That may still be acceptable for binoculars for 200 euros, but if it goes into the region of 400 dollars and significant more it could become expensive!
I just don't understand the sense of the measure, why not at least 10 years guarantee and is good?
It's always a winner-loser combination, the customer always has to pay, either for a repair or for a new pair of binoculars.
There is also a psychological component, many potential customers will ask why only a 2-year guarantee, does the manufacturer not have confidence in his products?
Others who are just out of warranty will think twice about buying a new one if the first one broke after a short time.
The cheap glasses will probably hardly be repaired, if you have binoculars for $200, the effort is often not worth it, a new one would cost $150, for $50 you get somewhere else 8-year guarantee more.
One reason for me not to buy IS binoculars is the short warranty period, which would also be far too short for me.
Andreas
Andreas,
I have shaky hands and would like to buy an IS bin again (I had the first iteration 10x30 IS; two samples, in the first the image wandered, which gave me nausea, the second was stable), but the price has gone up considerably since I bought one. I like the newer, slimmer 32mm 10x and 12x versions, which actually look like binoculars instead of footballs, but I haven't bitten due to the short warranty period. From what I've read of buyers' experiences, repairs are costly after the warranty period, as high as half the price of the the origional price.
The price of most of Oberwerk's bins (except the binotelescopes, which have a 3-year warranty) is fairly low, so my guess is the short warranty period is less about confidence than it is profit margins. Although Kevin is trying to reach beyond the astronomy market with his smaller configuration bins including the OB SEs, most of his bins are bought by amateur astronomers, most of whom use telsecopes, not binoculars. It's a niche market.
So their low price and the cost of repairs from Corey, which including shipping is a minimum of $100 (for re-alignment), makes it sound as if the binoculars are disposable like most Chinese products.
I'm waiting to see what OB 8x32 SE owners ' experience is with QC and repairs. Someone suggested that the first ones sold were "cherry picked" and wondered if subsequent batches would be as good.
I'm interested in the 10x and 12x SEs, so I will be following the QC and repair history of the 8x SE. But if the image quality is as good as the 8x and QC remains, I'd consider buying a higher power model.
It's still exciting for me as a porro lover to see new porros with higher quality than the typical $79-$100 Chinese made porros, which are clones offered by many companies, and whose images may be sharp in the center, but have wonky focusers or eyecups that slip or other QC issues.
The fact that OB SEs are WP and FP makes them useful to birders and hunters who go out in adverse weather conditions, which gives them wider appeal. And from what buyers have reported, the SE focuser doesn't seem to be as hard to turn as the Swaro Habicht porros, which is also a good thing. If an OB SE lasts me 10 years, I'd be happy with that.
Brock
