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Your dream binocular (1 Viewer)

I'll put it this way - this is MY version of a dream bino, not yours. I, personally, do not want batteries and electronics in my binos.
 
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Hi Everybody,

thanks a lot for your well thought through comments.
What do you all think about the handling of binoculars in general?
When I am using my binos (although they are really light compared to other models) I come across the situation that I still have to hold them in front of my eye all the time. If I do not have a place to rest my elbows on it can still get quite stressful after a while. Do you also have this situation?

Zory

I find ergonomics to be more and more important. Without a perfect hold, you cannot get a perfect image.

For the situation you describe: have you tried using a cap? Just hold the bins to your eyes and with your little fingers let them hang loosely from the cap of your cap. Some of the weight of the bins will now be hanging from the cap, thus releasing some stress on the arms. Also great for stabilizing the bins as (micro-) vibrations will be absorbed by the cap.

George
 
I'll put it this way - this is MY version of a dream bino, not yours. I, personally, do not want batteries and electronics in my binos.

The idea has great visceral appeal, as illustrated by the many people who much prefer mechanical watches to their digital successors.
But there is no hope that a mechanical stabilization can be robust enough to survive routine field use, nor that one could find anyone able to repair it when it needed help. The training pipeline for such people has been dismantled, so no one to make them and no one to fix them.
 
What do you all think about the handling of binoculars in general?
When I am using my binos (although they are really light compared to other models) I come across the situation that I still have to hold them in front of my eye all the time. If I do not have a place to rest my elbows on it can still get quite stressful after a while. Do you also have this situation?
Yes! Many binos in these days of huge eye relief cause this problem for me, because their eyecups are too short, so I can't enjoy holding them. There are ways of holding them up against your brow, or with fingers there etc, but really you need something that fits your face, and if you look at enough different models you will eventually find one. Good luck!
 
The idea has great visceral appeal, as illustrated by the many people who much prefer mechanical watches to their digital successors.
But there is no hope that a mechanical stabilization can be robust enough to survive routine field use, nor that one could find anyone able to repair it when it needed help. The training pipeline for such people has been dismantled, so no one to make them and no one to fix them.

Hence the ''dream'' part of this thread...
 
I'm with James on this. While I am aware that electronic IS tech is getting cheaper and more compact (don't know whether it is getting more effective) I don't like the shape of Canon IS binos from a handling point of view and I would be nervous of being out in rain for hours with electronic binos or indeed getting drenched by sea-spray. I would need a lot of convincing to feel comfortable about battery powered binos.
I don't know enough about mechanical stabilisation to conclude whether this technology is reliable and robust or compact enough but like James said: we are dreaming here.....

Lee
 
The Russians claim that their mechanical IS is very tough, long lived and reliable.
I.e. 20x50 Stabilised.

The older 16x50, that supposedly worked as a 16x35 was, I think, used primarily in tanks.

It is quite possible that there are many binocular technicians in Russia who routinely strip and align binoculars, including stabilised.
Because we have given up these skills, does not mean that they have.

I have not seen either of these binoculars, so I don't know how they perform, but they are probably heavy, which rules out the Dream binocular aspect.

I probably hate digital more than most, but have used Canon IS binoculars since about 1999.
There are no hand held classical binoculars to compete with them for fine detail.
I also use non IS binoculars.

I also use digital cameras.
 
Two things stand out to me:

I’ve had 9x35 Kowa and Swift in the past (one may have been 36mm in fact). This is the perfect birding spec for me but no alphas make it...

Second, as someone said very early in the thread, perfect ergonomics inc a deep field of view and very fast focus. The best I’ve used by a mile are Leica BA. Everything since then has been a backward step in these areas.
 
I'm with James on this. While I am aware that electronic IS tech is getting cheaper and more compact (don't know whether it is getting more effective) I don't like the shape of Canon IS binos from a handling point of view and I would be nervous of being out in rain for hours with electronic binos or indeed getting drenched by sea-spray. I would need a lot of convincing to feel comfortable about battery powered binos.
I don't know enough about mechanical stabilisation to conclude whether this technology is reliable and robust or compact enough but like James said: we are dreaming here.....

Lee

Only anecdotal evidence, but my Canon 10x42s served reliably for a decade, in very damp weather, offshore and in various climes. I can't fault them for robustness.
Of course, when the IS died, it was not easily repaired. I wound up buying another one as replacement. Imho, still a great value even with that expense factored in, because its performance is so much better.
 
Adaptive sunglasses with 15x zoom autofocus and image capture networked to a local device (phone-like?) that stores images and provides heads up display. Kind of Google Glasses on steroids. The Borg have had this capability for quite some time.
 
Adaptive sunglasses with 15x zoom autofocus and image capture networked to a local device (phone-like?) that stores images and provides heads up display. Kind of Google Glasses on steroids. The Borg have had this capability for quite some time.


LOL !! :-O:-O I can think of two reasons why this would be welcome :)


Resistance is futile ....... ;);)





Chosun :gh:
 
I understand that Duovids don’t zoom, and am not sure that I really understand why that would be good handheld. Maybe on a tripod?

I do like the multiple magnifications of the duovid though. I just want it to be better. What is the big one 10/15x50? The 10x50 is cool, but if I am going 15x i am going to want 56 mm objective. Likewise with the little one, i’m Not that interested in a 12x42.

I would suggest the TRIPLEVID. I want all the magnifications in the objective that fits them. How about 7/8/10x42 and 8/10/12x50?

Make it small too, like an ultravid or an slc.

I would only need one 42 and One 50. That would simplify my life a bit.
 
8/10/12x50 sounds interesting and while we are dreaming lets make it a 52mm. Naturally we also want decent eye relief, excellent field of view, 2.0m close focus and to weigh 750g max.

Lee
 
8/10/12x50 sounds interesting and while we are dreaming lets make it a 52mm. Naturally we also want decent eye relief, excellent field of view, 2.0m close focus and to weigh 750g max.

I could offer you a monocular with those specs... two tubes, not so easy...

Joachim
 
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