Edmund,
At the moment, in the ~42mm's, the ~8× are just over half of those, with the 10× half of that again (~quarter of all ~42's), and the 7× about the same as that.
It seems there has been quite a few converts to 7×42 around here over the years .... perhaps the format is not as dead as manufacturers think ..... :cat:
As far as a dual magnification bin of 7-10×42 goes, I don't think there is enough of a magnification step up of one over the other to make the complexity really worthwhile.
I think something like a 7-12 or 7-14×42, or even a 7.5-15×45 would be very interesting, especially if the higher magnification had an auto (as in eye detect start or something) IS (image stabilization). Maybe it could even have an intermediate 10× position (TriVid) :king:
Leupold went somewhere near this with their 7-12×32 but the objective was a bit on the small side. Leica has their 8-12×42 Duovid which is close. The main thing that is needed for greater acceptance I suppose is that they need greater FOV's - around 70° AFOV at each mag would be sweet, but no doubt quite involved and difficult and to achieve while keeping the weight down. :cat:
Chosun :gh:
Hi Chosun-
I think we will need to wait for a new entry vendor, probably from China, to come in and do a decent varifocal or zoom instrument, because all the alphas enjoy selling multiple binoculars to their customers. For instance it's clear that in addition to my Leica 7x42 I will sooner or later get a 10x42. One of the reasons people are willing to get another pair is the fact that the first pair is viewed as having been a good "investment". Each flawless binocular sells the next
The same thing happened with camera lenses, existing vendors dimed hobbyists to death with excellent prime lenses, although good quality zoom designs existed in the movie field.Each of those Leica or Nikon or Canon lenses was totally superb, even by modern standards, but they'd just not be the lens you wanted to use at a given moment. In the 1970s when I was reading the magazines, a photo junkie would own a 35, a fast 50, a an 85, and a 135mm lens, and maybe something wider and something else longer.
Then the third party vendors eg. Tamron, Vivitar and Sigma came in with decent though not extraordinary but super-convenient zoom lenses. In the end, almost all consumers now use exclusively zooms because they have become the basic kit lenses and pros and the video field have equally embraced them.
To sum it up, with people here are spending $2K on alphas, and owning several but not really enjoying the use of them at the same time, I would expect some new vendor to appear with a high-quality zoom or varifocal innovation to serve the alpha market. As the data above shows, many people are happy with an 8x42 but many of these would appreciate to be able to go closer.
For myself, I find the the view from the alphas, and the build quality, is very high. And I have been surprised at what one can already get for $100 at my local mall. If I weren't a perfectionist, I'd get a $100 product. In this sense the market is mature, in the same way that Nikon or Canon and even the cheap firms made superb 50mm and 35mm lenses back in the 1970s.
There is an astonishingly high feeling of satisfaction perceptible in this forum, few complaints about build quality and after-sales, zero complaints about optical quality of view, a general sense of value being delivered for money spent, people are happy but they are also looking for even more convenience.
Edmund