I imagine Bynolyt is a familiar name to our Dutch readers but I suspect almost unknown elsewhere. I understand Technolyt owns the brand and distributes it along with other makes. Otherwise a company and brand that I know nothing about but the names crop up every now and I was curious to see what they have to offer. I've borrowed the Albatross for a couple of weeks for evaluation along with two other rarities (in the UK) for comparison which are subject to other reports here and a more detailed comparison in the binocular section of the forum.
The Albatross II SHR ED is top of the Bynolyt range, obviously featuring ED glass for chromatic aberration reduction and a 60 layer SHR (dielectric?) prism coating and also claims a hard, hydrophobic 'plasma' coating to the objective. It's made in Japan. In addition to the 8.5x45 tested here, there are 8x32, 10.5x45 and the website suggests a compact version but they don't seem to be listed. This model appears to advertised for 750/630 or less. There is no warranty information on the Technolyt website, but retailer information indicates 25years.
Looks are very much a matter of taste. I don't know if there is a name for the colour, but I suppose I'd call it a fairly dark olive green. The armour has a slight texture but other than smallish thumb indents on the underside, totally plain. It's surface is decorated with rather more information than I would personally prefer and the mould seams and joins are not the tidiest either. In short, few clues to suggest it's actually a very good binocular.
It's probably unfair to this very good binocular to start with a negative but the first thing you notice when you pick up it up is the weight; mostly because 940g is a little unexpected if not particularly unusual for x44+ models. It hardly looks bigger than many much lighter x42s and much more compact than most x50 and x56 which can be this kind of weight or more. Having said that, it is comfortable in the hand, well balanced and rather pleasant to use, but I might prefer a harness for this one rather than just a neck strap for more prolonged use.
The focus knob is quite wide with room for two fingers. Unfortunately the strap lug position mean it's usually only practical to use one, but never the less the hand position is good and well balanced as mentioned. The focus is light and very fast with a little free play, but because of the finger-tip operation I found it very quick to find sharp focus and quite satisfactory overall. The eye relief is listed as 18mm, but I'd guess 16-17mm was available. I found both, fully turned in with glasses and fully turned out without, worked quite well for me. There is also and intermediate position which isn't ratcheted. The soft eye cup material with a 29mm aperture I thought it reasonably comfortable but the overall width of 44mm caused it to pinch my nose slightly and might be problem for those with smaller IPDs. I suspect using the intermediate position and resting the eye cups against the brow would work better for some. The dioptre control on the right eyepiece has a nice tension, relatively easy to alter but because of the ergonomics unlikely to be accidentally changed.
I tend to prioritise binocular sharpness and the sample I have does not disappoint. It's very good indeed, and confirmed by the boosted resolution tests I've done putting it in the same league as premium models and much better than most at this price level. I couldn't say if all samples would meet this level of performance. The colour rendition and white balance are very good in my opinion without any hint of bias that I can see. I think a keen eye might detect that it doesn't quite match the very best on the market for colour vibrancy but I find no cause for complaint. I've struggled to find any chromatic aberration (colour fringing) in other than the most extreme high contrast conditions, and then very little near the edges. Very good indeed. Glare control was also very good as well. As much as I've tried to catch it out in the limited sunshine we've had I can only get slight arcs at flare near the edges very close to the sun and couldn't detect any contrast reduction in the centre of the view.
I wouldn't quite call it a flat field design but it's pretty close. The field curvature is very mild, the pin-cushion distortion less than usual, and although the edges aren't pin sharp I think few would find fault. I think in normal use most users, particularly those with younger eyes, would consider it sharp edge to edge. There is a hint of angular magnification distortion but very few are likely to notice. The 7, 123m/1000 view gives a very respectable 59.5 AFOV which will satisfy most. Being super-critical, in specific test situations I could see that perhaps is didn't have the depth of contrast or quite the level of colour vibrancy of some of the most expensive models but I thought it very good for the price.
Overall I think this binocular is very good indeed and offers plenty of latest technical features. It's possibly only a few extra glass coatings away from being exceptional optically.
With the Bynolyt Albatross you get a lot of very good glass for your money. There are some models at the price level that might do one thing or another a shade better but I can't think of a alternative that ticks so many boxes optically. However, the weight will certainly bother some and the plain-Jane looks and minor build issues might influence others. Well worth considering in my opinion if view is your priority.
I have checked out this model only to satisfy my own curiosity and there has been no incentive from any source to do so, though I do need to thank the person who generously loaned this model.
David
Link to comparison: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=272946
The Albatross II SHR ED is top of the Bynolyt range, obviously featuring ED glass for chromatic aberration reduction and a 60 layer SHR (dielectric?) prism coating and also claims a hard, hydrophobic 'plasma' coating to the objective. It's made in Japan. In addition to the 8.5x45 tested here, there are 8x32, 10.5x45 and the website suggests a compact version but they don't seem to be listed. This model appears to advertised for 750/630 or less. There is no warranty information on the Technolyt website, but retailer information indicates 25years.
Looks are very much a matter of taste. I don't know if there is a name for the colour, but I suppose I'd call it a fairly dark olive green. The armour has a slight texture but other than smallish thumb indents on the underside, totally plain. It's surface is decorated with rather more information than I would personally prefer and the mould seams and joins are not the tidiest either. In short, few clues to suggest it's actually a very good binocular.
It's probably unfair to this very good binocular to start with a negative but the first thing you notice when you pick up it up is the weight; mostly because 940g is a little unexpected if not particularly unusual for x44+ models. It hardly looks bigger than many much lighter x42s and much more compact than most x50 and x56 which can be this kind of weight or more. Having said that, it is comfortable in the hand, well balanced and rather pleasant to use, but I might prefer a harness for this one rather than just a neck strap for more prolonged use.
The focus knob is quite wide with room for two fingers. Unfortunately the strap lug position mean it's usually only practical to use one, but never the less the hand position is good and well balanced as mentioned. The focus is light and very fast with a little free play, but because of the finger-tip operation I found it very quick to find sharp focus and quite satisfactory overall. The eye relief is listed as 18mm, but I'd guess 16-17mm was available. I found both, fully turned in with glasses and fully turned out without, worked quite well for me. There is also and intermediate position which isn't ratcheted. The soft eye cup material with a 29mm aperture I thought it reasonably comfortable but the overall width of 44mm caused it to pinch my nose slightly and might be problem for those with smaller IPDs. I suspect using the intermediate position and resting the eye cups against the brow would work better for some. The dioptre control on the right eyepiece has a nice tension, relatively easy to alter but because of the ergonomics unlikely to be accidentally changed.
I tend to prioritise binocular sharpness and the sample I have does not disappoint. It's very good indeed, and confirmed by the boosted resolution tests I've done putting it in the same league as premium models and much better than most at this price level. I couldn't say if all samples would meet this level of performance. The colour rendition and white balance are very good in my opinion without any hint of bias that I can see. I think a keen eye might detect that it doesn't quite match the very best on the market for colour vibrancy but I find no cause for complaint. I've struggled to find any chromatic aberration (colour fringing) in other than the most extreme high contrast conditions, and then very little near the edges. Very good indeed. Glare control was also very good as well. As much as I've tried to catch it out in the limited sunshine we've had I can only get slight arcs at flare near the edges very close to the sun and couldn't detect any contrast reduction in the centre of the view.
I wouldn't quite call it a flat field design but it's pretty close. The field curvature is very mild, the pin-cushion distortion less than usual, and although the edges aren't pin sharp I think few would find fault. I think in normal use most users, particularly those with younger eyes, would consider it sharp edge to edge. There is a hint of angular magnification distortion but very few are likely to notice. The 7, 123m/1000 view gives a very respectable 59.5 AFOV which will satisfy most. Being super-critical, in specific test situations I could see that perhaps is didn't have the depth of contrast or quite the level of colour vibrancy of some of the most expensive models but I thought it very good for the price.
Overall I think this binocular is very good indeed and offers plenty of latest technical features. It's possibly only a few extra glass coatings away from being exceptional optically.
With the Bynolyt Albatross you get a lot of very good glass for your money. There are some models at the price level that might do one thing or another a shade better but I can't think of a alternative that ticks so many boxes optically. However, the weight will certainly bother some and the plain-Jane looks and minor build issues might influence others. Well worth considering in my opinion if view is your priority.
I have checked out this model only to satisfy my own curiosity and there has been no incentive from any source to do so, though I do need to thank the person who generously loaned this model.
David
Link to comparison: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=272946