brocknroller
porromaniac
Edz measured the close focus magnification of a few binoculars, and they all showed increased magnification at close focus. However, the magnification only increased btwn .5x to .8x. The exception was the 6.5x Papilio, which jumped to 8x at 2 ft.
Here's the thread. Edz's post is #10:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=118028
As Henry pointed out, the barrel overlap is quite noticeable at 10 ft. in the 8x32 SE. I can fit most birds in the "cat eye" but the view is certainly not as comfortable as the round circle view of the 8x32 LX at 6 ft or even my 8x30 EII at 7 ft. I'm surprised the EII doesn't show a similar level of barrel overlap as the SE, but it doesn't, at least not to my eyes. Quite comfortable at close focus.
I do, however, prefer roofs for butterflying and DVD case spotting.
"Sharpness" is subjective and is affected by your eye's acuity, contrast, color balance, lighting, and hand shake.
Boosted resolution measurement is a much more reliable method of comparison although the quality of the optics in the booster can vary from brand to brand and unit to unit. So even there, some variation could exist, which might explain why not all boosted measurements agree 100%, but they are usually much closer than subjective tests of "sharpness," which can vary wildly.
In any case, it's not the boosted magnification that we see in the field but the 8x or 10x magnification of the binoculars, and if one bin appears "sharper" to one person than another, given the variables, it's not surprising.
Regardless if the 8x32 SE "edges" out the 8x32 EDG or vice versa or the 8x32 SV EL or whatever other midsized alpha you want to compare it to, it's at least very close, and most importantly, the SE costs a fraction of the price of an alpha roof.
No, you don't get all the bells and whistles, and for some WP is a "must," but I, for one, am glad that Nikon is making the SE and improving the coatings, and still selling them in the U.S. It will be a mournful day for porro fans and birders on a budget when the SE disappears from the landscape.
Get one before you have to fly to China to view an SE in Fan Tao's Binocular Museum.
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Here's the thread. Edz's post is #10:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=118028
As Henry pointed out, the barrel overlap is quite noticeable at 10 ft. in the 8x32 SE. I can fit most birds in the "cat eye" but the view is certainly not as comfortable as the round circle view of the 8x32 LX at 6 ft or even my 8x30 EII at 7 ft. I'm surprised the EII doesn't show a similar level of barrel overlap as the SE, but it doesn't, at least not to my eyes. Quite comfortable at close focus.
I do, however, prefer roofs for butterflying and DVD case spotting.
"Sharpness" is subjective and is affected by your eye's acuity, contrast, color balance, lighting, and hand shake.
Boosted resolution measurement is a much more reliable method of comparison although the quality of the optics in the booster can vary from brand to brand and unit to unit. So even there, some variation could exist, which might explain why not all boosted measurements agree 100%, but they are usually much closer than subjective tests of "sharpness," which can vary wildly.
In any case, it's not the boosted magnification that we see in the field but the 8x or 10x magnification of the binoculars, and if one bin appears "sharper" to one person than another, given the variables, it's not surprising.
Regardless if the 8x32 SE "edges" out the 8x32 EDG or vice versa or the 8x32 SV EL or whatever other midsized alpha you want to compare it to, it's at least very close, and most importantly, the SE costs a fraction of the price of an alpha roof.
No, you don't get all the bells and whistles, and for some WP is a "must," but I, for one, am glad that Nikon is making the SE and improving the coatings, and still selling them in the U.S. It will be a mournful day for porro fans and birders on a budget when the SE disappears from the landscape.
Get one before you have to fly to China to view an SE in Fan Tao's Binocular Museum.
<B>
