chris6
Well-known member
6x30 Leupold Yosemite BX-1 482g, field@1000m 420ft £95 incl.p&p
6x30 Kowa YF30.................470g, field@1000m 420ft £115 incl.p&p
7x36 Bushnell Excursion EX...576g, field@1000m 410ft £115 incl.p&P
I thought the two porros had a marginally better definition/contrast in the centre than the Bushnell but all were equally bright, although the roof prism Bushnell may be a little warmer.
The view with the Bushnell appears somewhat larger and less restricted because of the greater magnification, a slightly wider field of view (in contradiction to the figures), and because focus was better towards the circumference:
the focus of the two porros goes off at about 50% of the radius but Bushnell is ok to 60%.
It was no surprise that the Leupold and Kowa gave identical views as far as I could tell, but the mouldings for the body and for the eyecup and dioptre adjustments, the focus wheel, and lens covers were different.
Although the focus adjustments of both 6x30s were rather stiff, which might wear off, I preferred the more normal ribbed focus wheel on the Leupold.
The different eyecup adjustment on Leupold was sloppy and imprecise compared to that for the Kowa which was markedly more positive and quite satisfactory.
On the Bushnell the focus wheel was light and smooth to operate, and could be clicked towards the bridge to lock the adjustment.
The plastic objective lens covers of the Kowa were simply popped into place and could be attached to the strap with a split slot in a tab.
On the Leupold and Bushnell the caps were attached by hinged rings to the barrels,
on the latter the rings were rather loose-fitting on the barrels, and this lack of security was exaggerated by the shorter free length of the barrels.
Bushnell provided a light stitched bag with a drawstring instead of a the padded pouch of the porros, as well as a nice semi-hard case with carrying rings.
It also included a wide neckstrap with clips and a narrower one, which is presumably for the binoculars themselves, together with an elasticated harness with clips.
The Leupold has neat attachment clips on the neck strap.
On balance I would choose the Bushnell for its view, which feels slightly more open, and the impression it gives of being less 'plastic', but it was obtained at a greater apparent discount. At official prices, whatever they are
it may not fit into the same category.
These lighter binocluars would be easier to carry for long periods but I still prefer the Nikon 7x35 Ex for its equivalent image quality with a wider field of view, 534ft, and in spite of its greater weight and bulk at 800g.
Perhaps at £99 the discount was also greater than that for the Kowa, or even the Leupold which I could only find being offered by two suppliers in uk: Uttings Ltd. and Sportsmans Gun Centre.
6x30 Kowa YF30.................470g, field@1000m 420ft £115 incl.p&p
7x36 Bushnell Excursion EX...576g, field@1000m 410ft £115 incl.p&P
I thought the two porros had a marginally better definition/contrast in the centre than the Bushnell but all were equally bright, although the roof prism Bushnell may be a little warmer.
The view with the Bushnell appears somewhat larger and less restricted because of the greater magnification, a slightly wider field of view (in contradiction to the figures), and because focus was better towards the circumference:
the focus of the two porros goes off at about 50% of the radius but Bushnell is ok to 60%.
It was no surprise that the Leupold and Kowa gave identical views as far as I could tell, but the mouldings for the body and for the eyecup and dioptre adjustments, the focus wheel, and lens covers were different.
Although the focus adjustments of both 6x30s were rather stiff, which might wear off, I preferred the more normal ribbed focus wheel on the Leupold.
The different eyecup adjustment on Leupold was sloppy and imprecise compared to that for the Kowa which was markedly more positive and quite satisfactory.
On the Bushnell the focus wheel was light and smooth to operate, and could be clicked towards the bridge to lock the adjustment.
The plastic objective lens covers of the Kowa were simply popped into place and could be attached to the strap with a split slot in a tab.
On the Leupold and Bushnell the caps were attached by hinged rings to the barrels,
on the latter the rings were rather loose-fitting on the barrels, and this lack of security was exaggerated by the shorter free length of the barrels.
Bushnell provided a light stitched bag with a drawstring instead of a the padded pouch of the porros, as well as a nice semi-hard case with carrying rings.
It also included a wide neckstrap with clips and a narrower one, which is presumably for the binoculars themselves, together with an elasticated harness with clips.
The Leupold has neat attachment clips on the neck strap.
On balance I would choose the Bushnell for its view, which feels slightly more open, and the impression it gives of being less 'plastic', but it was obtained at a greater apparent discount. At official prices, whatever they are
it may not fit into the same category. These lighter binocluars would be easier to carry for long periods but I still prefer the Nikon 7x35 Ex for its equivalent image quality with a wider field of view, 534ft, and in spite of its greater weight and bulk at 800g.
Perhaps at £99 the discount was also greater than that for the Kowa, or even the Leupold which I could only find being offered by two suppliers in uk: Uttings Ltd. and Sportsmans Gun Centre.
Last edited:
