Recent content by rdmadison

Wasn't 1960 the year they started the post-hyphen serial number with the two-digit year? The combination of focus wheel (rather than cylinder) and aluminized eyepieces matches a Sport King I have that from 1960. So that would be my guess for your Saratogas.

The serial number suggests 1977, yes? My first Audubons were 1978 and very similar--except for the branding due to different sales regions (California USA). It seems the 12X, 50 on a tripod would be a good shore-bird glass. The Audubon came with a threaded mounting hole on one barrel--but yours...

I'm responding to this old thread because I spoke with Mr. Crista this morning regarding repair of a fifties era Hiyoshi binocular. For those of you who have spoken with him, that same deep and never-Americanized voice sounded as reassuring as always. I began by asking him if he still repaired...

Alas My Holiday Mark II along with two others just went up on the famous bidding site. I don't use them, mainly because they aren't waterproof and I have too many other "vintagers" for just hanging around the house. The keepers: 1965 Commodore Mk II: the cylinder really helps with something...

Frank, do your Holiday Mark II and Sport King have roughly the same field of view as you actually look through them? When I tried my Holidays against the fence the other day I came up with about an 8.2 to 8.5 degree FOV. Of course, I don't have an instrument to measure this exactly and probably...

I stand by my advice. When I birded with Zeiss 7x42 BGATs I was told they were the best in the world. They may have been; they were better than anything else I'd seen. When they were stolen and I had to replace them with a 7x42 Victory (because the BGAT was no longer made), the new binocular was...

My primary binoculars (Zeiss) and scope (Swarovski) are now both five years old and out of date. But they still blow away anything in the mid-range I've seen in terms of brightness and sharpness--including some more recent models. I'm very happy I bought the best available when I did and could...

Well, Frank, you hardly expected to get them for $30, eh? I liked the old days when you could tell if it was one of your friends bidding. Just for the record, I'm not the second bidder!

Steve, The Holidays I refer to are of an earlier era, I think, than your era. Mine are pre-60 and 1967. Your JL B56, out there at 600', is leagues ahead of what my Holidays post: Holiday1 (578' claimed; 11°) 446'; 8.5° (50") Holiday2 (578' claimed; 11°) 428'; 8.2° (48") My figures may be...

Hey neighbor, How do you like those 6x30 Zephyrs? I like a six because it's so easy on the eyes, but the magnification on my Swift sixes might be okay for tanks but is insufficient for birds. I was looking hard at the pair of 6x30 posted this week on the bidding site.

These are all very nice, and the Apollo story is enlightening. If I were going to be covetous (moi?) it would have to be for the '68 Audubon. They are amazing compared to anything else of its decade. A Holiday isn't a patch on it.

Finally Mr. Ludd added four 1960 Audubon photos and a few others: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdmadison/sets/72157627243943850/

Frank, The best pair of vintage Bushnells I've had were a $9.99 auction pair of 7x35, very beat up, but branded as yours are. Test: do your 7x50s seem lighter than, say, an equivalent Swift? Mine were as light as a 50's Zephyr. Perhaps mistakenly (hindsight) I donated them to the local middle...

Well, if it looks like a good item (a 60's Mark II, say) I like to snipe. Intermediate bidding just jacks the price up, while the three or four guys who are appropriately covetous bid only in the last minute anyway. I prefer to bid in the last ten seconds: what I can afford, no time for a second...

I love listening to you guys.