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Canon's new 14x32 IS (1 Viewer)

Hi Henry,
I use Canon IS binoculars when I require more resolution than a standard hand held binocular can give.
The 18x50 IS and others have a great deal of false colour particularly when the IS is working near their off axis limits.
But this false colour does not mean that they don't far outresolve standard hand held binoculars.

If someone wants to see bad false colour look through the Nikon 10-22x50 at 22x.
I sometimes use this at 22x as it shows the gap between Saturn and its rings even better than the Canon 18x50IS, so long as I brace the Nikon against the window glass and the window frame.

For me it is the observation that is important not the optics quality.
So long as the optics deliver what I am looking for, I will put up with errors in optics.

That is also why I would not consider a near perfect 8x56.
I use 12x56, 13x56 Minox and 15x56 or 15x58.
For my observations a heavy 8x56 is not the way I would go. I would use at most 8x42 or 8.5x44 Swift.

However, I understand that bird watchers require very good colour fidelity, which I don't really need.
So for bird watchers CA may be a problem.
However, I hate my sample of the Nikon HG 8x42 because the false colour near the edge and horrible flare are not what I want from an £800 binocular.
It does however show shadow detail that is just not visible in my other binoculars.
Later ones seem to be a lot better than mine.
 
James,
I would think that tilted optical elements might increase false colour while not affecting other performance characteristics that much.
No binocular optics are actually perfectly aligned. There are always small errors.

With lower price binoculars there is little or no quality control and most customers don't even know if their binocular has poor optics.
Hopefully, more expensive ones have quality control, but they still vary.
 
I've often wondered about conflicting CA reports. Yes, I'm aware of how individual this is, but is there an aspect of binocular construction [or mis-construction / poor QA] that could cause higher than typical [for that model] CA?

Internal alignment etc?

Yes, internal misalignment leading to coma will cause lateral color to be asymmetrical with the null point falling somewhere off-axis, which can cause significant color to appear on axis. That's not the case with this particular 10x32 which in a high magnification star test shows no significant coma in either side.
 
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Still makes me wonder. If Canon can make a really good and relatively inexpensive series of IS bins [which apparently don't sell well], then why don't they take the obviously excellent optics and package them up in a standard non-IS bin?
 
Henry,

Waiting for your comprehensive report. I'm particularly interested in your take on the advantages or lack thereof of the stabilisation, as well as whether your ideas about non-stabilised binocular viewing will change at all as a result of playing with the Canons.

Kimmo
 
Hi Kimmo,

I'm just a newbie when it comes to stabilized binoculars, but the happiest surprise so far for me is how effective the 10x32 stabilisation is, even at 38x. I don't see why Canon couldn't use exactly the same IS mechanism to make a handholdable spotting scope.

I'll be away for a few days and then back to testing the 10x32.

Henry
 
I wrote a positive review above that I want to change a bit after 5 months of using the 14x32s. The review was written after use in nordic October light. I had some issues with CA but thought it was acceptable.
Now I have spent a month in the bright bright light of Peru... And I must say I now feel the CA is too painful. Hurts the eyes to watch a bird in flight or branches with cloudy sky in the background. The CA thus a lot worse in bright light. A pity because otherwise these binos are terrific.
 
The price of a new 14x32 is 830.52$, whereas the price of a used 14x32 (from the same seller) is 830.49$---who wouldn't enjoy a discount of 0.03$!?

Seriously, the terrible eyecups of the new Canon IS binos alone (for those who don't wear glasses with binos) is a show stopper for me, even if everything else was almost perfect (which of course it is not....).
 
Seriously, the terrible eyecups of the new Canon IS binos alone (for those who don't wear glasses with binos) is a show stopper for me, even if everything else was almost perfect (which of course it is not....).

I'll back you up on your criticism of the eyecups. The eyecups are so bad that Canon might as well just ship them without eyecups installed. The only way these can be used is with the cups folded back. It's ok for me since I have deep set eyes and usually have to have the cups nearly all the way in anyway.

I am withholding my thoughts on the optics until I can get a few more daylight uses in. The short days are making it tough to give these things a proper shake down.
 
6Ave has 103,000 ratings on Amazon with 98% positive, but their prices are so low it makes you wonder if they are grey market imports with no warranty.

Edit: Looked at their feedbacks and it looks like they are international warranty items.
 
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6Ave has 103,000 ratings on Amazon with 98% positive, but their prices are so low it makes you wonder if they are grey market imports with no warranty.

Edit: Looked at their feedbacks and it looks like they are international warranty items.

Hello Bino Boy,

I have never owned a Canon IS binocular although I did have the opportunity to use a 10x42 IS for a short time at Cape May, NJ and I was very impressed with it!

On a whim I decided to purchase the Canon 12x36 IS III from B&H on January 31st 2019 and it arrived the next day at noon on my doorstep. So far I like it very much (no problems getting used to the eye cups, I don't wear glasses.) but I did notice that there was no warranty information included with it.

I must get back to B&H on that matter. I have always found it useful to register my binocular purchases with the manufacturer.

Bob
 
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I have been using the Canon 18x50 IS for about 18 years.
The 'terrible' eyecups I find to be absolutely fine.
They are still fairly soft.
I don't wear glasses with binoculars.

However, some modern binoculars I find to be almost unusable with so much eye relief they are just hovering in front of my eyes.

The Zeiss 5x10T monocular is just plain ridiculous. It has far too much eye relief for me.
I can only hold it steady by putting my distance glasses on and place the monocular on the glass to steady it.
 
I have been using the Canon 18x50 IS for about 18 years.
The 'terrible' eyecups I find to be absolutely fine.
They are still fairly soft.
I don't wear glasses with binoculars.

Glad to hear the x50 IS Canons have better eyecups. I would prefer the larger objectives, but I'm outside the IPD range on those.
 
Glad to hear the x50 IS Canons have better eyecups. I would prefer the larger objectives, but I'm outside the IPD range on those.

I don't think they do. They might work for people with an IPD larger than 70mm or deep eye sockets, or both, and even for those people they can be rather uncomfortable. The smaller Canons have comfortable eyecups, but their ER might be on the small side for some---if I did not have the Swaro SV 12x50, my pick would be the 12x36 IS: I owned several 12x36 IS Mk III and I was (almost) happy with them (Bob: you have made a good choice).
 
Hi everyone.
I wrote a review on the 14x32s above (and also discussed it's CA performance in another thread).
I thought the CA was unacceptable and this was the main criticism of these otherwise fine binos.

HOWEVER, after using them since October 2018 I now find it hard to see any CA in most situations.
A remarkable change! Must be neuroadaptation like after eye surgery (like lens replacement): the vision changes but after some time the brain adjusts/filters the signal.
Anyone trying these binos out should have that in mind. The CA will likely be reduced after some use.

Still, I think Canon should be able to produce binos with less CA issues.
 
HOWEVER, after using them since October 2018 I now find it hard to see any CA in most situations.
A remarkable change! Must be neuroadaptation like after eye surgery (like lens replacement): the vision changes but after some time the brain adjusts/filters the signal.
Anyone trying these binos out should have that in mind. The CA will likely be reduced after some use.

I have been using the 14x32 since last fall as well. CA is off the charts if these binoculars aren't perfectly focused. For those used to traditional binoculars it is difficult to achieve perfect focus since the DOF is significantly less than an 8x or 10x and the focus wheel has a much different feel than other binos. It's also harder to keep your pupils centered on axis with the exceptionally small exit pupil.

Once you get used to focusing them and it becomes second nature the CA can be controlled quite well. With other binoculars I adjust focus until the image looks sharp. But with these 14x32 Canons I focus by finding the sweet spot between green and purple without paying any attention to sharpness.

In my opinion, the CA issues make this binocular a poor choice for viewing subjects that need to be focused closer than infinity. But, for long distance viewing where you can set focus once for the entire session they are spectacular. Most of my binocular use involves long distance viewing and I find myself wishing I brought my Canons along whenever I have a traditional 8x or 10x. Now that I have become accustomed to the fantastic stabilization I can't help but become fixated on the minor shakes even with an 8x.
 
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