marcsantacurz
Well-known member
I see there's been a couple other threads on the 7x42 including a detailed review. Having just gotten my hands on a pair, I wanted to put out some first impressions and a non-technical experience report. It was pretty overcast today and we were just looking at trees and signs and the occasional crow. I had my swaro 8.5x42 EL FPs out to compare with. In summary, even next to the swaros, they were pleasant to use. Some bins, when compared like that, are obviously inferior, but not these, at least when looking at trees in overcast light We'll taken them out for a proper field trip soon.
First, they are very compact -- x32 sized. See the photos below, they are about the size of Conquest HD 8x32. They fit well in the hand and feel light for 24 oz (690 g). The photos show them on their own, then my standard "family" shot of Leica Ultravid BR 8x20s, the Opticron Discovery 8x42, and the Swarovski 8.5x42 EL FP. I also did a side-by-side with the Conquest HD 8x32.
The diopter adjustment goes in "clicks". it was very stiff to start out, but after a few uses loosened up. The clicks work very well, it is easy to adjust and stays in place well.
The focus is nice and pretty fast. Going from a near-view (10ft) to a mid-view (maybe 200 - 300 ft) took ~2 "pushes" with the index finger. The swaro 8.5x42 took 3 pushes for same distance.
The view looks sharp and there is no significant edge softening, if any. When I focus on a sign then shift it to the edge, I do need to re-focus a tiny bit, but I can get a perfectly good image on the edge. Very different than the Celestron Granite 7x33 which is super soft at the edge.
I did not notice any glare problems, but it was rather overcast with the sun only peeking out at times. I did try looking maybe 20*-30* off from the sun when it was out and didn't see anything too bad, especially for $250 US. I've seen some $400 8x32s that are worse!
Ok, now the less good.
I really notice the barrels in the image. I do not wear glasses, so have the eye relief all the way out. I tried with it set in the mid-point, but had blackouts there. I tried the "hover" technique with the eye cups all the way in and that was a bit better in terms of not seeing the barrels, but not practical. A 408' FoV is not that crazy good, but compared to the Ultravid 7x42 at 420', it's not awful either, especially at almost 1/10th the cost (or 1/5th the cost of use Ultravid HD 7x42). I will need to use them more on an open field with actual birds to decide how much of an issue it is for me.
The eye relief seems to have 3 positions (in, mid, out), but the detent in the middle is very very soft and hard to find. I saw in other posts, someone said they'd try to get o-rings for it for glass use, and I agree. If I had to use the middle position, I'd get o-rings.
Marc
First, they are very compact -- x32 sized. See the photos below, they are about the size of Conquest HD 8x32. They fit well in the hand and feel light for 24 oz (690 g). The photos show them on their own, then my standard "family" shot of Leica Ultravid BR 8x20s, the Opticron Discovery 8x42, and the Swarovski 8.5x42 EL FP. I also did a side-by-side with the Conquest HD 8x32.
The diopter adjustment goes in "clicks". it was very stiff to start out, but after a few uses loosened up. The clicks work very well, it is easy to adjust and stays in place well.
The focus is nice and pretty fast. Going from a near-view (10ft) to a mid-view (maybe 200 - 300 ft) took ~2 "pushes" with the index finger. The swaro 8.5x42 took 3 pushes for same distance.
The view looks sharp and there is no significant edge softening, if any. When I focus on a sign then shift it to the edge, I do need to re-focus a tiny bit, but I can get a perfectly good image on the edge. Very different than the Celestron Granite 7x33 which is super soft at the edge.
I did not notice any glare problems, but it was rather overcast with the sun only peeking out at times. I did try looking maybe 20*-30* off from the sun when it was out and didn't see anything too bad, especially for $250 US. I've seen some $400 8x32s that are worse!
Ok, now the less good.
I really notice the barrels in the image. I do not wear glasses, so have the eye relief all the way out. I tried with it set in the mid-point, but had blackouts there. I tried the "hover" technique with the eye cups all the way in and that was a bit better in terms of not seeing the barrels, but not practical. A 408' FoV is not that crazy good, but compared to the Ultravid 7x42 at 420', it's not awful either, especially at almost 1/10th the cost (or 1/5th the cost of use Ultravid HD 7x42). I will need to use them more on an open field with actual birds to decide how much of an issue it is for me.
The eye relief seems to have 3 positions (in, mid, out), but the detent in the middle is very very soft and hard to find. I saw in other posts, someone said they'd try to get o-rings for it for glass use, and I agree. If I had to use the middle position, I'd get o-rings.
Marc