Since this forum was so valuable in steering me toward a binocular choice, I thought I'd "give back" with some thoughts now that I've used my new Vortex 6.5x32 for hikes in the hills and on the water in my sailboat, which is what I bought them for primarily.
The summary is that I'm delighted with these. The alternative was a pair of Fujinon FMTRC-SX, which would have been useful on the boat but not much elsewhere. The Vortex fit in my sail bag much more easily and, except for the compass feature (which is useful esp. in racing when you need to relay a mark location to the helmsman), they are just as functional. Actually, the IF on the Fujis is nice too for water use but I was fine with the focus of these on the water and everywhere else they will be much easier to handle.
Since pretty much everything I know about binoculars comes from postings on BirdForum, I'm not going to break any new ground on optical testing but here are some random thoughts:
BUILD QUALITY: As others have said, build quality on these seems excellent but I do have three small gripes:
--The diopter focus ring is made of a fairly cheap feeling plastic and covered with silver paint to simulate metal. The finger tab sticks up and the paint has already started to wear off to show the black underneath. In an email to Vortex, I said that I didnt have a problem with using a high-quality plastic for this part but why make it look like something that its not? Either actually make it of metal or give us an honest piece of black plastic (with white lines that would be easier to see) that will still look good in a month or year. They forwarded the email to the product dev. people. The diopter adjustment itself is finegood positive click stops that are in small enough increments to get the adjustment right. I do wish that the adjuster had numbers printed on it instead of just lines as its a little difficult to tell where you are if you have to readjust.
--There is some play at the eyecup stops. I wish they snapped into position in a more positive way. Functionally, however, they work fine and there is enough resistance to use the eyecups between the stops. I dont wear glasses (Im basically Mr Magoo but wear -9 contacts) so use the cups fully extended anyway.
--Focus feels good except that the ring rubs against something for about 90 degrees of rotation at one point. Im sure Vortex would take care of that if I sent them back but I only notice it sitting here in my office, not out in the field. And anyway, with Vortexs great warranty, I can always have it corrected 20 or 30 years down the line!
Other than that, everything feels great. I cant stand having play in the focus wheel and these have absolutely none. Before really researching my choice, I tried some Nikon Monarchs at Samys here in L.A. They had what felt like about of play in them (but was probably less). Thats when I thought there has to be a better way to go and started researching here.
Other little details I like: the metal casing for the oculars. The covered strap attachments. I use a wrist strap, not a neck strap, because I most often have the binculars stowed in the binnacle, pick them up and use them in one place and then set them down. The rubber covering feels supple and keeps them from sliding around the cockpit on windy days.
Attached is a photo of the Vortex with one of Gordys straps (with my own strap attachment made from a D-shackle and nylon bushing). I have Gordys on everything theyll fit.
OPTICS: OK, time to stop procrastinating with build quality and write about the optics that, given the level of knowledge here, I dont quite feel qualified to evaluate quantitatively. But I have eyes, right? So heres what these look likethrough my eyes:
I basically love the optics on these. Looking through them is a pleasure. Sharpness, to my eye, is pretty spot-on up to 80 90% of view. Theyre very sharp. Ive read in some reviews that people dont find these as sharp as some others but I cant see what else you could ask for. They are just great.
Chromatic aberration (thats what Id call the red/yellow and purple fringing in photography but maybe the term is different here) increases steadily toward the edge but I guess its just something that goes with the territory. I have expensive, high-index, coated eyeglass lenses and they fringe like crazy anywhere off-center. On the other hand, my extreme wide-angle photo lens (Canon EF-S 10-22 on my trusty 30D) doesnt do this except slightly in very extreme conditions. I wonder what the difference is? Maybe coatings? Or APO?
The Vortex are very bright. The field of view is terrific. I dont notice any difference in power between these and my 40-year-old Nippon-Kogaku Novar IF 7x50s. I cant give a reliable evaluation of pincushion or barrel distortion--I didnt notice any but wasnt really looking as this kind of thing doesnt bother me. Theres the tiniest bit of rolling ball effect but for my use it doesnt matter and in any case its nothing compared to the level of this effect in the Fujinon FMT-SX binoculars.
Heres one thing about these that they share with pretty much every other new, modern pair of binoculars Ive looked through: you cant really move your eyeballs to look around the wide field. With my Novars, I can put them up to my eyes, see all the way around the field stops in every direction and, while holding them still, move my eyeballs up, down and around the view to see whats there without having anything black out. With these and all other modern binoculars, its much harder use your eyeballs to see to the edges without shifting the binoculars, in which case you might as well just pan over. Thats with the cups all the way out and no glasses. Maybe this is to do with eye relief? Im sure my Novars dont have modern eye-relief and maybe thats why theyre the most comfortable binoculars to look through (again, no glasses) that Ive ever used.
Light gathering at twilight is pretty decent. Up at the top of Runyon Canyon the other day at dusk (or darker) the view down the dark canyon through the binoculars was slightly better lit than what I could see with my eyes but they dont have the night vision kind of effect of some 7x50 Nikon Sports & Marine that I tried. This is to be expected, I suppose, given the difference in objective size.
ACCESSORIES: Neckstrap is excellent (though I dont use it). It has a neoprene section that has some give, which I like on my SLR strap. Not quite long enough to wear across the chest unfortunately, which to me is a necessity. I have to be able to put them behind me when leaning over or hiking up a steep hill. Im always surprised how few binocular / camera straps are long enough to do that. But in any case, the strap is a better than the piece of plastic that came with the Nikons (which I returned).
The case particularly stands out as good quality. Ballistic nylon outside (better than Cordura and similar to what Tumi luggage uses), smooth nylon inside with a mesh zipped pocket in the flap. Case has high and low belt loops on the back though I cant think why you would want that. Case strap has swivels on both ends and is long enough to wear it bandolier style.
I dont use lens covers on either end as I frequently have only one hand available to grab and hold the binoculars. And anyway, I can just wash them off when they get dirty! So great finally to have waterproof binoculars (and that warranty). This being the case, Im glad that the objective covers are so easy to remove altogether. They are made of very flexible rubberish stuff that wont fatigue quickly. The Fujinons have permanently attached objective covers and on a display model I looked at one had broken off through what looked like fatigue.
MORE COMPARISONS: This forum has infected me to the extent that while these Vortex were on their way to me from Eagle Optics, I also ordered a pair of Viper 8x42 and Yosemite 6x30s because Im curious to see how they compare. Crazy, right? I guess this is the one place where the answer would be no its not. They havent arrived yet but I may post on how they compare when I get them.
