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Canon 10x32 IS binos - comments & future of the binos? (1 Viewer)

jimscarff

Active member
Last week I ordered & just received a pair of Canon 10x32 IS binos, and have a bunch of comments and questions. I have not decided whether I am going to keep them or send them back, but am leaning toward sending them back.

My background - I currently own the Canon 10x42 IS L binos bought when they first came out (and have a love-hate relation with them), the Canon 10x30 IS II and Zeiss 8x42 Victory SF, and have briefly owned the 8x25 IS and the 12x36 IS binos.

Before I describe my personal reaction to the binos (very mixed), I have comments & questions about what is Canon up to with these binos.

The 10x32 IS, 12x32 IS and 14x32 IS were all announced in August 2017. They appear to share the same body (with different eyepieces?). The 12X, and in particular the 14X binos, seem mainly to be of interest to astronomy fans. The 10x32 IS is the one that would seemingly have the most appeal to birdwatchers.

However, in the U.S. I could find no vendors that cater specifically to birdwatchers that carry any of these new Canon IS binos. (Eagle Optics used to carry Canon, but sadly, they closed their business.) Even more remarkably, I could find no reviews by birdwatchers of these binos. The only review I found of the 10x32 IS was on an astronomy website (https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/586499-canon-launch-3-new-is-binos/page-2) where most of the discussion turned to the 14x32 IS model. There are no reviews of this bino on the B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon or Canon USA websites. After being on the market for more than a year, no reviews and not even any comments. Huh?

Canon released the 10x32 IS binos with an MSRP in the US of $1,349 and the Canon USA website still lists them at that price. Adorama lists them for $999, Amazon lists them at $899. I bought them last week when B&H Photo had the binos as part of a Flash sale for $899. Then yesterday, I saw B&H just dropped the price to $849 ("limited supply at this price").

Which makes me wonder, are the 10x32 IS binos being discontinued? Is there going to be a replacement?

Now, some comments about why they might/should be replaced IMHO.

1) The eyecups are huge and terrible. When pulled out they press up against my nose (and anyone's I assume) yet do not block outside light or wind very effectively. I think must folks will fold down he eyecup and not use them.

2) poor location of the IS buttons - on the 10x30 IS II and the 10x42 IS L the IS button is located on top of the bino in front of the focusing wheel, so it is easy to have one's index finger on the focusing wheel and one's 3rd finger on the IS button. However, on the 10x32 IS, the IS buttons are on the top right edge of the right tube. For me (I have large hands), it is very hard, almost impossible to have my index finger on the focusing wheel and still press either IS button with another finger. In theory I could curl my 3rd or 4th finger under to reach back to press the IS button, but in practice I tend to have to take my finger off the focusing, and often look down to find the IS button. To hold the binos so one finger naturally rests on the IS buttons, I have to swing my arm around under the bino so it is nearly vertical, which may be more stable, but should not been the only option.

3) At least my copy of the binos seem to have a vertical collimation problem. The image through the right lens is misaligned significantly above the image through the left lens. This effect persists no matter how i adjust the inter-pupilary distance. I wonder whether this is an issue for all Canon IS binos, but I will open a new thread on that.

4) The good news is that the IS is stunningly effective. The "regular" IS works very well, and the Power IS makes it seem the bino is on a tripod. Compared to my experience with the other Canon IS binos, the 10x32 IS was much more effective.

5) Contrast and vibrance - the biggest happy surprise was how vibrant and high contrast the view is through these binos. The image really pops. Compared to my very highly rated Zeiss binos, the images are more contrasty and more vibrant....which may be unnatural, but is eye-candy to me (much like vibrant Fujichrome vs. more natural Kodachrome).

6) Resolution/sharpness, Very impressive.

Anybody know more about these binos?
 
Last week I ordered & just received a pair of Canon 10x32 IS binos, and have a bunch of comments and questions. I have not decided whether I am going to keep them or send them back, but am leaning toward sending them back.

My background - I currently own the Canon 10x42 IS L binos bought when they first came out (and have a love-hate relation with them), the Canon 10x30 IS II and Zeiss 8x42 Victory SF, and have briefly owned the 8x25 IS and the 12x36 IS binos.

Before I describe my personal reaction to the binos (very mixed), I have comments & questions about what is Canon up to with these binos.

The 10x32 IS, 12x32 IS and 14x32 IS were all announced in August 2017. They appear to share the same body (with different eyepieces?). The 12X, and in particular the 14X binos, seem mainly to be of interest to astronomy fans. The 10x32 IS is the one that would seemingly have the most appeal to birdwatchers.

However, in the U.S. I could find no vendors that cater specifically to birdwatchers that carry any of these new Canon IS binos. (Eagle Optics used to carry Canon, but sadly, they closed their business.) Even more remarkably, I could find no reviews by birdwatchers of these binos. The only review I found of the 10x32 IS was on an astronomy website (https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/586499-canon-launch-3-new-is-binos/page-2) where most of the discussion turned to the 14x32 IS model. There are no reviews of this bino on the B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon or Canon USA websites. After being on the market for more than a year, no reviews and not even any comments. Huh?

Canon released the 10x32 IS binos with an MSRP in the US of $1,349 and the Canon USA website still lists them at that price. Adorama lists them for $999, Amazon lists them at $899. I bought them last week when B&H Photo had the binos as part of a Flash sale for $899. Then yesterday, I saw B&H just dropped the price to $849 ("limited supply at this price").

Which makes me wonder, are the 10x32 IS binos being discontinued? Is there going to be a replacement?

Now, some comments about why they might/should be replaced IMHO.

1) The eyecups are huge and terrible. When pulled out they press up against my nose (and anyone's I assume) yet do not block outside light or wind very effectively. I think must folks will fold down he eyecup and not use them.

2) poor location of the IS buttons - on the 10x30 IS II and the 10x42 IS L the IS button is located on top of the bino in front of the focusing wheel, so it is easy to have one's index finger on the focusing wheel and one's 3rd finger on the IS button. However, on the 10x32 IS, the IS buttons are on the top right edge of the right tube. For me (I have large hands), it is very hard, almost impossible to have my index finger on the focusing wheel and still press either IS button with another finger. In theory I could curl my 3rd or 4th finger under to reach back to press the IS button, but in practice I tend to have to take my finger off the focusing, and often look down to find the IS button. To hold the binos so one finger naturally rests on the IS buttons, I have to swing my arm around under the bino so it is nearly vertical, which may be more stable, but should not been the only option.

3) At least my copy of the binos seem to have a vertical collimation problem. The image through the right lens is misaligned significantly above the image through the left lens. This effect persists no matter how i adjust the inter-pupilary distance. I wonder whether this is an issue for all Canon IS binos, but I will open a new thread on that.

4) The good news is that the IS is stunningly effective. The "regular" IS works very well, and the Power IS makes it seem the bino is on a tripod. Compared to my experience with the other Canon IS binos, the 10x32 IS was much more effective.

5) Contrast and vibrance - the biggest happy surprise was how vibrant and high contrast the view is through these binos. The image really pops. Compared to my very highly rated Zeiss binos, the images are more contrasty and more vibrant....which may be unnatural, but is eye-candy to me (much like vibrant Fujichrome vs. more natural Kodachrome).

6) Resolution/sharpness, Very impressive.

Anybody know more about these binos?

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/586499-canon-launch-3-new-is-binos/?p=8197476
 
My thoughts are that Canon just wanted to sell more expensive binoculars than the reasonably priced previous models.

Sometimes designers or executives just invent change to justify their jobs, even when no change is needed.

The Canon 10x30 IS Mk II that I have is tripod steady with the IS on.

The sample discussed above seems to be out of collimation and needs fixing.
 
Jim:
It seems Canon has a very small market selling the IS binoculars, you have studied this well.

Your experience seems extensive with these, and now your report on the new model is not good.

I would return it, and don't look back.


Jerry
 
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