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My Review Kowa bd xd 8X32 (1 Viewer)

Chris223

Well-known member
I am owning this bino since 1 month...and i am more than disapointed.
To be clear my background in bino world is almost non existent, but i almost prefer the optic of an cheap 90 euros porro that i have than the kowa.

Maybe i have a bad sample, but i am really surprised about the hightly enthusiastic review en allbinos!?

First my goal was to buy a cheap compact bino for trekking in the mountain, i bought an opticron oregon 4 and a bushnell trophy 8X32; there were absolutely crapy instrument (headache and nausea after using them more tha 3 minutes).

So i did chase bino in the 200-400 euros range, and bought the kowa.
In this bino i found the apparent exterior quality really really nice.

Optically the field of view is huge comparing to my cheap 7X50 paralux porro, the color rendering is natural and better than the yellow tint of the paralux....that are the only two better point !!
Brightness is a little bit more on the porro, but the huge difference is sharpness across the field of view. On the kowa it is nothing close to 91% writted on allbinos website.

The center is crystal clear, but only at 30% of this center zone the image already soften and is not quite as sharp as in the center.
Worst : the right field on both tube is far worst than the left one.
On the right tube there is a zone amost in the center (like a little cloud) that is blurrier than the outer periphery.

Strange thing is that on the crappy bushnell and opticron instruments i could put on focus the blurry periphery (with the center out of focus), which is impossible to do with the kowa.!?

So i understand that in optic you pay for what you have and it is absolutely my fault.
I have never use an alpha bino, but i think i am goint to look at it.
My visual accuity is good and it s annoying me to not have a very good image throughout my binocular.

The only thing that i don't understand is the ranking on allbino website...so i don't know if i have a bad sample...?
 
It sounds like you got a bad copy and I would see about exchanging it. If you can afford it the Kowa Genesis 8-33 should give you what you need without paying an alpha price. You might also look at the Zeiss Conquest HD in 8-32. Either one is about as good as your going to do short of paying two grand for an alpha.
Steve
 
Hi,

sounds indeed like a lemon - please try to return it. The asymmetric sharpness pattern is quite tell-tale for sth quite wrong with the optics.

That being said, the allbinos report on the BD XD was a bit more enthusiastic than what I had read elsewhere... The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Joachim
 
I absolutely agree with Stephen and Joachim.
You have been sold a defective product so I would reject it and send it back to the supplier and ask them to supply one that they have checked.

Stephen's suggestion to consider Kowa Genesis 8x33 or Zeiss Conquest 8x32 is what I would suggest too, I would also add Meopta B1 MeoStar 8x32. These are all excellent instruments for much less than alpha prices. I am lucky enough to own some alphas but I use all of these binos regularly and they are very satisfying to use.

Bon chance.

Lee
 
Finally i sent to kowa the citrus fruit...and i already have a new one ! :t:
Oustanding support from Kowa !

So i did a quick test of the bino and it is far better !! Maybe the right tube is not as sharp of the left one but nothing to compare with my first (in fact second) sample.
There is a little play in this copy on the occular focusing, but nothing bad i think.

Maybe i should have bought the Genesis but this is another story...
 
Chris

Try turning the binos upside down and then look through them to check the sharpness difference between the two sides.

If the tube that is now on the right-hand side is now not so sharp, the problem is your right eye, not the binos.

Also try re-adjusting the dioptre by looking at a brick wall at a medium distance. There are lots of lines and details in a brick wall that make it easier to tell when the focus in the left tube is perfect and when the dioptre on the right-hand tube matches it.

Bon chance

Lee
 
I guess this thread has been in progress a while, but I don't visit the forum all that often and I just noticed it.

I was surprised by the unhappiness of the OP with the Kowa bd xd prominar 8x32 binoculars until I read that indeed it has turned out that his pair was defective. I purchased these based on the positive Allbinos review, and I have been very happy with them. They are not quite on the level of premium binoculars, particularly models that are larger and brighter. But for the price I paid, I have found them excellent. I went recently on a bird photography trip to Ecuador and took the Kowas instead of larger binocs in order to save space and weight. They performed beautifully. They are now my go-to travel binoculars. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a pair of midsize binocs for travel.
 
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