Minox BD10x42mm BR Aspheric Model 62170 (1 Viewer)

My new Minox bino I got from Eagle Optics for $249 FINALLY arrived today. Initial impressions are.... SWEET:t:

From the other threads I was expecting a stinker and am pleasantly surprised to find it only mildly rubbery oderous, a smell reminding me of my rubber wetsuit and fins. Made in China of course. Came with a nice strap and rainguard but no lens caps. Faux leather carry case too but who cares.

Optics show a little field curvature, with little to no distortion. They compare very well to my Kowa BD8x32 and Nikon 8x30 EII. Nice green-tinted AR coatings on the objectives with purple-tinted eyepiece coatings. Eyerelief is excellent. Focus is silky smooth and is relatively fast. Coarse rubber texture insures a good grip. Small, almost too small for this class, but easy to hold steady. Bare weight sans strap and rainguard is 703g so slightly more than the spec. More later after I take them out to the park for a spin.

Rick

Hi Rick, I look forward to your thoughts on this binocular. The EII looks like brand new.
Regards,Steve

mooreorless said:

Hi Rick, I look forward to your thoughts on this binocular. The EII looks like brand new.
Regards,Steve

Click to expand...

Sure does! Doesn't look like they have ever been used.
The leatherette cover was getting loose on mine after the 1st 3 weeks!
Bob

Rick,

Regarding your uncrumpled armor 8x30 EII... I noticed that the metal parts are black not gray like mine.

I've seen this in another photo of an 8x30 EII posted on BF that showed the EII with an SE and a LX (all midsized models).

Both 8x30 EIIs I owned had gray metal like my SEs.

Could you list the first three numbers of the EII's serial # so I can compare it to the other two samples to see if it came before or after them? Thanks.

Brock,

My EII's have black metal - and very smart they look too!!. The serial number starts 806.

Paul

Mine are black. Two 8 x 30's. 500xxx and 501xxx. One 10 x 35. 300xxx.

BTW, Klingons see everything in shades of gray. I thought everybody knew that!

Bob

ceasar said:

Mine are black. Two 8 x 30's. 500xxx and 501xxx. One 10 x 35. 300xxx.

BTW, Klingons see everything in shades of gray. I thought everybody knew that!

Bob

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Only when our first pair of eyelids are closed. (which we call "eyes wide shut")

My 8x30 EII has gray metal (with both pairs of eyelids open). 501xxx.

Same color as the 501 and 505 SEs.

The other EII sample has a higher serial #. Steve (mooreorless) has it now and I don't remember the #. But the metal is also gray.

Odd that our 501 EIIs have metal that is a different color even though by the serial #s, they appear to be made the same year.

Perhaps they were made at different factories?

Does your 501 EII have the letters "AM" under the serial number?

Or yours was "painted black, painted black, black as night, black as coal..."

brocknroller said:

Only when our first pair of eyelids are closed. (which we call "eyes wide shut")

My 8x30 EII has gray metal (with both pairs of eyelids open). 501xxx.

Same color as the 501 and 505 SEs.

The other EII sample has a higher serial #. Steve (mooreorless) has it now and I don't remember the #. But the metal is also gray.

Odd that our 501 EIIs have metal that is a different color even though by the serial #s, they appear to be made the same year.

Perhaps they were made at different factories?

Does your 501 EII have the letters "AM" under the serial number?

Or yours was "painted black, painted black, black as night, black as coal..."

Click to expand...

All three have AM under the Serial Number. And if they are Gray, they are an awful dark shade of Gray, much darker than the SE's I have.
Bob

ceasar said:

All three have AM under the Serial Number. And if they are Gray, they are an awful dark shade of Gray, much darker than the SE's I have.
Bob

Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying that. I though it might have just been your camera, but it appears that Nikon did make two different colored EIIs.

From what I've seen, the darker gray seems to be rarer. So hold on to them, they could be a collectors item some day.

FS: Rare Dark Gray 8x30 EII ONLY $1,800

In the meantime, enjoy them despite their "awful dark shade of Gray," because when it comes to porros, they sure don't make 'em like they used to.

Brock

Rick,

Looks like you got a great deal! I look forward to hearing more about the bin once you field test it.

I've always admired the elegance of Minox bins (except the ribbed plasticy green models).

The black rubber armored models have clean lines and nice metal appointments, and except for their new top of the line APO model, their prices that are much more reasonable than their German competitors.

However, being that Minox somehow derives from "mini" and I have "maxi" hands, I have never considered buying one until their recent foray into the open bridge design with the CB CL.

I will try to find out more about that model (Japanese or Chinese made?) and when they will be available in the US and post that info on the CB CL thread.

I've taken this Minox out to our wetlands every weekend for last month and have grown quite fond of them. In fact, I may like them better than Kowa 8x32 and the Nikon 8x30 EII. I suspect it's because I seem to lean towards higher mags at this site but the binocular is also just VERY easy on the eyes and just so small compared to other brands of similar apertures. No struggle with getting the correct IPD to see and merge the entire field into a nice round circle or with eyerelief and blackouts. Just raise it your eyes, look and enjoy.

The new rubber odor has completely dissipated and the slight field curvature goes unnoticed in practice. Some purple fringing can be seen on distant high contrast birds in bright sun but by either moving closer or changing my angle of view it can be made to "dissappear".

Ski season is just starting so it will be interesting to test their cold weather performance up in the mountains and the ducks will also soon start massing on the ponds giving some nice feather color variations to observe. However I did get an impressive upclose view today of a female Common Kingfisher with its brilliant iradescent blue and chesnut brown plummage.

I guess if I need to nitpik, I don't think the diopter is the easiest to set while handholding and I wish it came with some objective lens caps so I could ditch the softcase. That's about it.

I think it was an excellent value at $249 on sale and I fell lucky to have caught it.

happy holidays,
Rick

Always glad to hear when things go Well. Sounds like you got a heck of a deal there. Actually, Minox is one of the very few companies that always seem to make it to the final round but then just doesn't have the momentum to make it onto the Big Brown Truck. Willing to bet, though, that if a vendor in this area carried them (i.e. try before you buy) there'd be a set around my neck when I head to the field.
Looking forward to the cold weather feedback.
Congrats on a new favorite..