• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Kowa BDII-XD - september 2019 (1 Viewer)

Hi,

the 10 deg true field of the 6.5x pair sound very nice - as do the 8.8 deg of the 8x32... now let's see how these turn out in real life... The super wide field and good eye relief in small and light instruments sounds a bit too good to be true...

But I hope very much Kowa has found some secret optical sauce to make these eyepieces with the specced data.

Joachim
 
Think a typo, says 1.3mm, probably meant to say 1.3m, which is still pretty good.
Possibly a super alternative to the Papilios?

Indeed a typo, on the page before the spec sheet the close focus is stated in meters (underneath the flower symbol).

I haven't handled Kowa binoculars before, but just the look of the focus wheel doesn't strike me as comfortable - all those metal(?) pins. Anyone have experience with this?
But if I can find them I want to try those 6.5x32 anyway, dat FOV tho!
 
I haven't handled Kowa binoculars before, but just the look of the focus wheel doesn't strike me as comfortable - all those metal(?) pins. Anyone have experience with this?
But if I can find them I want to try those 6.5x32 anyway, dat FOV tho![/QUOTE]

Boris,

Yes it appears the same as the focus wheel on Kowa's top end Genesis series. Comfortable and very grippy.

Mike
 
I tried a knurled-metal focus knob on a Maven once and found it very unpleasant. The action was also very stiff; such a knob might be more tolerable if it took a lighter touch.
 
The focussing wheel on the Genesis is definitely anodized Aluminium. The dark grey of mine is showing a slight sign of wear in one area and the bare metal is shimmering through.
Roger Vine of "Scope Views" also thought it was plastic, but if that were the case, how on earth would you get it out of the mould?

John
 
Have you seen any official information or is this based on physical evaluation?

I have a Genesis 8x33 and the focus wheel gives a high pitched 'ting' when gently struck with a metal object but a more definitive test was performed by a friend who stabbed the focus wheel on his Genesis with a red-hot needle. He didn't say what noise it made but did note that the needle did not penetrate.

Like John I conclude its aluminium.

Lee
 
Since we've veered off topic to the Genesis, does anybody have a feeling on where the new BDII XD will sit in the pecking order compared to the Genesis? I know it's speculation at this point, but what are the areas where the Genesis would be expected to still be superior - or not? Just interested in people's thoughts.
 
Since we've veered off topic to the Genesis, does anybody have a feeling on where the new BDII XD will sit in the pecking order compared to the Genesis? I know it's speculation at this point, but what are the areas where the Genesis would be expected to still be superior - or not? Just interested in people's thoughts.

Made in Japan. Also, if the new models display any noticeable CA that would set the Genesis apart. The Genesis already has a pretty small sweet spot (at least in 8x33), so it's definitely not going to be that. I'm most interested to see what the price point of the new model is.
 
The focussing wheel on the Genesis is definitely anodized Aluminium. The dark grey of mine is showing a slight sign of wear in one area and the bare metal is shimmering through.
Roger Vine of "Scope Views" also thought it was plastic, but if that were the case, how on earth would you get it out of the mould?

Like you, my Genesis has some wear on the finish of the focus wheel. Interestingly, I had the opposite impression as you and thought it looked to be something other than metal.

I don't feel strongly one way or the other, so if you guys are confident it's aluminum I'll go with that, but I don't think the hot needle test is proof of anything.

I find the Genesis focus wheel to be aesthetically pleasing but just adequate in use.
 
Kowa Japan, via their daughter company in Germany, confirm the focus wheels on Genesis models 44/33/22 are aluminium.

Lee
 
Last edited:
18000bph;3879194 I don't think the hot needle test is proof of anything. [/QUOTE said:
My pal is a bino dealer and if a customer queries the material used on binos or scopes he uses a red hot needle in a discrete place on a demo unit to test for metal vs plastic.

He hasn't met a plastic yet that hasn't melted a tiny hole when a red-hot needle is applied. I suppose there is always a first time but it would be hard to understand why an ultra-high melting-point plastic (is there such a thing or have we moved into ceramics at this point?) would be specified for a bino focus wheel.

Anyway Kowa have kindly cleared up this question.

Lee
 
Last edited:
Does anyone know if these will have a Made in Japan or Made in China designation? Not that it necessarily matters, but that is something I've yet to see mentioned.

Justin
 
Does anyone know if these will have a Made in Japan or Made in China designation? Not that it necessarily matters, but that is something I've yet to see mentioned.

Justin

I emailed Kowa US and got the following response to a few questions:

The new BD II XDs will be available for purchase on Oct. 1st.


They are produced in China but designed and QC’d by our headquarters in Japan.


Retail price on the 32mms will be $399.
 
I emailed Kowa US and got the following response to a few questions:

The new BD II XDs will be available for purchase on Oct. 1st.


They are produced in China but designed and QC’d by our headquarters in Japan.


Retail price on the 32mms will be $399.

Thanks Beth, I was actually just above to email them, but checked this thread first.
That's too bad about the MiC tag, but as long as they honour their warranties I'm not too concerned.

Thanks again!
 
Thanks Beth, I was actually just above to email them, but checked this thread first.
That's too bad about the MiC tag, but as long as they honour their warranties I'm not too concerned.

Thanks again!

Yea it makes sense though since the previous BD XD was MIC as well.
I admit I had a little hope the new version would be MIJ, but figured it would be unlikely.
We'll have to wait a while for reviews to trickle in here.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 4 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top