My impressions of Maven C1 10x42 (1 Viewer)

I have used a pair of excellent Leica Trinovid 10x42 BA binoculars on natural history-related trips all over the world since the early 1990's. However, they are very heavy (890g) so on outings where I think I won't be seeing anything very exciting I usually leave them behind - and sometimes regret it! After a recent gruelling 2 hour walk up steep hills through hot, humid rainforest, to see Wilson's Bird of Paradise on a trip I led to the Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia with SeaTrek Sailing Adventures, I decided I must try to find a lighter pair of bins. I actually already have a much lighter pair (300g) of Nikon HG L DCF 10x25 (=Premier LX L), but they are ironically TOO light and I can't hold them steady enough.. Anyway, when I got back to the UK I did a lot of research on the Web. I was looking for a relatively inexpensive and light pair with great optical quality, and in the end I purchased the Maven C1 10x42 as they had excellent reviews and weigh almost 200g less than my Leicas. I have now compared them to my Leicas, and to my eyes their sharpness and ability to resolve detail in low light are indistinguishable. The Maven's FOV is less, but the close focusing distance is much better. Their weight is just right for me to be able to hold them pretty steady. And not only are they very, very good value given their optical quality and durable build, but they have a phenomenal lifetime no-fault warranty (https://mavenbuilt.com/journal/ufaqs/what-is-your-warranty/). Because of their unusual business model of selling direct to the customer, Maven binoculars are about 50% the cost of what you would be charged for the same item in a shop. I ordered my pair from Maven in the USA via Amazon and received them in the UK only 6 days later. I will certainly be taking them on my next trip and leaving my Leicas behind…

Thank you for this nice report on the Maven C1!

Looks like Maven are slowly making their way into Europe, where they are still not well known, in contrast to the US.
They do offer some very nice binos at reasonable prices in my view (I got the B2 11x45 and like it quite a bit), see also binomania‘s new very favorable review of the B4 15x56 HD at
http://www.binomania.it/recensione-del-binocolo-maven-b4-15x56-hd-cielo-e-natura-in-hd/

Canip

I guess that the Internet gives Maven a global market. However, most people probably won't want to buy their bins unless they have seen and compared them. This is a problem with their business model, as obviously their products aren't sold through shops. In the USA at least, people who are interested in one of their bins can borrow a trial pair from Maven - but I'm not sure this would be possible in Europe. Anyway, I am continuing to compare my Maven C1's against my Leica bins and they really are just as good. I really can't see any differences in visual quality (brightness, sharpness, colour etc) and I have been looking hard. I had expected the C1's to be slightly inferior to my Leicas, but was very pleasantly surprised!

I owned a pair of the same C1's for a while, but eventually returned them. The eye cups would not hold their position and IMO the field of view was not as wide as advertised.

Having said that, I am not surprised how well you regard their image quality, compared to the Leica. The Maven C1's have incredible image quality.

Strangely enough, I very briefly owned a pair of the new Leica Trinovid HD's and returned them for the same two reasons - narrow FOV and eyecups did not extend far enough for the amount of eye relief. I guess I'm sensitive to those two features!

The C1 does have pretty remarkable image quality. However having seen several and owning one, I have seen no issues with the eye cups. Regarding the fov, in line with the rest of the Maven lineup, the C1 has more than the advertised fov. My 8x 42 are listed at 341 and measure closer to 370.

Steve C said:

The C1 does have pretty remarkable image quality. However having seen several and owning one, I have seen no issues with the eye cups. Regarding the fov, in line with the rest of the Maven lineup, the C1 has more than the advertised fov. My 8x 42 are listed at 341 and measure closer to 370.

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I had the 10x42's. The issue I had with the eyecups is that they moved too easily. They would not stay extended during a day of normal field use. I called Maven and they said they were designed to be very smooth (and they are!). I asked why they didn't include more friction or a slightly deeper detente position at fully extended, and they said they were trying to avoid a copyright issue, which is why they ended up where they did. I thought that was an interesting answer.

Nonetheless, I found them annoying enough that I felt I had better options.

I had a B1 8x42 and a B3 8x30. Both models showed significant internal reflections and both showed two false exit pupils in each connected by an arc of light. 8X42 had specs of dust in left barrel, right clean; both barrels had reflective items within barrel, such as silver connecting screw and what appeared to be the inside of the silver strap lug. Also, I needed to wear glasses to avoid blackouts. I wasn't impressed and returned both pairs.

Jaywalk said:

I had a B1 8x42 and a B3 8x30. Both models showed significant internal reflections and both showed two false exit pupils in each connected by an arc of light. 8X42 had specs of dust in left barrel, right clean; both barrels had reflective items within barrel, such as silver connecting screw and what appeared to be the inside of the silver strap lug. Also, I needed to wear glasses to avoid blackouts. I wasn't impressed and returned both pairs.

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On the issue of the false pupils only:

I understand that false pupils are outside the cone of light that is delivered to the exit pupil and into ones pupils.

My large Zeiss Victory 7x42 T* FL uses AK prisms and it has large ovoid false pupils. My little Swarovski 8x25 CL Compact also shows small false pupils.

I can't see the false pupils while using the binoculars and and they have no effect on the view.

Bob

After reading many reviews about the Maven C1 10x42 I ordered this model. I got the C1 10x42 , and sent them straight back after some tests. Diopter adjustment been way off, 15mm to the left from zero position brought same focus on both barrels. Right barrel is not focusing straight away when moving central focus ring (right side has a bit of clearance), as the left barrel does it right. So sharp image may happen, depending on luck when focusing. This I have seen on other chinese made binos too, so Maven is not better here in any case. The image quality is very nice when sharp, I would like to own this binos in version well working. But it seems to be a good luck purchase, as most chinese produced binos too. Maven is not better here, and I will not order more binoculars from Maven, cause there seems no quality check to really happen. Very disappointed about that. I post this, so some people interested will be bit more prepared, if C1 will not come with good quality, as it happened to me.