Hoopla over "Sports Auto Focus" aside, I do appreciate Steiner 7x50s stubby construction, which lessens the effects of hand shake. They're also robust.
I will give the German models a thumbs up on robustness. Even so, the first Steiner rep that came to me was proud to show me a Commander that was MANY TIMES out of the maximum tolerance for collimation. And with the prisms being cemented at the factory, I pointed out that if such an instrument were brought to me for repair, I couldn't do it cost-effectively.
Hi,
Steiner committed the Fero D12 - the 8x30 bins which the german army acquired to replace the Hensoldt DF. They were not serviceable (at all) and not as stable as promised... Plus the optics kinda sucked...
Which lead to the interesting situation that the DF never really was phased out since everybody did their best to keep their old DF in service - if needs be by paying a case of beer or two to the repair guys to fix it with some parts squirreled away...
Until the need for laser protection led to the introduction of the Fero D16 - once again from Hensoldt aka Zeiss military.
Joachim
Once while picking up some optics for repair at the Coast Guard station In Seattle, I saw half a pallet of Mk 28s, 32s, and 45s that were destined for the government LANDFILL south of Bremerton. I asked why they were being discarded and was told they were obsolete.
Still, some genius at the Pentagon just HAD to waste more tax-payer money ... and away they went to the landfill.
Bill
explain to the poms please? i guessed slang for call girl or tuna but turns out it is a fried chicken brand and i still dont get it!
The FeroD-16,the narrow FOV of 7 degrees was a real letdown from the older DF 8X30 with a full degree more. I have and recommend the Docter (old EDF 7X40), I think this would be a good glass for the harbor pilot, unless he requires center focus.
Hi, Foss:
That, of course, is one of the selling points. However, that stubbiness comes at a price. Ask other amateur astronomers, telescope makers, or photography experts what results from reducing the f/ratio to make it that stubby.
I will give the German models a thumbs up on robustness. Even so, the first Steiner rep that came to me was proud to show me a Commander that was MANY TIMES out of the maximum tolerance for collimation. And with the prisms being cemented at the factory, I pointed out that if such an instrument were brought to me for repair, I couldn't do it cost-effectively.
That was a deal breaker for me. Some of their models are great glasses, but they're all longer. To each his own. :cat:
Cheers,
Bill
PS Are you related to the Seattle Foss family?
Hi,
Fero D12 = Steiner
Fero D16 = Hensoldt/Zeiss
not quite comparable - about as different as a pair of Steiner 7x50 and a pair of Fujinon FMT-SX2 7x50.
And yes, 7x50 is the standard marine size, but the o.p. asked specifically about a small and light pair of bins carry while scaling a rope ladder to use when the usual bridge 7x50 is unavailable, broken or too dirty to use safely.
Recommending a bulky and 1kg+ pair of 7x50 is not going to help him with that. A small pair is probably going to impose some compromises, but they're better than no bins.
Joachim
If the OP recovers from the tsunami of Binocracy, being a pilot, he should be able to explain it.
Edit: Hmmm. To keep folks from falling off the edge of their seats anticipating...
Wikipedia: "The 'Texas chicken' maneuver is known to mariners who regularly navigate large vessels on the Houston Ship Channel. As two vessels approach from opposite directions, both normally turn to starboard to allow water displaced by their bows to move the ships away from each other and from the channel's centerline. After they pass, the suction of the displaced water flowing in behind the ships naturally pulls them back toward the center of the waterway." This starts out looking like two vessels getting ready for a head-on collision -- like playing chicken with automobiles.
The Economist, Jul 31st 1997: "Once a ship starts out into the crowded Houston shipping channel, it has to keep going. This sometimes requires a dramatic procedure called the “Texas chicken”. Two large ships, steaming head-on at each other, break right at a given moment and trust their bow waves to keep them apart. Pilots sniff at laymen’s terror. 'Simple hydraulic forces,' they explain."
Yes sir, that's it.
...Zeiss 8x25 Victory (14.5oz and 357' FOV)...
...Zeiss 8x32 Terra ED (18oz and 405' FOV) (least expensive by a lot, but is the FOV realistic and crisp?)...
<snippage>
I'm still pretty much between the:
Swarovski CL 8x30 Companions (I'm assuming the best glass in my list, but most expensive) (17.3oz and 396' FOV)
Zeiss 8x25 Victory (14.5oz and 357' FOV)
Zeiss 8x32 Terra ED (18oz and 405' FOV) (least expensive by a lot, but is the FOV realistic and crisp?)