8x32 with very ease of view and flare resistance (1 Viewer)

Hello all,

I was the owner of a Swaro Habicht 8x30, a great bin, lifelike experience, amazing close up view.

However I have sold them, maybe too quickly, because of very strong flare / glare issue.

So I’m looking for a 8x32 bin with the main criteria : very ease of view, strong flare resistance, lifelike experience (budget < 1000 EUR).

I have think to the following bins :

Zeiss conquest HD 8x32 : seems the best allrounder
Kowa XD 8x32 prominar : good ranking in allbinos, price
Kowa XD 8x42 prominar : same size than 8x32 bins, price, comfort of view?
Kowa Genesis 8x33 : don’t reallyknow about it, some good reviews vs Zeiss but allbinos review not so great compared to Kowa XD 8x32
Nikon 8x30 EII : flare? Ease of view ? Not sure again

I was even thinking to Zeiss victort pocket 8x25 for optical quality, but ease of view I’m not sure.

So what are your recommendations and experience ?

Thank you!

Conquest HD 8x32 great value, fast focus makes it versatile for butterflies and dragonflies as well as far birds, good close focus.
Meopta B1 8x32 very pleasant and accurate view, slower focus than Conquest but some might prefer this for birding, close focus not quite as close but near enough to make little difference in practice.
Kowa Genesis 8x33 better CA control than Conquest but usually more expensive, focus speed faster than Meopta, slower than Conquest.

Ease of view: 1 Meopta, 2 Conquest, 2 Equal Kowa, but close
Flare control: So close to each other it makes putting them in an order misleading.

All of these are fine binos.

Zeiss Pocket 8x25 is really excellent but it is a pocket bino with only small diameter eyecups so if you don't wear glasses you need to place the eyecups under your eyebrows rather than push them into your eyesockets. If you wear glasses you don't get this but you need to accurately place the binos on your glasses to ensure you line up the exit pupil with your eye. This all sounds more difficult than it is and the Pockets are very rewarding. Personally I would prefer one of the three 32/33mms for normal birding, but several people on here are happy with the Pockets.

Lee

Troubador said:

Conquest HD 8x32 great value, fast focus makes it versatile for butterflies and dragonflies as well as far birds, good close focus.
Meopta B1 8x32 very pleasant and accurate view, slower focus than Conquest but some might prefer this for birding, close focus not quite as close but near enough to make little difference in practice.
Kowa Genesis 8x33 better CA control than Conquest but usually more expensive, focus speed faster than Meopta, slower than Conquest.

Ease of view: 1 Meopta, 2 Conquest, 2 Equal Kowa, but close
Flare control: So close to each other it makes putting them in an order misleading.

All of these are fine binos.

Zeiss Pocket 8x25 is really excellent but it is a pocket bino with only small diameter eyecups so if you don't wear glasses you need to place the eyecups under your eyebrows rather than push them into your eyesockets. If you wear glasses you don't get this but you need to accurately place the binos on your glasses to ensure you line up the exit pupil with your eye. This all sounds more difficult than it is and the Pockets are very rewarding. Personally I would prefer one of the three 32/33mms for normal birding, but several people on here are happy with the Pockets.

Lee

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Thank you Lee,

In term of lifelike experience, is the zeiss pocket better than the others ?

cfranchi said:

Thank you Lee,

In term of lifelike experience, is the zeiss pocket better than the others ?

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I would not say 'better' but it is certainly as good.

Lee

I will add that as an eyeglasses wearer I found the Meopta and the Kowa to be just a tad short on eye relief. The Victory Pocket is fine in this regard and though ease of use may be a bit worse, I personally find the image quality a little better than in the 8x32 Conquest HD. The EII was great optically but not even remotely usable with eyeglasses if wanting to view the entire field.

Justin

What about flare resistance of the Zeiss pocket vs the others ?

I have also see the Swaro CL 8x30, more expensive however, do you know this one ?

I use Zeiss Victory 8 x 32 and they're very nice and very light although the only ones I can really compare them to are the Nikon HG 8 x 32 that I had before. I definitely prefer the Zeiss.

cfranchi said:

What about flare resistance of the Zeiss pocket vs the others ?

I have also see the Swaro CL 8x30, more expensive however, do you know this one ?

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Alexis has said in here that the Pocket's performance when facing into the light is outstanding and I have never had glare problems with them. I haven't tried the CLs yet.

Lee

jremmons said:

I will add that as an eyeglasses wearer I found the Meopta and the Kowa to be just a tad short on eye relief. The Victory Pocket is fine in this regard and though ease of use may be a bit worse, I personally find the image quality a little better than in the 8x32 Conquest HD. The EII was great optically but not even remotely usable with eyeglasses if wanting to view the entire field.

Justin

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Justin,

Did you have the eyecups turned down on the EII? I had the same problem that disappeared when I turned down the eyecups.

Best,
Jerry

Hi cfranchi.

I had the same problem regarding flare control and have settled for an immaculate Leica 8x32 BA as the best all rounder that controls flare very well. I think that a Leica 8x32 BN would also be good, especially a late mint example.
I like the Conquest HD 8x32, but to eliminate flare I have to mask the bottom 4mm of the objectives.

The Nikon 8x30 EII is very good for flare control, but I don't wear glasses with binoculars, so don't know how glasses wearers feel about them.

Zeiss pocket 8x25 seems a bin that would feet nicely with my way of use, also its qualities are very interesting, flare, CA, etc, I just read quite positive things

I think of the Victory of more of a niche glass. Probably the best of the pockets but I couldn’t see using them as a primary bino. With the small eyecups and small exit pupil the ease of view for long periods isn’t there when I checked them out. However it all depends on the user and use.

Binastro said:

Hi cfranchi.

I had the same problem regarding flare control and have settled for an immaculate Leica 8x32 BA as the best all rounder that controls flare very well. I think that a Leica 8x32 BN would also be good, especially a late mint example.
I like the Conquest HD 8x32, but to eliminate flare I have to mask the bottom 4mm of the objectives.

The Nikon 8x30 EII is very good for flare control, but I don't wear glasses with binoculars, so don't know how glasses wearers feel about them.

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Flare / glare in the Conquest can also be helped alot by putting the eyecup down to nearly flush and using MOLCET, seems to move most glare outside of the visible FOV.

I imagine this could work as well with the other contenders.

For me, the Kowa Genesis 8x33 is exceptional at controlling unwanted light. I am often reminded when I use a different pair and notice glare that wouldn't have previously distracted me. No special technique required. Perhaps the BD XD 8x32 is nearly as good, but lack of IPD range prevented me from trying.

I’m extremely sensitive to glare and flare and have no problems whatsoever with my 8x32 Conquests. I put the extended eyecups on and they fit perfectly in my eye sockets and seal off stray light. Very similar to using eyeshields but much more comfortable. I would think using MOLCET would allow more stray light in and cause flare and glare as I’ve experienced that problem with binos that haven’t fit my face perfectly. I also really like being able to simply put binos up to my face and getting a perfect view without having to fuss with them. Having said that everyone had different eyes and preferences so use whatever works best for you.

Well, I know the Leica ultravid 8x32 is out of your price range but has a stunning view and great glare control. I’m wondering if the new trinovid hd has the same glare control? Maybe someone with experience will chime in.

Flare:
1. Zeiss Victory 8x25 best of these bins against the light, really outstanding
2. Nikon 8x30 E2: sometimes a bit of veiling flare but mostly subtle, rarely distracting, and no nervous flickering like the Conquest
3. Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD: good, till you compare it to the Zeiss 8x25
4. Zeiss Conquest 8x32 HD: not very good against the light, struggles while looking in the direction of the sun, veiling flare and nervous flickering

For ease of view:
1. Nikon E2, by a large margin
2. Leica Ultravid
3. Zeiss 8x25
4. Zeiss 8x32, I just don't seem to get on with these

Lifelike experience:
1. Nikon E2, clearly, because of porro 3D-effect
2. Leica
3. Zeiss 8x32
4. Zeiss 8x25, I find the image a bit 'flat' and the FOV is the smallest of these four bins

George

First off welcome to BF.

I figured this would have been mentioned already, so here goes. Your choices are all good to excellent binoculars and I would think glare control is likely to be controlled as well in one as in the others. One thing that seems to be more problematic with 8x32 binoculars is that the eye cup extension throughout the group appears to be pretty variable. Taking the Zeiss Conquest as an example, we see some who recommend it, some who don't get along with it and some who can lower eye cups and tilt the binoculars against their eye brows. In my mind these are all hinting at the fact the fit of the eye cups to the face may well be problematic. While some binoculars are in fact inherently superior in glare control, I have only had issues with it when the eye cup extension would not properly match the stated eye relief or where where fit of the eye cup was not right for my facial features. While this seems to be common in 42 mm binoculars as well, complaints about the improper, or variable fit in the 32 mm class seem more pronounced. Compounding the affair is the fact some people may well see glare/flare more readily than others.

I am of the firm opinion that the binocular that does not fit the user will never be satisfactory for that user, regardless of how highly renowned the quality of the binocular may be. For example you mention the glare of the Swarovski Habicht in the OP. You are not the only one with the issue with that binocular.

In some cases that may be easily fixed. With some, such as the Conquest (and as has been mentioned already) is that Zeiss offers different eye cups which may well fix the issue. Some binoculars have twist off eye cups where you can place an O-ring on the threaded assembly and use it to effectively elongate the eye cup.

I don't think that you will ultimately be satisfied until you find the right fit for you. So that is where I'd look. If you can find a Conquest, for example and you don't have the glare issue...just quit looking. If it is there try the extended eye cup. If that does not work, you may be back to looking. Good luck.

I recently bought, and then sold, a pair of Meopta 10x32's. The image was fantastic. I didn't notice any flare at all. Only reason I sold them was they were too small for my very large hands and the eyecups weren't large enough for my eyes. But the view - fantastic!

TXdefender said:

Well, I know the Leica ultravid 8x32 is out of your price range but has a stunning view and great glare control. I’m wondering if the new trinovid hd has the same glare control? Maybe someone with experience will chime in.

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https://www.google.fr/amp/huntingbi...inovid-8x32-hd-vs-zeiss-conquest-hd-8x32/amp/