Hello,
Today, I used my Zeiss 7x42 ClassiC. This binocular is the last iteration of a long line of binoculars, starting with the Hensoldt 7x42 "nachtglas," or night glass. The latter was a roof prism binocular but over the decades, the FOV was improved, lens coatings were applied and phase coating introduced. Some years ago, Zeiss introduced a 7x45 "night owl," which was front heavy, so the 7x42 Dilly was reintroduced as the ClassiC. Mine was made close to the end of the run. Its long body indicates a long focal length objective, minimising chromatic aberrations and it has an FOV of 150m at 1000m. It does not have internal focussing, so close focus is not what many would desire and I would not want to drop it into a puddle. The length might make it seem ungainly but it allows alternative ways of holding it steady.
I took it out this morning in overcast weather with showers, when birdlife seemed to be at a minimum. However I did see
blue jays,
male and female northern cardinals
male and female mallards
male and female hooded mergansers
an American black duck
white throat sparrows
mourning doves
downy woodpeckers and
male and female house finches.
Because of its easy to steady 7x power and its 42mm objective, this ClassiC is good binocular for finding planets in the twilight. I even used it find Venus in daylight.
Stay safe,
Arthur
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