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And your question Dennis was 'at $1,000' not 'under $1,000', so what is your fave $1k bino? You are allowed two answers: 1) your all time $1k fave and your 2) $1k fave from your current stable.
I think the near complete absence of chromatic aberration allows for the Kowa to have almost perfect sharpness, to my eyes. It is as 'sharp' as any bin I've seen in the central sweet spot and, for the most part, I regret ever selling my 8.5x44, despite the hefty weight.
I think the near complete absence of chromatic aberration allows for the Kowa to have almost perfect sharpness, to my eyes. It is as 'sharp' as any bin I've seen in the central sweet spot and, for the most part, I regret ever selling my 8.5x44, despite the hefty weight.
A lot of people don't see CA but once you see it you will always see it. Consider yourself lucky. Some people are really sensitive to it. These are not the same magnification on Allbino's reviews but it gives you an idea how the two binoculars control CA. I have had Kowa's and the Nikon Monarch HG and the Kowa's controlled CA better especially at the edge IMO.
Dennis I have seen it, in my HG 10X42 LX, while looking at a Black Crow with a bright overcast sky, a slight purplish/yellowish tinge on the upper half of the bird, it did not bother me and after that I never saw it again, so to me some people are sensitive to it, but I doubt if I will ever be affected by it. Like rolling ball I have experienced it once and never again, in a Russian BPO.
Based upon my experience, and those who I've spent time demonstrating binoculars, I think this is not true for most individuals. It is a tantalizingly frightening myth.
I think it is fair to say that once you know how to look for CA you will be able to find it when you look for it. It needn't perpetually intrude on your conscious evaluation ever after. I can easily see CA in my everyday eyeglasses (which are glass, and much lower CA than many types of plastic lenses), but I only see it (and, at that, instantly) when I think to look for it. Same with bins. Same experience for everyone with whom I've evaluated bins.
All the above said, I nevertheless take CA very seriously. It degrades the quality of the view, regardless of whether one is aware of it. To say this again: not seeing (or being aware of) CA doesn't make a viewer immune to its consequences.
I am not positive if it is true but based on observations I think like jremmons kind of infers that the less CA you have the sharper the on-axis view is. It seems like binoculars like the Zeiss FL and the Kowa Genesis which have very little CA also have a very sharp center view.
The way I most tend to notice CA is that it just generally produces a less "sharp" image. True color fringing, to me, is most obvious when looking towards the periphery in most bins, but again I felt the Kowa (as well as the Zeiss T*P FL models I've owned) showed very little of both image degradation and outer edge color fringing.
The way I most tend to notice CA is that it just generally produces a less "sharp" image. True color fringing, to me, is most obvious when looking towards the periphery in most bins, but again I felt the Kowa (as well as the Zeiss T*P FL models I've owned) showed very little of both image degradation and outer edge color fringing.