Maven B3 8x30 ... (2 Viewers)

FrankD · Mar 6, 2015

The Maven B3 8x30 binoculars were sitting outside my garage door when I went to fill up the birdfeeders late this afternoon. Sadly the sun was all but set when I took them out of the box. As a result I didn't have a chance to try them outdoors. I am going to save initial impressions for another day later this week. However, I thought I would leave you with a few pics..... The last is a digibinned pic.

FrankD · Mar 6, 2015

More pics

Pinewood · Mar 6, 2015

Hello Frank,

While waiting for the important stuff, your review of its optical performance, I must write that the B3 is not a pretty sight. That asymmetric colouring, and bare knurled adjustments for dioptre and for focussing are bad design, if not just ugly. That bulging focussing knob seems to put everything out of order.
On the other hand, I own a red Leica 8x32 BN, which is hardly subtle, but it is easy to find.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:

denco@comcast.n · Mar 6, 2015

FrankD said:
The Maven B3 8x30 binoculars were sitting outside my garage door when I went to fill up the birdfeeders late this afternoon. Sadly the sun was all but set when I took them out of the box. As a result I didn't have a chance to try them outdoors. I am going to save initial impressions for another day later this week. However, I thought I would leave you with a few pics..... The last is a digibinned pic.

Wow, wild color combination. Don't you think they will scare the birds away? I hope your review is good because I get mine tomorrow. Do they say made in Japan on them? It looks like it under the bridge. I am impressed with Maven so far in the way they answered my questions about the B.3 binoculars. Do they come with the clear lens filters or is that something extra you purchased? Are the objective covers a tethered design?

FrankD · Mar 6, 2015

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Arthur. As they say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". I am indifferent to the color scheme of the review unit. It definitely isn't subtle but I don't find it offensive. Kind of "techs" from my perspective. The focusing knob might appear larger than it is because of my poor pictures taking skills.

Thoughts on the digibinned pic?

FrankD · Mar 6, 2015

Dennis,

The lens filters were just in the box when I opened it up. The assumption would be that they come with every bin. Anybody notice any common accessory not in the picture?

It does say Mavenbuilt Japan underneath.

Pinewood · Mar 6, 2015

Hello Frank,

I did not see a neck strap.

The last photo is a decent closeup, but digital binocular photography does not lend itself to closeups.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur

denco@comcast.n · Mar 6, 2015

FrankD said:
Dennis,

The lens filters were just in the box when I opened it up. The assumption would be that they come with every bin. Anybody notice any common accessory not in the picture?

It does say Mavenbuilt Japan underneath.

That is an interesting option. Lens filters used to be used more on binoculars.

Steve C · Mar 6, 2015

I got a set of those lens filters with the B2. They are intended to protect the objective from getting dusty, a sort of transparent objective cover if you will. They are a very high transmission glass without any coatings. I am not sure if they are a stock item. When I ordered mine they asked if I'd like a set to try.

Arthur, there are other much more subtle stock color options. I can't say I like that stock option, but somebody did.

cycleguy · Mar 6, 2015

Frank,

I'm glad you're on it... does this have any relation to the Kite Lynx HD 8x30???

Hopefully this is a competitor to the Swaro CL 8x30 and a large step up from the Nikon Monarch 7 8x30, Leupold Mojave 8x32, and the Cabela's Guide 8x32; it's price point would indicate so... so I await your review.

I've already assembled a number of my own color combinations to choose among....

CG

FrankD · Mar 6, 2015

Pinewood said:
Hello Frank,

I did not see a neck strap.

The last photo is a decent closeup, but digital binocular photography does not lend itself to closeups.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur

Arthur,

I am confused. What did you mean with your last statement?

....neck strap was in the box under the cardboard cutout. No case though.

FrankD · Mar 6, 2015

CG,

Will post more after I have some time with the bin in the light of day.

Pinewood · Mar 6, 2015

FrankD said:
Arthur,

I am confused. What did you mean with your last statement?

....neck strap was in the box under the cardboard cutout. No case though.

Hello Frank,

You asked about what I thought of the "digibinned" photo. I thought that the closeup of the filter packet was in question. Using an iPhone and a binocular would not be the easiest way to obtain such a photo.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:

brocknroller · Mar 6, 2015

FrankD said:
Arthur,

I am confused. What did you mean with your last statement?

....neck strap was in the box under the cardboard cutout. No case though.

Apparently, the case is an "option."

Did you order these, or did they send them for you to try? You and Steve are always getting "free trial" bins. Let me know whose butt I have to kiss to get UPS to stop at my door weekly with a new bin, and I will put a clothespin on my nose, rub some antibiotic on my lips, and pucker up!

Looking forward to your review. These are more in my price range and weight class, though I'd rather have the B2, which looks awesome, particularly the way I customized it.

P.S. I just looked up the B3 and was surprised to find that the listed light transmission is higher than the B3! 95.20%. How did they do that with S-P prisms???
P.P.S. I looked up allbinos measurement for the 8x32 FL, and it was 94.6+/- 1.5%. If the B2 was made to compete with the HT, perhaps the B3 was made to compete with the 8x32 FL.

typo · Mar 6, 2015

brocknroller said:
P.S. I just looked up the B3 and was surprised to find that the listed light transmission is higher than the B3! 95.20%. How did they do that with S-P prisms???
P.P.S. I looked up allbinos measurement for the 8x32 FL, and it was 94.6+/- 1.5%. If the B2 was made to compete with the HT, perhaps the B3 was made to compete with the 8x32 FL.

The transmission levels do seem surprising. Glass does absorb light and the lenses will be thinner and the prisms smaller on an x30 compared to an x42, so that could improve transmission. Over 4% improvement seems unlikely if the same glass was used thoughout.

David

henry link · Mar 6, 2015

typo said:
The transmission levels do seem surprising. Glass does absorb light and the lenses will be thinner and the prisms smaller on an x30 compared to an x42, so that could improve transmission. Over 4% improvement seems unlikely if the same glass was used thoughout.

David

I find the transmission numbers puzzling too. It's hard to account for the high transmission of the 30mm models or the differences between models with the same number of glass to air surfaces and the same prisms. Are the figures theoretical, based on the number of surfaces, glass thickness and coatings, or actual measurements? If measurements, then how many pairs where measured? Do they represent transmission at 550nm or the peak transmission wherever that occurs on the spectrum?

I do appreciate the effort at a very thorough spec sheet. How many other manufactures supply any transmission figures at all or the number of elements and groups in their designs or both the storage and functional temperature ranges.

Henry

Steve C · Mar 6, 2015

When I first contacted Maven, the first questions I posed were dealing with whether or not they had all the specs on the sheet right. I specifically asked about the veracity of the transmission tests of the B2 and the B3. They said that those are Kamakura's tests and they are confident of their results.

henry link · Mar 6, 2015

Thanks Steve. That still leaves us with the question of what those test numbers actually represent. Are they transmission at 550nm? Peak transmission? Some sort of weighted average?

Henry

denco@comcast.n · Mar 6, 2015

cycleguy said:
Frank,

I'm glad you're on it... does this have any relation to the Kite Lynx HD 8x30???

Hopefully this is a competitor to the Swaro CL 8x30 and a large step up from the Nikon Monarch 7 8x30, Leupold Mojave 8x32, and the Cabela's Guide 8x32; it's price point would indicate so... so I await your review.

I've already assembled a number of my own color combinations to choose among....

CG

I sent an e-mail to Maven asking them if the B.3 8x30 was a rebadged Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 and this is the detailed response I received. I must say this company is impressing me.

"Hello Dennis-
First off thanks for purchasing one of our binos. I think you'll be real happy with them. I recognized your email from the order you placed as I was the one that inspected them.

As for your question, no they are not the the Nikon Monarch or the Kite binocular. There are some platform similarities in that we are all using a compact bridge assembly, something that our partner in Japan developed and is probably going to be showing up in many places ( much like when Swarovski introduced the open hinge concept and then everyone else also had one.) We use a different eyecup system and most importantly have a completely different optical spec. I would say that performance wise it would be more similar to the Kite model but superior to the Nikon which is notorious for its issues when looking towards the light. And, all of our optics are made in Japan.

A few other items to note... we offer a lifetime no-fault warranty which neither of those brands do (don't get me started on the level of customer service you'll receive from Nikon). I don't have any experience with the Kite customer service, so I won't comment there, but I assure you that ours is second to none. And finally, we offer personalization on every model we sell which you won't find anywhere.

Something that I'd like to ad as I've heard a similar question asked. I'm not sure what your definition of rebadged actually is. Hopefully I'm addressing what you mean by rebadging. But, you should know that what you might think is a simple inexpensive thing to do is not at all. Just the tooling costs for the cosmetic pieces (rubber armor, focus wheel, branding) on a compact binocular can be up around $50-$80K. Most companies aren't interested in only making a cosmetic change at that cost. And we are definitely not one of those companies.

Our reason for starting our company was to give people the option of buying a premium quality binocular for a reasonable price with the personalization option being the icing on the cake. Shelling out $2500-3000 for a full size and $900-1000 for a compact was taking it out of reach of most consumers. We saw this happening in the optics market and knew we could do it, but only by selling direct. We think we've done the right thing.

Sorry to be long winded but I've had this asked several times and think it's worth explaining. As a brand who only sells direct we rely on our customers to tell our story. We hope you'll be happy with your bino and that you'll share that with others.

Thanks Dennis.
>Brendon"

denco@comcast.n · Mar 6, 2015

cycleguy said:
Frank,

I'm glad you're on it... does this have any relation to the Kite Lynx HD 8x30???

Hopefully this is a competitor to the Swaro CL 8x30 and a large step up from the Nikon Monarch 7 8x30, Leupold Mojave 8x32, and the Cabela's Guide 8x32; it's price point would indicate so... so I await your review.

I've already assembled a number of my own color combinations to choose among....

CG

I still have my Swarovski CL's 8x30 so I will compare them when I get my Maven's B.3 8x30's today. Mine are the more subtle stock grey/black.

Maven B3 8x30 ... (2 Viewers)

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Attachments

New York correspondent

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

New York correspondent

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

New York correspondent

porromaniac

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread