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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Canon IS 12x36 v. Swarovski EL 10x42 (1 Viewer)

Thanks for the great review. I have a Canon Powershot S3 IS, very reasonably priced. 12 time optical/48 time digital. I get great shots with both optical and digital ( check my gallery, all taken with my powershot ) and the IS is magic as well. I find the shots are good with hand held or tripod.I'll never get that film camera clarity but this is the best low cost digital I've ever seen...
 
I have the 8x30 & 15x56 swaros .They are great binoculars .
But since i got the 12x36 & 15x50 canon IS,s all of the others of which i have about 20 pairs stay home.
You cannot beat the IS for hand held viewing.The optics are not 2nd rate either.
I,m sure if more birders would try them they would love them.
If they had a German name they would sell like hot cakes.
Brian.
I´d love to see the 15x50 some day. Are they a tad heavy for hand-held viewing? Today a pair of Peregrines (adult and juvenile) were circling over my house. My daughter and I watched them with Swaro 8x32 and Canon IS 12x36, occasionally swapping. The light was good. I could discern far more detail and get a more relaxed, steady image of the birds soaring and occasionally swooping with the Canons. (I´m partly sad about this, ´cos Swaro 8x were heretofore my fave bins!!! Mind you, I can never be accused of consistency, and may change my mind in a month...;) )
 
Birders seem to want a few things most of the IS binoculars don't offer.....

Waterproofing
Good close focus ability
Good adjustable eyecups

The Canon 10x42 Ls addressed the first two, and tried to address the third, but, IMHO, did a lousy job on the eyecups. Unfortunately, it misses the mark with many birders because they also want light weight binoculars.

Finally, as with many hobbies, birders often seem to buy what the experts use. I suspect there is also a tendency to be a bit conservative and stick with the tried and true.

I am awfully glad my wife bought me a pair of the 12x36s for Christmas several years ago. The steady 12x view really helps with IDs.

Clear skies, Alan


The eyecups on those are awful. I was hoping they'd come out with an improvd version - better eye cups, better quality control (re collimation), and it would be nice if they could be lighter, too. I'd rush out and but a pair if they did!
 
If I am going to be around the office or in meetings or wearing a suit I carry the Zeiss just because they are smaller and lighter.
Ron, I only just noticed the bit about the suit (in your excellent appraisal of 8x compacts v. 8x IS). You carry compacts in your pocket at work?! Brilliant!! That´s dedication....("Is that a pair of binoculars in your pocket, or are you very, very pleased to see me?";) )
 
Ron, I only just noticed the bit about the suit (in your excellent appraisal of 8x compacts v. 8x IS). You carry compacts in your pocket at work?! Brilliant!! That´s dedication....("Is that a pair of binoculars in your pocket, or are you very, very pleased to see me?";) )


Hello Sancho;

Actually, I carry a pair with me all the time, but mostly for work. I do some birding and wild life watching during slow times but as a surveyor who, now days, works mostly on power line and gas line routes, use them for work purposes a lot of the time.

I need to be able to read structure, asset or part numbers on towers, switches or other things and also use them to save a lot of walking. When looking for property markers or environmental flags and other such features that may be in the brush or on creek/river banks, it is far easier to glass for something than try to get into the area and look around.

Also use bins a lot from aircraft and boats for the same purpose, this is when I really like IF bins.

So, maybe not as dedicated as you had thought.

Ron

PS: When working, with all the equipment we have to carry, pocket bins is all that makes any sense to me.
 
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Ah, that explains it, Ron! When you mentioned a suit, I imagined a Wall Street Office type scenario, with shiny board tables and plate-glass windows, with your Leicas at the ready just in case you could sneak off to the park when no-one was looking, searching for birds!;) Thanks again for the appraisal, and especially for the photos....the 8x IS really are a large item for the configuration, and your photo was the factor that decided me against them.:t:
 
You cannot beat the IS for hand held viewing.The optics are not 2nd rate either.
I,m sure if more birders would try them they would love them.
If they had a German name they would sell like hot cakes.

Canon isn't exactly a poor brand name, there are plenty of bird photographers out there who would not be parted from their Canon cameras and lenses. Personally for me (as I mentioned before) it's all about IQ, my Canon lenses are outstanding, but the IS bins I tested just didn't cut it (perhaps the 10x42 L IS will be up there). If Canon produced bins with L quality glass (and IQ), which also had good close focus and FOV they'd sell by the bucketful.

I have long wondered what damage Canon could do to the market if they produced a high quaity spotting scope... I wonder if I could get an adapter to fit an eyepice to my 100-400 L IS, that could be interesting...
 
Cant believe the canon IS you tried couldnt cut it .I have the 12 & 15 versions & they are exellent.So good that i ordered the 10x30 IS yesterday .
I have swaros ,leica ,minox & pentax bins but hardly grab them anymore because the 12x36 are so good .Maybe you got a bad one to try ,altho i,ve never found a bad one.Im sure if more people tried them they would be won over
Only thing missing is snob value.
Brian.
 
Cant believe the canon IS you tried couldnt cut it .I have the 12 & 15 versions & they are exellent.So good that i ordered the 10x30 IS yesterday .
I have swaros ,leica ,minox & pentax bins but hardly grab them anymore because the 12x36 are so good .Maybe you got a bad one to try ,altho i,ve never found a bad one.Im sure if more people tried them they would be won over
Only thing missing is snob value.
Brian.

Kimmo Absetz did a thorough review of them in Alula magazine last year. He reckoned that the 10x L-IS were optically the best 10x available on the market, even before you engaged the IS feature. With three reservations, however.... a lot of sample variation (so test lots of pairs!), dodgy eyecups (uncomfortable and poorly designed), and weight (over 1.2 kilos with straps, rainguards etc.). (I hope I haven´t misrepresented Kimmo´s review here, and apologies in advance if I have). I continue to be amazed by performance of the 12x36 IS, despite better optics on my EL´s...the IS is the feature that makes all the difference. But maybe lots of folk have steadier hands than me, and as we all keep saying, the best bins are the best bins for You.
 
Sancho .I agree with you on the eye cups The eyecups on my 15X50 are hard & uncomfortable but the 12 & 10s are fine .I also agree with your view on the optics .
My Swaro & Nikon se maybe ,but maybe not, slightly better but the IS wins every time .
Brian.
 
I love holding my 12x36 one-handed when owners of conventional binoculars are about.... they don't know what they're missing. I can't stand the unstabilised views as it makes me feel that I have a bad attack of the shakes.
I don't tend to observe when it is raining, so waterproofing is not so much of an issue and I keep mine in a bomb-proof case, so I am not too concerned about accidental damage (they're 3yrs old and counting). We ought to keep quiet, we don't want everyone buying a pair!

Cheers

PEter
 
I got my 10x36 last weekend. For a newbie bird watcher, it is good. I did try the more expensive ones like Leica and Swaros - sure they were super but could not fit in my budget. Maybe next time.
 
I read through all the reviews of the Canon IS 12x36 on Amazon.com and decided to give it a try. I must say that all the enthusiastic descriptions are true! It is so much easier to see the fine details with IS and the magnification of 12x provides a real bonus over 8x! When I go out birding now I leave my Swarovski SLC 8x30 at home, but for reasons of robustness I take these in demanding circumstances (very cold, wet, tropical humidity etc)
 
I read through all the reviews of the Canon IS 12x36 on Amazon.com and decided to give it a try. I must say that all the enthusiastic descriptions are true! It is so much easier to see the fine details with IS and the magnification of 12x provides a real bonus over 8x! When I go out birding now I leave my Swarovski SLC 8x30 at home, but for reasons of robustness I take these in demanding circumstances (very cold, wet, tropical humidity etc)
Congratulations, Tyrolean. I´m still addicted to my IS 12x36. I´m surprised more people don´t use them for longer-distance use. Happy Birding with your new bins!:t:
 
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