Bushnell Ultra Vision 7x35 extra wide (1966) (1 Viewer)

This is my first post here, so hello everyone!

I have become increasingly interested in vintage porro binoculars. My introduction came when I picked up binoculars manufactured by Hans Hensoldt and by Bausch and Lomb.

Today, I picked up an addition to my small collection by Bushnell. They seem in nearly unused condition and so far, I am impressed by their clarity and brightness. Without direct comparison (I have not had a chance yet), I would say they are nearly (if not entirely) equal to the others in my collection in build and image quality. Only the case seems of lesser quality--even though it is in excellent condition.

There is a BOL Diamond stamp as well as J-B138 and J-E4 on the hinge.

I will try to attach some photos.
Joe

Joe:
Welcome to the Birdforum, your post and pictures are very good.

These wide angle porro binoculars are very collectible, and yours does look to be very nice.

I hope someone else will come along with more information.

Jerry

From what I can see of the markings, the maker's number is JB-148 which would mean that they were made by the Misuzu Kogaku Kogyo Co. Ltd, looked up from the list here...
http://home.europa.com/~telscope/jbcode.txt

I think you've purchased a lovely specification binocular.

Many thanks for the responses to my post. I appreciate your warm welcome!

I double-checked and the JB number is indeed J-B138 (photo attached). According to my understanding of information posted on the cloudynights forum, that would indicate this binocular was manufactured by the Toyo Jitsugyo Kugahara factory and exported by the Oriental Trading Company. BOL apparently stands for Bushnell Optical Laboratory?

At any rate, I am very happy with this binocular. The only thing I might wish for would be a closer minimum focus distance, but that would be nit-picking.

Thanks again!
Joe

This seems to be a good example of a 7x35 11 degree field binocular.
Possibly less than 11 degrees when actually measured.
Large eyepieces, maybe 5 or 6 element.

There were more of these, with different brand names, in the U.S. than in the U.K.
The Pentax is fairly common here and I have the Minolta Standard MK 7x35 with a measured 11.05 degree field.
Some went up to 13 degrees.
Usually small eye relief and not fully useful wearing glasses.

The UV coat seems unnecessary, just reducing transmission further.

Enjoy using it.

They would appear to resemble the Swift 7x35 wide angles (Holiday/Panoramic and Sport King) which have identical claimed field-of-view (578 feet). I'm not sure how collectible most of these are, but they're certainly a pleasure to use if they will accommodate your vision. Perceived sharpness of my model 766 is very good and although only single-coated it seems bright enough for most conditions, noticeably more so than the 8x30 Zeiss West.

Today I finally had a chance to compare the Bushnell 7x35 extra wide binocular with my other binoculars. I will show them in the attached photo, front to back: Bushnell 7x35 extra wide, Tasco 8x40 (Nat'l Audubon Soc. Rare Bird), Bausch and Lomb 7x35, Hans Hensoldt 7x42.

From my viewing today (done at different times in varying light) I would rank them in this order.
1. Hans Hensoldt 7x42 (incredible brightness and clarity, excellent depth of field separation and great width of view)
2. Bushnell 7x35 extra wide (great brightness and clarity--maybe some softness at edges but very good where it counts, good depth of field separation and great width of view)
3. Bausch & Lomb (not as bright but great clarity, good depth of field separation and narrower view--still an excellent binocular from the 1930s that might be even better with cleaning and lubrication)
4. Tasco Rare Bird (not as sharp as the others but not terrible either)

Keep in mind that I am an amateur and these are my very subjective impressions.

The Bushnell as of now will become my most used binocular, likely followed by the Bausch and Lomb.

I have been encouraged not take the Hans Hensoldt binocular afield since it can be considered a collectible binocular. After having it repaired and cleaned by Cory Suddarth, I find its viewing qualities to be amazing.

I hope my comparison and impressions of these will be helpful to someone.

Joe

Welcome to the old wide Porro community, nice 3D views even if the coatings are not perfect the the eyerelief a little tight!

Peter