Hello everyone. I live in Rajasthan, a state in the western part of India. These are the tropics and ours is hot (read very hot), dusty place but light is more often very good, say 300+ sunny days or so a year.
I am primarily a bird photographer. But I watch birds too. Amateur bird photographers like me are dime a dozen in these parts and a Fb like or a Instgram share is all most of us care about. Not many in these parts carry a bin when out with nature, unless it is to look for migratory Falcons on the featureless dry bed of Sambhar Salt lake or maybe in the grasslands or dunes of the Thar desert.
Like most guys I too like my toys. I inherited my Dad's 'Boots' branded 7x42 Porros. They still work, are nice and clear enough but they are more than 50 years old and so am I.
I have had more bins. An unnamed porro made in Japan, bought much used in 1993 - armored, heavy with individual eye focusing but bright and clear in fading light. It has no rain cover, objective covers yet not a speck of fungus or dust inside. A dinky made in China Zhumel 8X40, picked up by a friend from USA for less than 45 USD sometime around 2011, which is actually easy to carry and good enough for most purposes, a Bushnell Legend Ultra HD 10x 42 - just about ok - never warmed up to it and a very battered Zeiss FL 8x42 - which has an eyepiece falling out, scratches on the eyepieces and a loose diopter adjustment. Gone for a service to Zeiss India but not too hopeful.
Recently, I got hold of a pair of Pentax Papilio, 8.5X. It is light, very comfortable to use with spectacles and feels natural to handle. The focusing knob has right amount of play and it is a wonderful instrument to watch flowers and Bees. To see a Rock Honeybee busy on a Jacquemontia flower or yellow Wasps sipping from a bird bath - wonderful is indeed the word. I haven't measured it but it starts focusing at around 50cms.
Mornings and afternoons when I sit in the garden (sometimes with a camera and sometimes not) I peer through these binoculars while doing an e-bird checklist. These are crisp and bright. I have some experience with Pentax optics - camera lenses - from non SMC Takumars to present day DA* lenses. I find purple/ green fringing irritating and was pleasantly surprised that the Papilios have well controlled CA - none in the frame centre at least. The FOV is quite good and it does well at twilight, at least in the light when my eyes work. In Jaipur, garden birds here approach the birdbaths (I don't feed them but do put out water) at 15 feet or less at times and the plumage detail on them look gorgeous. I am using these binoculars more than the Bushnells. The week old Red-wattled Lapwing chicks - 4 of them in the latest clutch - look outright ugly in the cutest sense - while the Indian White-eyes (I do dislike changes in common names), appear marvelous in the groomed yellow plumage and funny after they have bathed.
When I got this pair, it came with a generic strap that does not fit. I keep it in its faux case which can go onto a waist belt comfortably. The binocs are lightweight but look well enough in fit and finish (despite that made in China label).
I carried this pair to Ranthambhor National Park in April and have seen wild Tigers - both from near (10 feet) and far and the beasts looked breathtaking. Later that month, in Jaipur saw a wild Leopard - the glistening canines when the Leopard yawned was one fine sight (has anyone here yearned for a camera viewfinder picture as bright and clear as through a good pair of Binoculars?).
I have one worry though. The dust in these parts is ubiquitous - except during a rather short monsoon - so I will think twice before taking it out on birding trips/ safaris. The eyepieces are covered in some rubber like dark greyish/ black material that is a dust magnet. I believe this is not weather sealed (modern Pentax Cameras and lenses are beautifully sealed). But as a pair of binoculars to sit in the garden and relax with - these are great. Am looking forward to the Flycatchers and Leaf Warblers to fly in - I am guessing migration this year will start around mid September.
Arijit
I am primarily a bird photographer. But I watch birds too. Amateur bird photographers like me are dime a dozen in these parts and a Fb like or a Instgram share is all most of us care about. Not many in these parts carry a bin when out with nature, unless it is to look for migratory Falcons on the featureless dry bed of Sambhar Salt lake or maybe in the grasslands or dunes of the Thar desert.
Like most guys I too like my toys. I inherited my Dad's 'Boots' branded 7x42 Porros. They still work, are nice and clear enough but they are more than 50 years old and so am I.
I have had more bins. An unnamed porro made in Japan, bought much used in 1993 - armored, heavy with individual eye focusing but bright and clear in fading light. It has no rain cover, objective covers yet not a speck of fungus or dust inside. A dinky made in China Zhumel 8X40, picked up by a friend from USA for less than 45 USD sometime around 2011, which is actually easy to carry and good enough for most purposes, a Bushnell Legend Ultra HD 10x 42 - just about ok - never warmed up to it and a very battered Zeiss FL 8x42 - which has an eyepiece falling out, scratches on the eyepieces and a loose diopter adjustment. Gone for a service to Zeiss India but not too hopeful.
Recently, I got hold of a pair of Pentax Papilio, 8.5X. It is light, very comfortable to use with spectacles and feels natural to handle. The focusing knob has right amount of play and it is a wonderful instrument to watch flowers and Bees. To see a Rock Honeybee busy on a Jacquemontia flower or yellow Wasps sipping from a bird bath - wonderful is indeed the word. I haven't measured it but it starts focusing at around 50cms.
Mornings and afternoons when I sit in the garden (sometimes with a camera and sometimes not) I peer through these binoculars while doing an e-bird checklist. These are crisp and bright. I have some experience with Pentax optics - camera lenses - from non SMC Takumars to present day DA* lenses. I find purple/ green fringing irritating and was pleasantly surprised that the Papilios have well controlled CA - none in the frame centre at least. The FOV is quite good and it does well at twilight, at least in the light when my eyes work. In Jaipur, garden birds here approach the birdbaths (I don't feed them but do put out water) at 15 feet or less at times and the plumage detail on them look gorgeous. I am using these binoculars more than the Bushnells. The week old Red-wattled Lapwing chicks - 4 of them in the latest clutch - look outright ugly in the cutest sense - while the Indian White-eyes (I do dislike changes in common names), appear marvelous in the groomed yellow plumage and funny after they have bathed.
When I got this pair, it came with a generic strap that does not fit. I keep it in its faux case which can go onto a waist belt comfortably. The binocs are lightweight but look well enough in fit and finish (despite that made in China label).
I carried this pair to Ranthambhor National Park in April and have seen wild Tigers - both from near (10 feet) and far and the beasts looked breathtaking. Later that month, in Jaipur saw a wild Leopard - the glistening canines when the Leopard yawned was one fine sight (has anyone here yearned for a camera viewfinder picture as bright and clear as through a good pair of Binoculars?).
I have one worry though. The dust in these parts is ubiquitous - except during a rather short monsoon - so I will think twice before taking it out on birding trips/ safaris. The eyepieces are covered in some rubber like dark greyish/ black material that is a dust magnet. I believe this is not weather sealed (modern Pentax Cameras and lenses are beautifully sealed). But as a pair of binoculars to sit in the garden and relax with - these are great. Am looking forward to the Flycatchers and Leaf Warblers to fly in - I am guessing migration this year will start around mid September.
Arijit
