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Dream Binoculars (1 Viewer)

Atomic Chicken

Registered with the D.O.E.
Greetings!

I was thinking about high-end binoculars today (gee... what a surprise! ;) ). I was considering what would be the "be-all, end-all" binocular that would cause me to leave all others at home... all the time... similar to what my current Nikon 8X32 HG is for me. I was thinking "future" here, and didn't try and constrain it to currently available technology... although I'm sure that the features I'm after aren't unrealistic and could probably be built today with the right design team using current technology, materials, and enough $$$.

My dream binocular would be something like the Leica Duovid, with 2 selectable magnifications. I would want 7X and 12X as the two selections, but I would want to be able to select them with a single lever in the same area as the focus wheel, not on the eyepieces like the Duovid. I would want 43mm objective lenses with FL elements for low CA. I would want equivalent image quality to my Nikon HG 8X32 or better. I would want a built-in laser rangefinder like the Leica Geovid, combined with an electronic compass to give the bearing along with the range. Finally, I would want a 4-5MP digital camera built in that would capture stills or moving video of whatever I'm looking at. I would want it to play back the images or video through the eyepieces, no stupid pop-up LCD screens or other such nonsense. I would want it to weight under 30 Oz., preferably in the 25 Oz. range. Other than that, the usual roof prism things - waterproof, dustproof, fogproof, rugged rubber armored, etc.

If I had this set of binoculars, I would sell all my others (with the exception of my Zeiss 8X20 Compact binoculars for the glove box of my car) and finally be happy with a single pair for all-around use. I would finally be happy with one instrument, and not be drooling over a vast multitude of different binocular options currently available. Right now, to get everything I want, I would have to buy a set of Leica Duovids, a Leica Geovid, a Zeiss 7X42 FL, and wait a few years for a decent digital camera binocular to become available.

Any thoughts on this? What are the rest of you thinking would be your ultimate "dream binocular"? What features would/wouldn't be desirable for you?

Best wishes,
Bawko
 
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From the currently available options I'd have to say the Leica duovids - the switchable magnification is very useful and the image is still excellent at 12x. The only improvement I could ask for is a reduction in weight - although they are comfortable to hold and use, by the end of a long day you do know you've been carrying them.
The idea of a built in high res digi camera does appeal, but I would not want any modification that distracted from the optical quality of the bins.
 
Atomic Chicken said:
My dream binocular would be something like the Leica Duovid, with 2 selectable magnifications. I would want 7X and 12X as the two selections, but I would want to be able to select them with a single lever in the same area as the focus wheel, not on the eyepieces like the Duovid. I would want 43mm objective lenses with FL elements for low CA. I would want equivalent image quality to my Nikon HG 8X32 or better. I would want a built-in laser rangefinder like the Leica Geovid, combined with an electronic compass to give the bearing along with the range. Finally, I would want a 4-5MP digital camera built in that would capture stills or moving video of whatever I'm looking at. I would want it to play back the images or video through the eyepieces, no stupid pop-up LCD screens or other such nonsense. I would want it to weight under 30 Oz., preferably in the 25 Oz. range. Other than that, the usual roof prism things - waterproof, dustproof, fogproof, rugged rubber armored, etc.

I think I would be quite happy with "just" the Zeiss 10x32 IS FLs.

Ilkka
 
A dream binocular for me that isn't completely pie-in-the-sky would also be a zoom. I think an excellent zoom without the problems of the current ones could be made now if the magnification range were kept very narrow. A 7 or 8X-10X could be done with a 60 degree AFOV across the range. Birders could choose their preferred hand holdable magnification to match particular circumstances. The Leica Duovids strike me as a half step toward a binocular like that.
 
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9 x 50 nikon venturer LX/ ED or FL glass.

to me there is one ideal bino. it has not been made. it is a 9 x 50 nikon venturer LX. field of view 7 degrees. close focus 8 feet. weight 30 oz. screw up eye cups. eye relief 22 mm. this will never happen thats because the market is based on need, once you are satisfied, the buying and searching ends and humans constantly are searching for something more, hence the birding. it is never enough. its a drug. and the marketing gurus have figured that out. B :)
 
iambirding said:
. this will never happen thats because the market is based on need, once you are satisfied, the buying and searching ends and humans constantly are searching for something more, hence the birding. it is never enough. its a drug. and the marketing gurus have figured that out. B :)

Yes, why would anyone want to offer you binoculars that would satisfy you for the rest of time. They'd be out of business after everybody got those, at the latest.

Robert
 
There will always be something more to add. If company A bought out Atomic Chickens perfect bins then company B would bring out a similar spec model with image stabilisation and so on, there is loads of stuff not mentioned that you could dream up, image intensifier for low light and so it goes on.

Mick
 
I would like to re-emphasize a point Ilkka made so subtly that no one seems to have hooked on it. A dream binocular would definitely have image stabilization. I differ with him only in that it would have to have at least 42 mm objectives, since 32 does not quite give enough resolution or a big enough exit pupil for absolutely satisfying views at all times. Dual magnification might be okay, zoom perhaps, but I would perhaps like to keep that part simple. The ideal binocular is one that you just use and don't think about, and if you have zoom there is more to think about. However, with IS, using a zoom would be more feasible since with a stable image you can immediately see which magnification is the one you see best with.

Kimmo
 
kabsetz said:
I would like to re-emphasize a point Ilkka made so subtly that no one seems to have hooked on it. A dream binocular would definitely have image stabilization.
And I thought I was shouting it... ;)
I wonder, how far/close a solar-powered image stabilization would be by now. I would dare to speculate that when Canon starts to mass-produce its patented SA and CA free diffractive lenses (http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=CanonAdvantageTopicDtlAct&id=2632 ) in China, three things may happen
1) the best image quality can be achieved at significantly lower costs
2) the top binos develop into electro-opto-mechanical commodity
3) the present high-quality optics become valued collectibles, which only some old snobs use in real life

This dream starts to sound like a nightmare.:eek!:

Ilkka
 
iporali,

Don't sell your old optics yet....
It looks like the new Canon lens is a 2-lens system, which means that even though there won't be any more CA, it will not be as bright. I'm not sure I would want to trade brightness for absense of CA, which is barely noticable in newer optics anyway.

Best wishes,
Bawko
 
"Any thoughts on this? What are the rest of you thinking would be your ultimate "dream binocular"? What features would/wouldn't be desirable for you?"

Built in digi camera but no loss of quality or increase in weight...it's only a matter of time.

Dave
 
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