, so it is right up there with most of the 7x binoculars, outside of the Zeiss 7x42 FL. It has ED glass, and it is very effective because I saw no CA in the center or on the edge of the FOV. These rank up there with the Zeiss FL for CA control, which are one of the best.
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What surprised me is the FOV is sharp right to the edge, almost like a Swarovski EL. I didn't expect that! The Pentax is very sharp on-axis, and it is very bright for its aperture. These handle glare very well for their smaller aperture, compared to a 42 mm. They are very compact and light at about 20 oz. so they are easy to carry while hiking. The focuser is very smooth and easy and doesn't have any excessive play or stiction. The diopter setting is on the right eye cup and stays pretty much where you set it. The IPD hinge moves smoothly and has perfect tension to keep it from moving.

These are well armored and the armor appears durable and looks like it will last. The eye cups are comfortable and are big enough, so they don't go too far into your eye sockets and have two click stops and on the 2nd click stop I never had any black-outs at all and the eye placement was very comfortable with the large EP.

They come with a nice case and well padded strap with tethered objective covers and a one piece rain guard that attaches to the strap, so you don't need to go out and buy any accessories. Unlike the Leica Retrovid 7x35, these are totally waterproof and fog proof, being nitrogen filled. If you want a compact 7x, and you don't like the small 6.5 degrees FOV of the Maven C2 7x28, and you don't want to spend $1400 for the Leica Retrovid 7x35, these might fill the bill. I like them a lot.

There is a similar version made by Hawk called the Marine, but it is targeted towards the boating crowd, being blue. The Pentax are also available in a 10x32 ED or 7x42 ED and 10x42 ED if you want a little more light and easier eye placement with a bigger EP. The bigger models are still compact and only weigh 25 oz. which is pretty light for a 42 mm, and they retail for about $380.


FOV of Various 7x Binoculars
1) Zeiss FL 7x42 8.6 degree
2) Leica UVHD+ 7x42 8.0 degree
3) Leica Retrovid 7x42 8.0 degree
4) Pentax UD 7x32 HD 7.8 degree
5) Curio 7x21 7.7 degree
6) Maven C2 7x28 6.5 degree
7) Habicht 7x42 6.4 degree

 

[w.travis]

I wanted to try the Pentax 7x32 ED because I think their Papilio is a great binocular for $100, so I ordered one from Amazon.com and got it a few days ago, so I have had time to field test it. It is an impressive binocular at the $300 price point. The FOV is 7.8 degrees, so it is right up there with most of the 7x binoculars, outside of the Zeiss 7x42 FL. It has ED glass, and it is very effective because I saw very little CA in the center or on the edge of the FOV
.
What surprised me is the FOV is sharp right to the edge, almost like a Swarovski EL. I didn't expect that. The Pentax is very sharp on-axis, and it is very bright for its aperture. These handle glare very well for their smaller aperture, compared to a 42 mm. They are very compact and light at about 20 oz. so they are easy to carry while hiking. The focuser is very smooth and easy and doesn't have any excessive play or stiction. The diopter setting is on the right eye cup and stays pretty much where you set it. The IPD hinge moves smoothly and has perfect tension to keep it from moving.

These are well armored and the armor appears durable and looks like it will last. The eye cups are comfortable and are big enough, so they don't go too far into your eye sockets and have two click stops and on the 2nd click stop I never had any black-outs at all and the eye placement was very comfortable with the large EP.

They come with a nice case and well padded strap with tethered objective covers and a one piece rain guard that attaches to the strap, so you don't need to go out and buy any accessories. Unlike the Leica Retrovid 7x35, these are totally waterproof and fog proof, being nitrogen filled. If you want a compact 7x, and you don't like the small 6.5 degrees FOV of the Maven C2 7x28, and you don't want to spend $1400 for the Leica Retrovid 7x35, these might fill the bill. I like them a lot.

There is a similar version made by Hawk called the Marine, but it is targeted towards the boating crowd, being blue. The Pentax are also available in a 10x32 ED or 7x42 ED and 10x42 ED if you want a little more light and easier eye placement with a bigger EP. The bigger models are still compact and only weigh 25 oz. which is pretty light for a 42 mm, and they retail for about $380.

View attachment 1519773

Thanks for the review. Wish they had larger FOV.

When you say they had "very little CA in the center...", does that mean you could in fact see it in the center of the field?

 

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Thanks for the review. Wish they had larger FOV.

When you say they had "very little CA in the center...", does that mean you could in fact see it in the center of the field?

I changed it to no CA. They rank up there with the best binoculars I have ever tested for CA, the Zeiss FL. The Pentax ED 7x32 have a 7.8 degree FOV which is bigger than the Swarovski Curio 7x21 at 7.7 degree and only .2 of a degree less than the Leica Retrovid or UVHD+. The only 7x I know of that has a larger FOV is the Zeiss FL 7x42 that has an 8.6 degree FOV, so it is quite large and it seems very large.

 

[Mono]

Thanks for the review. Very helpful in my 7x quest.

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks for the review. Very helpful in my 7x quest.

No problem. I was pretty impressed with the little Pentax 7x32 ED, so I thought I would let people know they are a nice binocular for the money.

 

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Here is a comparison of size between the Pentax 7x42 ED and 7x32 ED. The 7x42 ED has a 7.5 degree FOV and the 7x32 ED has a 7.8 degree FOV. So the 7x32 ED has a little wider FOV than the 7x42 ED, and it is 6 oz. lighter. Notice the difference in the eye cups. From Amazon.com.

 

[gweller]

No problem. I was pretty impressed with the little Pentax 7x32 ED, so I thought I would let people know they are a nice binocular for the money.

Nice to see that a least one company is being "stupid" enough (to paraphrase your previous postings) to bring out a couple of 7x binoculars!

 

[dries1]

Thanks for the Pics Denco, first time I have seen the 7X42.

 

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The Pentax ED 7x32 surprised me. It is Papilio like sharp. I think it is the best bargain I have seen at $329.00. I will bet the whole line of these new Pentax are very good. I can find nothing wrong with them, and the optics are excellent. They must use a good quality ED glass because there is hardly any CA, and they are tack sharp to the edge like an EL and bright. If you want a nice compact 7x for birding, the Pentax ED 7x32 is a good choice. Choosing between the 7x32 or 7x42 is just like choosing between an 8x32 and 8x42. If you bird mostly in the daytime like I do, the 7x32 would be fine, but if you bird a lot in low light the 7x42 would be brighter, and it would have easier eye placement and it is only $50 more which is a bargain.

 

[has530]

Thanks for posting, I have been curious about these. I tried the hawke marine version but was bothered by too much CA for an ED 7x binocular...glad to hear pentax seems to have gotten it better. Looking forward to possibly scooping these up from you in the classifieds once you're done with them 😉

 

[Paultricounty]

Thanks for posting, I have been curious about these. I tried the hawke marine version but was bothered by too much CA for an ED 7x binocular...glad to hear pentax seems to have gotten it better. Looking forward to possibly scooping these up from you in the classifieds once you're done with them 😉

I got dibs on the Audubons and the IS Zulu 🤭😜✌🏼.

 

[Blue72]

nice review, has anyone compared these to the Kowa 6.5x32?

 

[jafritten]

Are there any new opinions on the 7x32? These seem very interesting.

 

[chenesis]

Hi there! Being testing the 7x42 by 3 days, head to head with the Olympus 8x42 pro.
The oly Is a bit sharper on the edges but is darker and has more CAs.
Pentax Is virtually CAs free until you reach 70% of the field, and even there the amount of aberrazions Is negligible.
The Oly has wider eyepieces and Is a little bit easier to look into, buy where the Pentax really shines is in the brightness department. Really luminosa bino!
Colors on the Pentax are a little bit warmer and pressing

 

[Ignatius]

@ chenesis: Isn't this thread about the Pentax AD 7x32 ED and not some 7x42? So which 8x32 and 7x42 were you comparing in the photos and text with the Olympus 8x42 Pro? There is no 7x32 in your comparative images.
Just asking because I also find the 7x32 and interesting proposition.

 

[chenesis]

@ chenesis: Isn't this thread about the Pentax AD 7x32 ED and not some 7x42? So which 8x32 and 7x42 were you comparing in the photos and text with the Olympus 8x42 Pro? There is no 7x32 in your comparative images.
Just asking because I also find the 7x32 and interesting proposition.

Hi Ignatius, you're right i was comparing the Pentax in 42mm configuration not the 32. I thought it'd be useful to give an idea of the quality of this series, being the 42 and 32 close siblings. BTW i ended up keeping the Pentax!