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Kowa BDII-XD - september 2019 (1 Viewer)

Troubador said:
Whether it is the best ED glass or an economy type is another question, and maybe glass makers have been trying to bring the cost of ED glass down and have succeeded.
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Hi,

yes, there is quite some competition for the top dogs Schott and Ohara. Also there is not really best, good and budget ED glass. There is different kinds and they need to be used in combination with different (non-ED) partner glasses.

In an ideal world, the designer is able (and allowed by the beancounters) to choose a glass combination which allows him to reach the specifications without using a very critical design with stuff like strong curves or large airspace...

That being said, binoculars with their low magnifications are a fairly easy task to get reasonably color free... as is shown by a lot of classics without ED glass which still work without showing offensive amounts of color for most users.
So probably the most expensive stuff like FPL-53 or 55, FCD-100 or OK4 is not going into binoculars but high price astro APOs.

Joachim
 
jring said:
.........

So probably the most expensive stuff like FPL-53 or 55, FCD-100 or OK4 is not going into binoculars but high price astro APOs.

Joachim
Click to expand...

Joachim,

I don't know frequently top specification ED glass is used in regular binoculars as most companies seem to prefer to keep these things secret, but we do know Vanguard made a big thing Hoya FCD100 in their Endeavour EDII, and i was told it featured in the original design for the EDIV.

David
 
Chosun Juan said:
LOL :-O In the case of the Terrible Terra any suggestion of FL glass is more heretical than rhetorical !! 3:)

Chosun :gh:
Click to expand...

LOL again, I am all for a bit of heresy now and again to shake things up. Its got you tap-dancing o:).

I hope you get a chance to try out the little Kowa, its worth it.

Lee
 
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typo said:
I don't know frequently top specification ED glass is used in regular binoculars as most companies seem to prefer to keep these things secret, but we do know Vanguard made a big thing Hoya FCD100 in their Endeavour EDII, and i was told it featured in the original design for the EDIV.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I don't think it's a frequent thing in binoculars and might have been for marketing reasons...
Otoh FCD100 is certainly the most accessible of the three I mentioned... FPL53 is quite a bit more expensive and OK4 (and more importantly the very well matching and equally proprietary partner glass) are unavailable at any price nowadays - unless you buy a nice triplet objective from LZOS of course - that is if they have free capacity beside their work for russian military...

At least in the astro scene the glass used in a refractor is a big thing - to the point that a triplet apo with an FPL51 element from a top shop is seen as inferior by some to a cheap chinese doublet with FPL53.

Of course FPL51 was what was needed to make the triplet design work well and together with it's superior craftsmanship it's going to quite a bit better than the (often surprisingly good) cheap chinese doublet with FPL53.

PS: Henry was also quite astonished back then...
https://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=3052466&postcount=10

Joachim
 
Chosun Juan said:
I also prefer the shallower dof of the 8x (with my preferred fast focus) as it gives me a positive focus range and the subconscious memory of which direction I last turned the wheel to get there gives me a spatial awareness of which way to turn if the bird changes direction and distance. With 7x I sometimes feel a bit lost and not too sure of which way to go. I also find that the blurring of foreground and background with the higher magnification gives better subject isolation (the way that photographers aim to do).
:gh:
Click to expand...

Chosun, These are interesting perceptions that usually aren't mentioned here, as often as the general adage of greater depth of field conferring 'an advantage' of not having to focus so much. However, I've been using a 10x42 as my primary birding bin for the last 10 months, and very much enjoy 'slicing' through foliage to isolate the bird against an extremely busy background. I suppose its an aesthetic issue, but it also helps one observe detail where you want it, and simplifies the rest of the view.

-Bill
 
Troubador said:
LOL again, I am all for a bit of heresy now and again to shake things up. Its got you tap-dancing o:).

I hope you get a chance to try out the little Kowa, its worth it.

Lee
Click to expand...

Lee I'd haul yourself in for a service coz you seem to be blowing blue smoke out ya wazoo ! :-O

Actually I have been known to tap dance ! but only after a strike ...... o:D
With a top score of 288 that's a lot of hired leather that was worn out - Lol :) :eek!:



Chosun :gh:
 
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wdc said:
Chosun, These are interesting perceptions that usually aren't mentioned here, as often as the general adage of greater depth of field conferring 'an advantage' of not having to focus so much. However, I've been using a 10x42 as my primary birding bin for the last 10 months, and very much enjoy 'slicing' through foliage to isolate the bird against an extremely busy background. I suppose its an aesthetic issue, but it also helps one observe detail where you want it, and simplifies the rest of the view.

-Bill
Click to expand...

Bill, I probably do most things unusually ! :)
The 8x is a distinct preference. I'm going to investigate these lightweight widefield 10x more thoroughly when I get around to it (however I have in the past had some 10x that was like trying to focus on the thickness of a piece of paper - and that was no fun .... )

Yes, I agree, I find those same advantages trying to pull bits of birds out of dense cover, but mostly tend toward 8x (10x can be hard work sometimes, but sweet when you nail it - helps if the little geewhizzits aren't racing around all over the place in that case :)





Chosun :gh:
 
Chosun Juan said:
Lee I'd haul yourself in for a service coz you seem to be blowing blue smoke out ya wazoo ! :-O

Actually I have been known to tap dance ! but only after a strike ...... o:D
With a top score of 288 that's a lot of hired leather that was worn out - Lol :) :eek!:

Chosun :gh:
Click to expand...


This is all a bit embarrassing CJ, I mean you letting everyone know how close you like to get to my wazoo. I do believe I am blushing.

Lee
 
Troubador said:
This is all a bit embarrassing CJ, I mean you letting everyone know how close you like to get to my wazoo. I do believe I am blushing.

Lee
Click to expand...

Lee, I'm nowhere near, nor have I ever been anywhere near, nor do I ever want to go anywhere near your wazoo ! However, with the amount of 'blue' smoke coming out, several reports in your County have been made to the local authorities - I think the Environment Protection Agency wants a word with you ! 3:)

It is to my great embarrassment though, that I have admitted to my highest score of 288 ..... 1 damn frame off a perfect 300 ! Highly annoying !! Nailed 10 strikes (with a tap dance after each one ! :) :-O and then slipped up with an 8-spare in the 11th frame .... aarrrggggh ! :-C





Chosun :gh:
 
6.5 > 8x

sporting event- to see more action
terrestrial - to see more of landscape with wider FOV
hunting- to see game in peripheral areas

assuming adequate image to edge

edj
 
Chosun Juan said:
Lee, I'm nowhere near, nor have I ever been anywhere near, nor do I ever want to go anywhere near your wazoo ! However, with the amount of 'blue' smoke coming out, several reports in your County have been made to the local authorities - I think the Environment Protection Agency wants a word with you ! 3:)

It is to my great embarrassment though, that I have admitted to my highest score of 288 ..... 1 damn frame off a perfect 300 ! Highly annoying !! Nailed 10 strikes (with a tap dance after each one ! :) :-O and then slipped up with an 8-spare in the 11th frame .... aarrrggggh ! :-C

Chosun :gh:
Click to expand...

My home town has been a smokeless zone for decades so I had better clean up my wazoo despite the fascination it holds for you.

288 is pretty impressive CJ.

Lee
 
edwincjones said:
6.5 > 8x

sporting event- to see more action
terrestrial - to see more of landscape with wider FOV
hunting- to see game in peripheral areas

assuming adequate image to edge

edj
Click to expand...

I am taking one on holiday from this coming Thursday and have a list of 9 activities, some kind of overlapping each other, but with 6 clearly distinct ones, and I will find out how they perform at each of them, as well as normal nature observation.

Lee
 
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