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Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

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  1. kkokkolis

    New German made near alpha quality optic for about $130

    4 years later update: I bought the Zeiss 6x18 and put the Docter in the Microscope box. If only it had some mm more of eye relief! I made an adapter out of an antibiotic cup and I use now the Docter ancillary lenses with the Zeiss too. With the 10D it goes to 15x, with the 5D to 7.5x (and with...
  2. kkokkolis

    Help me choose a monocular

    I don't have experience with the models you say, but having several, from 2x18 Emoscop to 8x30ΜΠ2, I find the Zeiss 6x18 T* with short focus to be the best overall and the fastest to take out and see. It is also small and excellent optically. Since the Vixen resembles it, I think that it will be...
  3. kkokkolis

    Fluid video head at 150€?

    I know nothing about counterbalance. I don't see the B.I.G. mentioning it. I guess that it is needed when tilting the head. But I see no counterweight, is it accomplished with friction?
  4. kkokkolis

    Fluid video head at 150€?

    It's 175 euros here. I could get it. What about that? https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p9597_B-I-G--Professional-Video-Pan-Head-VN-3000---2-way---3-way-camera-head-for-photo-tripod.html I like the store and it states more kgrs.
  5. kkokkolis

    Fluid video head at 150€?

    Hello everyone. I have a Manfrotto tripod with a Magic Ball for years. I thought I should upgrade to a video head with smooth motion for better tracking and balance close to the zenith. My setup goes from 2.5 to 4kgr. I have an amount of 150€ to spend. Any suggestions?
  6. kkokkolis

    Poking Fun at Ourselves...

    Obviously. Nothing to do with swallow wings though. I meant this:
  7. kkokkolis

    Poking Fun at Ourselves...

    Gnat straining while shallowing the camel is habitual to most forums I ever visited.
  8. kkokkolis

    New German made near alpha quality optic for about $130

    Mind though that the Docter has short eye relief. That's no problem in microscopy but it bothers me in telescopy. From what I have tried and purely subjectively: Zeiss 8x16> Leica 8x20> Docter 8x21> KOMZ 8x30 (CCCP made Zeiss clone) > Opticron Gallery Scope> Seibert Episkop 2.5x18 (Gallilean...
  9. kkokkolis

    New German made near alpha quality optic for about $130

    It is of similar design. Eschenbach, KOMZ and others make Turmon inspired monoculars, presumably made in PRC, most of them. I only used the Docter, which is made in Germany and pricier, I don't know how the rest compare to that.
  10. kkokkolis

    New German made near alpha quality optic for about $130

    I made my own stand, out of a Urobox and a 100ml bottle, cut roughly with my Swiss Army Knife. The combination is focusable. With the +10 lens I focus on the table at 20x and with the +5 lens I focus under the glass, on my mineral collection, at 10x. Fantastic! I also made another stand for my...
  11. kkokkolis

    Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 - Any current issues? Excellent in demo

    1) Uncoated/unpainted "ring" and improper baffling causing light leak and/or insufficiently blackened internal reflective surfaces. I haven't noticed such a thing 2) Veiling glare in diffuse light, Yes, it's there, in sharp contrast with my Zeiss. But the benefits outweight it. 3) Plastic...
  12. kkokkolis

    ZEISS TERRA ED 8x25 pocket

    A fellow BF member lend my a pair of Leica Ultravid 8x20. They are gorgeous binoculars. But, although they control stray light and lateral color better than the Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 and they are equally easy to use with glasses, I found out that I not even one day prefered to carry them with me...
  13. kkokkolis

    Collins Bird Guide

    No, but I put it in my Dark Skies Apparel Hooded Vest pocket easily. And in a couple of Jackets and my monosling and backpack. But i know what you mean. At this price I'm going to try it.
  14. kkokkolis

    Collins Bird Guide

    It is cheap but why does Collins need a back up? Are there data in Hayman's and Hulme's book not included in the Collins? There are a lot of nice applications for Android also (containing sounds too) and a couple of nice books of different formats.
  15. kkokkolis

    8x42 Zeiss Terra ED vs Nikon Monarch 7 - detailed comparison from an Optical Engineer

    I bought the Terra ED 8X42 before reaching BF and the Monarch 7 8x30 after, both after much market research. They would be good for 99% of the people interested in observation with binoculars. Both have their faults and some faults are subjective. For example I count the Zeiss focuser as an...
  16. kkokkolis

    Exit pupil and eye relief - physical and conceptual models

    Got it! The fourth funnel was a dummy.
  17. kkokkolis

    Exit pupil and eye relief - physical and conceptual models

    Regardless of how many photos I have seen of RMS Titanic, it had always 4 smokestacks. Is there an inner meaning in that phrase I lost in translation?
  18. kkokkolis

    Why do midrange binoculars exist?

    A couple of years ago I would go for B, this summer I would go for A or C, now I would go for D (spend them elsewhere or keep them for harder times). And that because I now own more binoculars than I need.
  19. kkokkolis

    Why do midrange binoculars exist?

    I think I understand what he said, since I feel the same need myself. It goes like this. I had 1000€, with which I bought a pair of Zeiss Conquests. With the same money I could buy 3-4 pairs of different binoculars, providing different magnifications/uses, say a Papilio 6,5x21, a Monarch 7...
  20. kkokkolis

    Why do midrange binoculars exist?

    There's not right and wrong for what you do with your money/time/mind/hands for your own use/pleasure/satisfaction/knowledge/fulfilment. I didn't need the Zeiss Conquest, neither most of the other binoculars I have (Pentax Papilio 6,5x21 being the sole exception), since the Nikon Monarch 7 8x30...
  21. kkokkolis

    Why do midrange binoculars exist?

    I have a whole nursery of pet rocks. And a range of optics to admire them. De gustibus non est disputandum.
  22. kkokkolis

    Why do midrange binoculars exist?

    I can assure you that Swiss Army Knives' users/collectors are among the most agreeable in the world and their forum is the most gentle and civilized, with minimal moderation. I've seen arguments and escalations when threads derail to politics, hunting, the right to carry guns etc (really rarely)...
  23. kkokkolis

    Bins...B&S series 5/Endeavor II/Monarch 7

    How much different my experience with it it is. I see easily the residual color, of the Italian flag type. The focuser is fast but resists more than I'd like to and counterclockwise movement is spoilsport. I love the seath, the clamshell opening helps me a lot. And I get shakes. Another example...
  24. kkokkolis

    Zeiss Conquest HD abbreviations specifics and most recent model.

    Adaptors that support the full weight of the binocular with an extented surface of contact and particularly the wooden Berlebach with antislip ruber that suppresses vibrations further are much better than L shape adaptors that support the bin outside the center of gravity.
  25. kkokkolis

    Zeiss Conquest HD abbreviations specifics and most recent model.

    3:-) You would be Turbador then yourself back in the '80s! Bottom line is that Conquest HD is a more recent version than plain Conquest and that's all you need to know. ED glass and such are technical details that don't say much about the quality of glass, the quality of grinding (or whatever...
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