ksbird/foxranch
Well-known member
We use a fair number of either old 7x35s as "donors" for people who need binoculars, or mini-binoculars for children and to carry as "spares" in case of damage on treks.
I recently bought some Olympus 8x21 DPC mini-binoculars as throw-aways for about $12 each. Although they started out as almost disposible they have become very popular for a variety of reasons.
This model binocular only weighs 4.5 ounces (approx 130 gms). It is very tiny and will fit in my shirt pocket. The various color coatings and BAK4 prisms help it provide vibrant views and the lenses are made well enough that the binocular provides sharp images.
This binoc only focuses down to a minimum of 8ft. But it is so well fitted to the average hand and so lightweight that it can easily be used with one hand, the center focus wheel being pretty large and simple to use with one finger while holding the binocular with one hand. Unfortunately it is also so tiny that holding it with 2 hands is sort of inconvenient and so there isn't much improvement in steadiness when using 2 hands vs one hand.
This is a reversed porro prism design with the 2 objective lenses spaced only 14mm apart. The rubber eye cups are useful for shading the sun. The eye lenses are quite large for such a tiny binocular, and with a FOV of only 6.4 degrees (113yds@1000 yards or 113M@1000M), by rolling back the soft rubber eye cups these binocs are definitely usable by eyeglass wearers.
This creates a tiny problem for us. This binocular has become so popular that people don't want to take it out as a throw-away or loan it out as a cheap disposible spare. These binoculars and some other very nice models are available from Olympus on Ebay as refurbished by the factory, sold direct to consumers on ebay and available with a short factory warranty (90 days-1 year).
It is astounding that a binocular of this quality is available for what is literally a throw-away price ($12 including shipping). We bought 4 of them and they all worked well. Olympus often has as many as 20 of these on Ebay at a time. Olympus seems to be a legitmate direct seller on Ebay with over 10,000 different satified buyers by now. While other optics sellers use retailers to disposed of refurbished materials, Olympus has developed a successful way to keep the merchandise for dealers new, while dumping all the returns that can't be sold "as new", on Ebay.
I'm not sure this Olympus binocular compares to the quality of the Bushnell Elite 7x26 or the Steiner 10x26 or the Sharper Image 8x25 waterproof models. It isn't waterproof (although it's been out in inclement weather once or twice and hasn't shown any fogging or spotting internally yet). But it is so tiny, and with largish eye lenses for this size bin, it comes to the eye easily and is quick to focus. We'll be sad when they all get scratched, stepped on, dropped in a muddy puddle or lost. I hope Olympus keep this program going because we all find it very handy to have such a tiny device in our pockets. It is much easier to use than the flat "cigarette pack" style 6x18s and 8x18s from Minolta, Canon and Sharper Image. We here at the ranch recommend it.
I recently bought some Olympus 8x21 DPC mini-binoculars as throw-aways for about $12 each. Although they started out as almost disposible they have become very popular for a variety of reasons.
This model binocular only weighs 4.5 ounces (approx 130 gms). It is very tiny and will fit in my shirt pocket. The various color coatings and BAK4 prisms help it provide vibrant views and the lenses are made well enough that the binocular provides sharp images.
This binoc only focuses down to a minimum of 8ft. But it is so well fitted to the average hand and so lightweight that it can easily be used with one hand, the center focus wheel being pretty large and simple to use with one finger while holding the binocular with one hand. Unfortunately it is also so tiny that holding it with 2 hands is sort of inconvenient and so there isn't much improvement in steadiness when using 2 hands vs one hand.
This is a reversed porro prism design with the 2 objective lenses spaced only 14mm apart. The rubber eye cups are useful for shading the sun. The eye lenses are quite large for such a tiny binocular, and with a FOV of only 6.4 degrees (113yds@1000 yards or 113M@1000M), by rolling back the soft rubber eye cups these binocs are definitely usable by eyeglass wearers.
This creates a tiny problem for us. This binocular has become so popular that people don't want to take it out as a throw-away or loan it out as a cheap disposible spare. These binoculars and some other very nice models are available from Olympus on Ebay as refurbished by the factory, sold direct to consumers on ebay and available with a short factory warranty (90 days-1 year).
It is astounding that a binocular of this quality is available for what is literally a throw-away price ($12 including shipping). We bought 4 of them and they all worked well. Olympus often has as many as 20 of these on Ebay at a time. Olympus seems to be a legitmate direct seller on Ebay with over 10,000 different satified buyers by now. While other optics sellers use retailers to disposed of refurbished materials, Olympus has developed a successful way to keep the merchandise for dealers new, while dumping all the returns that can't be sold "as new", on Ebay.
I'm not sure this Olympus binocular compares to the quality of the Bushnell Elite 7x26 or the Steiner 10x26 or the Sharper Image 8x25 waterproof models. It isn't waterproof (although it's been out in inclement weather once or twice and hasn't shown any fogging or spotting internally yet). But it is so tiny, and with largish eye lenses for this size bin, it comes to the eye easily and is quick to focus. We'll be sad when they all get scratched, stepped on, dropped in a muddy puddle or lost. I hope Olympus keep this program going because we all find it very handy to have such a tiny device in our pockets. It is much easier to use than the flat "cigarette pack" style 6x18s and 8x18s from Minolta, Canon and Sharper Image. We here at the ranch recommend it.
Last edited: