BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
Chuck ...... Would you please add the specific model detail for those in the list (8X42, 8X32, etc.) Also, is the Trinovid the current HD model or the prior version? The spec indicates the HD.
Thanks.
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Tract Toric 8x42 Experience (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter jgraider
- Start date
Chuck ...... Would you please add the specific model detail for those in the list (8X42, 8X32, etc.) Also, is the Trinovid the current HD model or the prior version? The spec indicates the HD.
Thanks.
JG for me its the same with Tract and Maven as I described for Zeiss. If Tract and Maven designed the bins then they are Tracts and Mavens, not Kamakuras.
I guess if Tract came up with a specification and asked Kamakura to design an optical train to satisfy this requirement then maybe that is best regarded as a co-operative design. However this would still be quite different from taking a Kamakura and just paying for new armour to create your 'own' brand.
Pete Gamby has told how bins can start as off the shelf designs bought by more than one re-brander which then drift apart as one rebrander asks for different prism coatings and another asks for something else so that over the years the designs become different. This means that a simple re-branding might become more like a co-operative design over a period of years.
All it means is that it isn't always a simple matter to slap a label on a model as to how it has originated.
Lee
Probably more than Leica or Zeiss?
Trying to find the answer
I've read just about every post and forum on tract toric bin,finding very limited reviews except by the likes of jgraider and denco. And seen there posts on multiple forums praising tract toric, also read chill4x4 post then saw he was selling his tract toric soon after on this sight. a short while after purchasing. I'd like to think that some of these posters were not praising to help generate sales for certain companies in return for product. Any response from posters and what they think would be of help.not calling out jg or denco it just seems like that could be the issue as I've seen them post on multiple sights and quite a few posts.? Or maybe they are just that helpful to fellow man and women. Feel free to set me straight if I'm out of order,I just want to make sure my money is wisely spent.
I've read just about every post and forum on tract toric bin,finding very limited reviews except by the likes of jgraider and denco. And seen there posts on multiple forums praising tract toric, also read chill4x4 post then saw he was selling his tract toric soon after on this sight. a short while after purchasing. I'd like to think that some of these posters were not praising to help generate sales for certain companies in return for product. Any response from posters and what they think would be of help.not calling out jg or denco it just seems like that could be the issue as I've seen them post on multiple sights and quite a few posts.? Or maybe they are just that helpful to fellow man and women. Feel free to set me straight if I'm out of order,I just want to make sure my money is wisely spent.
Steve C
Well-known member
Having been called out for paid for reviews twice, when that was not the case, you come very close to being out of order. Just close. Everybody and his or her brother or sister can praise an alpha glass and that seems to be just fine. Do so for a lesser glass and you must have been bought off. That is really kind of insulting. However I have come to see the question/insinuation as part of the natural order of the way things are.
I have communicated a lot with JGR, even swapped optics with him. His opinion is one I trust. You can be pretty sure he is not bought off.
I have a series of reviews of most of the new guy in town binoculars coming up. Tract is one that should be on the final selection. Maybe that might help or further confuse the issue. However I can't really comment on the Tract as yet because I have not had my hands on one.
By the way, welcome to BF. Just a note there is really no such thing as a bad question, unless it was one not asked. In my opinion, based on the new guy binoculars I have experience with, your money will be well spent.
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Thanks you Steve, your opinion on me is most appreciated, and likewise would offer the same towards you.
I won't hold Albinoone in contempt. It's probably just the unfortunate,common them nowadays at thinking the worst about a person and/or his motives without knowing them. On the other hand, I tend to like and trust a person until proven otherwise. Guess that's just my conservative Texas upbringing.
Albinoone, you can take my thoughts and reviews any way you want to. Rest assured, my well being is not in any way, shape, or form associated with the sales of Tract optics, or Meopta, or Leupold, or Maven, or Swaro for that matter, as I receive zero, nothing, nada from any of them. The optics I own I have paid for
I won't hold Albinoone in contempt. It's probably just the unfortunate,common them nowadays at thinking the worst about a person and/or his motives without knowing them. On the other hand, I tend to like and trust a person until proven otherwise. Guess that's just my conservative Texas upbringing.
Albinoone, you can take my thoughts and reviews any way you want to. Rest assured, my well being is not in any way, shape, or form associated with the sales of Tract optics, or Meopta, or Leupold, or Maven, or Swaro for that matter, as I receive zero, nothing, nada from any of them. The optics I own I have paid for
mfunnell
Registered Confuser
As I've noted here, I have a set of Tract Toric 8x42s which I find quite decent (and which I paid for myself). I'd put them in roughly the same league as the equivalent Zeiss Conquest or Leica Trinovid binoculars, yet coming in at a lower price. Note, though, that I have no real experience with those Zeiss or Leica bins. I do have Zeiss FLs (in 8x32 and 10x56) which are a little better, but at a substantial price increment.
[...]
Only you can know what level of quality you can accept and how much money you're prepared to pay for it. My experience is that each increment in observable quality comes with a substantial price increase, to the point at the high end where you're paying twice as much for a remarkably small quality improvement. Only you can know if that's worth it to you.
That having been said, I'll reiterate that I think my Tract Toric 8x42s are very good binoculars, and especially so for the price. So I think they're excellent value for money if they suit you.
...Mike
Thanks for the welcome,didn't mean to storm in like a bull in an optics shop.
I spent a good 20 hrs going through the bird forum reading posts on optics I was interested in. The birders are the ones that most hunters go to check on optic quality and opinions. So hats off to those who tell it as it is.as far as knowing people personally on this forum I don't and come from a conservative Wisconsin background. But good sense can be acquired from listening or reading in this case.i found a few varying options on the tract toric mostly for the glass being in the range of what they are asking for it. Now the mavens reviews that I read were promising by a few posters as well as the torics.was hoping for more direct comparisons with glass in that price range and definitely the alpha glass seeing as these company's are cutting out the middlemen to get the consumer a superior product.i took a chance on Sig Sauer optics upper tier scope and was plenty surprised, but for their 1100 retail I only paid 447, so really not to big of a chance.i will continue reading reviews on this forum because I am a boy among men with the knowledge of optics that most on this forum possess.
As far an optic I'm going to purchase a ziess sf of the grey nature that's been discounted a good amount.i am for the little guy,just couldn't find enough info for me to spend my money on the maven or the tract.
I spent a good 20 hrs going through the bird forum reading posts on optics I was interested in. The birders are the ones that most hunters go to check on optic quality and opinions. So hats off to those who tell it as it is.as far as knowing people personally on this forum I don't and come from a conservative Wisconsin background. But good sense can be acquired from listening or reading in this case.i found a few varying options on the tract toric mostly for the glass being in the range of what they are asking for it. Now the mavens reviews that I read were promising by a few posters as well as the torics.was hoping for more direct comparisons with glass in that price range and definitely the alpha glass seeing as these company's are cutting out the middlemen to get the consumer a superior product.i took a chance on Sig Sauer optics upper tier scope and was plenty surprised, but for their 1100 retail I only paid 447, so really not to big of a chance.i will continue reading reviews on this forum because I am a boy among men with the knowledge of optics that most on this forum possess.
As far an optic I'm going to purchase a ziess sf of the grey nature that's been discounted a good amount.i am for the little guy,just couldn't find enough info for me to spend my money on the maven or the tract.
wdc
Well-known member
It is worth noting that both Tract and Maven have good return policies, and that Maven will send you a demo unit, that you have the option to keep, for a further discount. Both these companies have a good product, and, if you've read enough, you'll realize they are being made in the same factories in Asia that is also making a fair amount of the world's binoculars that have recognizable names, including some of the vaunted European brands.
Granted, they may have different optical and ergonomic specs, so they are not at all the 'same'.
The subjective aspect of binocular use seems to play a huge role in whether folks gravitate towards one or the other. For example, you may prefer the character of a focuser (gearing,friction) on one over the other, or the IPD is/isn't generous enough to fit everyone in your family, besides yourself. Or the eye relief doesn't quite work with eyeglasses, regardless of the stated amount. In other words, if someone decides to sell a binocular, it doesn't mean its an inferior product, but it just may not suit that individual, even if the optics are quite good. You should take everything you read here with a grain of salt, and actually try some of these different products out to decide for your self.
I own a Tract Toric, 8 x 42, and use it regularly. It works fine for me, but it does not fit some of my family members, due to its somewhat limited IPD spec. That could be a deal breaker for others, especially if you're trying to amass a set of binoculars that your friends and family can use, and one's desire is that they will work well for most of them, regardless of their size, age, or whether they wear glasses or not.
Bill
Granted, they may have different optical and ergonomic specs, so they are not at all the 'same'.
The subjective aspect of binocular use seems to play a huge role in whether folks gravitate towards one or the other. For example, you may prefer the character of a focuser (gearing,friction) on one over the other, or the IPD is/isn't generous enough to fit everyone in your family, besides yourself. Or the eye relief doesn't quite work with eyeglasses, regardless of the stated amount. In other words, if someone decides to sell a binocular, it doesn't mean its an inferior product, but it just may not suit that individual, even if the optics are quite good. You should take everything you read here with a grain of salt, and actually try some of these different products out to decide for your self.
I own a Tract Toric, 8 x 42, and use it regularly. It works fine for me, but it does not fit some of my family members, due to its somewhat limited IPD spec. That could be a deal breaker for others, especially if you're trying to amass a set of binoculars that your friends and family can use, and one's desire is that they will work well for most of them, regardless of their size, age, or whether they wear glasses or not.
Bill
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Albinoone,
A Zeiss SF is certainly a good choice--the company is well respected, the binocular is very well reviewed, and 8x42 is the most popular SF according to the Zeiss people I met at the San Diego Bird Fair. Of course this assumes that the ergonomics, handling and other attributes are to your liking. I was going to write "safe choice" in that first sentence, but decided it was pejorative; it seemed to imply that you could somehow do better if you were more adventurous or something. What I meant by safe, was that when you buy a top of the line binocular from Zeiss, part of what you are buying is a certain assurance that the binocular is well designed, well manufactured, that the company will stand behind it, and that the company will be there for you far into the future. Around here, as I'm sure you have noticed, these expensive high-end models by Zeiss, Leica, and Swarovski are called Alphas. I have briefly looked through all three manufacturers' top of the line binoculars and the views are slightly different, but all are stunning.
I'm not speaking for anyone else on this forum but myself, but I think I am not alone in my curiosity about how different binocular designs and sizes perform, and I also tend to evaluate price/performance. I guess I'm somewhat of an optical gear head (a badly mixed metaphor). So I have bought a number of different binoculars at different price/quality levels and of different sizes. What I have found is there are really very nice binoculars in the $200-$300 realm, and in the $500-$1000 price range there are binoculars that are truly outstanding. Much of the discussion I've read compares binoculars in that $500-$1000 price range to one another and to Alphas, and the questions I see are:
I do think that you still need a shop of vendor with a liberal return policy.
Alan
P.S. I own two pairs of Maven binoculars and I am very happy with them.
A Zeiss SF is certainly a good choice--the company is well respected, the binocular is very well reviewed, and 8x42 is the most popular SF according to the Zeiss people I met at the San Diego Bird Fair. Of course this assumes that the ergonomics, handling and other attributes are to your liking. I was going to write "safe choice" in that first sentence, but decided it was pejorative; it seemed to imply that you could somehow do better if you were more adventurous or something. What I meant by safe, was that when you buy a top of the line binocular from Zeiss, part of what you are buying is a certain assurance that the binocular is well designed, well manufactured, that the company will stand behind it, and that the company will be there for you far into the future. Around here, as I'm sure you have noticed, these expensive high-end models by Zeiss, Leica, and Swarovski are called Alphas. I have briefly looked through all three manufacturers' top of the line binoculars and the views are slightly different, but all are stunning.
I'm not speaking for anyone else on this forum but myself, but I think I am not alone in my curiosity about how different binocular designs and sizes perform, and I also tend to evaluate price/performance. I guess I'm somewhat of an optical gear head (a badly mixed metaphor). So I have bought a number of different binoculars at different price/quality levels and of different sizes. What I have found is there are really very nice binoculars in the $200-$300 realm, and in the $500-$1000 price range there are binoculars that are truly outstanding. Much of the discussion I've read compares binoculars in that $500-$1000 price range to one another and to Alphas, and the questions I see are:
- Can I get Alpha performance for $1,000?
- Can I get close enough to Alpha performance for $XXX?
- Is this $900 binocular better than that $600 binocular?
I do think that you still need a shop of vendor with a liberal return policy.
Alan
P.S. I own two pairs of Maven binoculars and I am very happy with them.
BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
W.Travis ... I was also wanting to know more about the 10X42 Toric and started a separate post on it a while back. Below is the link that may be helpful. That thread contains a link to more information. Sorry to say most of the information on this forum for the Toric covers the 8X rather than the 10X.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=3542444#post3542444
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=3542444#post3542444
Just wanted to publicly thank jg for his write up on this binocular. I recently purchased it and just today got a demo B2 9x to compare. I come only from having used low end Nikons and a Vortex Viper HD 12x50 as my most expensive binocular. I'm quite impressed with the Toric. Only did some backyard comparisons so far with the Maven. But for someone like me who doesn't want to spend over $1500 on glass these are quite impressive. The Toric is obviously quite a deal in my eyes. Thank you to quite a few of you for your honest opinions. Much appreciated.
Tract_Optics
Well-known member
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