I recently bought a Maven B.4 15X56. It's one of their demos. This is my first venture into the >12X binocular models. This is going to be short and sweet so take it for what it's worth. Between work(it's flu/cough/cold/etc season), SERIOUS birding, goofing off/birding, and 2 week time period to evaluate the B.4s there really isn't a lot of time to dig too deep.
My evaluating kinda centers around a few things; accessing the quality of the B.4, tripod binoculars vs tripod spotting scope, and is a 15X binocular feasible for hand-held use for me.
I'd like to say the B.4 looks a WHOLE lot like the Leupold BX-5 Santiam HD 15X56 binocular. I even debated trying the Leupold instead of the Maven due to company longevity, lower price, included case, and included tripod adapter. I decided to go the Maven route due to the availability of demo binoculars, it's better looking IMO, and I like Maven products. The B.4 came with strap, lens covers, and typical Maven drawstring binocular bag.
A few facts/specs(all actual):
Weight- 50.2 ounces bare binocular. Maven list 48 ounces.
Length- 8.4 inches.
Eyecups- 4 position.
Diopter adjustment- under right eyecup.
Prism type- Abbe-Koenig.
Initial observations
Of course the first thing one notices is the B.4 is a very large and heavy binocular. You also notice the focus adjustment is just about perfect. The diopter adjustment requires a little too much effort to adjust. There also is notch of play here. Functional but certainly not the best I've seen on other Maven products. Hinge tension is a little on the loose side. IMO hinge tension would need to be a little on the tight side since this binocular sure is likely to be mounted for tripod use. I used a Snap-Zoom mount and had to be careful when strapping the B.4 down.
Use in the field
I tried both hand held AND tripod mounting with the B.4. MOST of the time it spent it's time on a Snap-Zoom tripod mount and a Manfrotto 190 tripod. I have to say the view threw the B.4 is for the most part excellent. The focus adjustment is super. The eye-relief is I'd say is certainly at least adequate with eyeglass use. I used the B.4 in areas where I'd normally use a spotting scope. So this means viewing mostly gulls, shore birds, and waders. Within its range birding ID was easy and user friendly. It wouldn't hurt to have a little more eye relief while tripod mounted. Keep in mind that more that likely only one binocular in this group has more ER and that's the Swarovski SLC 15X56. I though color reproduction was excellent. There really wasn't a whole lot of difference between the B.4 and the SV 8.5 I had with me. I would like to also mention that this B.4 has a VERY flat FOV. Much more flat that I expected. Overall VERY pleased with the B.4 optically.
I also compared the B.4 to my Leupold GR HD 12-40X60 spotting scope. I picked this scope since it was the closest to a 15X56. I set it to approx 15X so I'd have a 15X60 spotting scope. This spotting scope is excellent. The binocular image was better with the B.4 no doubt. Much more enveloping image. Much better to just "watch" yellow-legs(both kinds) and killdeer do their thing. Watching birds and scanning the flats was effortless and no eyestrain whatsoever. Easy on the eyes. SO easy to focus. Yet for 15X bird ID comparison, not much difference between the binocular and the scope. The Leupold scope has a PLETHORA of ER that maes it VERY user friendly. PLUS it has the added benefit of being able to crank up to 40X. THAT the Maven can not do.
I tried the Maven in hand-held mode best I could. I strapped on the SV 8.5 and the B.4. I don't see how folks do it. For a while I could manage a pretty steady image. It sure didn't take long to get a little wobbly. At the end of a pretty good hike I have to say I really couldn't do much with the 15X. I don't bird sitting down so I didn't try that. I'm sure I could come up with a manner of holding them steady while resting my elbows on my knees. Freehanded I simply could not. I CAN hold the SV 12X50s very good. But not these.
So for now...I'm on the fence about these binoculars. Optically they are very nice so I can't fault the optics. It would be GREAT to have another 15X model to compare. They will do everything a 15X spotting scope will do while mounted on a tripod. But they will NOT do everything a 12-40X60 spotting scope will do much less a 30-70X95 spotting scope. I'm not so sure I can augment a 7 or 8X binocular with these because I can't hold them steady enough. I don't have a final verdict YET but it seems to me that if you have to take a binocular paired with a tripod, you just might as well take a spotting scope with a tripod.
My evaluating kinda centers around a few things; accessing the quality of the B.4, tripod binoculars vs tripod spotting scope, and is a 15X binocular feasible for hand-held use for me.
I'd like to say the B.4 looks a WHOLE lot like the Leupold BX-5 Santiam HD 15X56 binocular. I even debated trying the Leupold instead of the Maven due to company longevity, lower price, included case, and included tripod adapter. I decided to go the Maven route due to the availability of demo binoculars, it's better looking IMO, and I like Maven products. The B.4 came with strap, lens covers, and typical Maven drawstring binocular bag.
A few facts/specs(all actual):
Weight- 50.2 ounces bare binocular. Maven list 48 ounces.
Length- 8.4 inches.
Eyecups- 4 position.
Diopter adjustment- under right eyecup.
Prism type- Abbe-Koenig.
Initial observations
Of course the first thing one notices is the B.4 is a very large and heavy binocular. You also notice the focus adjustment is just about perfect. The diopter adjustment requires a little too much effort to adjust. There also is notch of play here. Functional but certainly not the best I've seen on other Maven products. Hinge tension is a little on the loose side. IMO hinge tension would need to be a little on the tight side since this binocular sure is likely to be mounted for tripod use. I used a Snap-Zoom mount and had to be careful when strapping the B.4 down.
Use in the field
I tried both hand held AND tripod mounting with the B.4. MOST of the time it spent it's time on a Snap-Zoom tripod mount and a Manfrotto 190 tripod. I have to say the view threw the B.4 is for the most part excellent. The focus adjustment is super. The eye-relief is I'd say is certainly at least adequate with eyeglass use. I used the B.4 in areas where I'd normally use a spotting scope. So this means viewing mostly gulls, shore birds, and waders. Within its range birding ID was easy and user friendly. It wouldn't hurt to have a little more eye relief while tripod mounted. Keep in mind that more that likely only one binocular in this group has more ER and that's the Swarovski SLC 15X56. I though color reproduction was excellent. There really wasn't a whole lot of difference between the B.4 and the SV 8.5 I had with me. I would like to also mention that this B.4 has a VERY flat FOV. Much more flat that I expected. Overall VERY pleased with the B.4 optically.
I also compared the B.4 to my Leupold GR HD 12-40X60 spotting scope. I picked this scope since it was the closest to a 15X56. I set it to approx 15X so I'd have a 15X60 spotting scope. This spotting scope is excellent. The binocular image was better with the B.4 no doubt. Much more enveloping image. Much better to just "watch" yellow-legs(both kinds) and killdeer do their thing. Watching birds and scanning the flats was effortless and no eyestrain whatsoever. Easy on the eyes. SO easy to focus. Yet for 15X bird ID comparison, not much difference between the binocular and the scope. The Leupold scope has a PLETHORA of ER that maes it VERY user friendly. PLUS it has the added benefit of being able to crank up to 40X. THAT the Maven can not do.
I tried the Maven in hand-held mode best I could. I strapped on the SV 8.5 and the B.4. I don't see how folks do it. For a while I could manage a pretty steady image. It sure didn't take long to get a little wobbly. At the end of a pretty good hike I have to say I really couldn't do much with the 15X. I don't bird sitting down so I didn't try that. I'm sure I could come up with a manner of holding them steady while resting my elbows on my knees. Freehanded I simply could not. I CAN hold the SV 12X50s very good. But not these.
So for now...I'm on the fence about these binoculars. Optically they are very nice so I can't fault the optics. It would be GREAT to have another 15X model to compare. They will do everything a 15X spotting scope will do while mounted on a tripod. But they will NOT do everything a 12-40X60 spotting scope will do much less a 30-70X95 spotting scope. I'm not so sure I can augment a 7 or 8X binocular with these because I can't hold them steady enough. I don't have a final verdict YET but it seems to me that if you have to take a binocular paired with a tripod, you just might as well take a spotting scope with a tripod.