Pentax DCF WP 8x32 for $50 at Eagle Optics (1 Viewer)

I stumbled into this deal on Saturday

SteveC mentioned it in another thread:

Steve C said:

Eagle Optics, as of yesterday, had brand new Pentax DCF WP 8x32, these are the original Pentax phase coated introduction, on sale for $49.95. Get out your card, get on the phone, order one.

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I followed up:

Kevin Purcell said:

When searching around a question ("$100 roofs") here on Saturday I saw that $50 deal.

First of all I though "Wow, Pentax are in the low end market?". Can't be phase corrected then. Check specs: it is. Even has the widest field I've seen on a Pentax.

Then I dismissed it as a typo: must be $149 or $249 or $349 something. Check the Hot Deals and it wasn't there (and still isn't). And it has a funny star in the title too (and the web page isn't quite right either).

Little more research. Ah, it's the model before the SP with different (lesser) coatings to the SP but mechanically similar (the same?). Very interesting. New-old-stock perhaps? And a typo?

Visited again on Sunday. Still there. What the heck. Placed order. Got order number. Got confirmation email.

Waited for a note from a human saying "We're sorry. That was a typo".

That's not arrived yet (at 10am on Monday Pacific Time) but I await the shipping confirmation.

I'll let you know what happens!

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and

Kevin Purcell said:

The product has disappeared from the web site some time before 1244 PDT

http://www.eagleoptics.com/index.asp?pid=981

No shipping confirmation yet.

But the two others still seem to be there ...

Pentax DCF HR 12x42 $50 (a hunting bin )
http://www.eagleoptics.com/index.asp?pid=980

Pentax Binoculars PCF WP 7x50 $50 (big heavy internal CF marine porros)
http://www.eagleoptics.com/index.asp?pid=3304

So we'll see if this is real or not.

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and

jimtrader11 said:

I called EO this morning and asked if price was an error. They checked and said no, their buyers got a great deal, so I placed my order over the phone. Just got an email giving the UPS shipping number so it was real.

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Then I got my UPS confirmation so it seems real for two of us! Scheduled Delivery is Friday, 03-October-2008, so I'll let you know how they are when they arrive.

As I'm sure a few from the forum will have bought them perhaps we can use this thread to share opinions (and stop us from hijacking the original thread.

wow nice. congrats

Dude, you need to email me when stuff like this comes up. Do they still have any left? I would buy one in a heartbeat. I once tried the 8x42 WP next to a Nikon 8x42 Venturer. Other than the slightly narrower field of view (and slight blue/green color bias) I thought the WPs were entirely comparable. At $50 this could be the best binocular deal ever....period!

FrankD said:

At $50 this could be the best binocular deal ever....period!

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Seem rather pricey Frank :
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=20864

Frank

Pm me your e-mail and I'll keep you in mind. I really am wondering why in the world I posted this. If I hadn't, there might have been one left at payday tomorrow. I was fighting a sinus headache from hell yesterday , and through this morning, and without a lot of sleep, didn't think too clearly. But, I am glad that Kevin and Jimtrader were able to cash in. And yeah, that is the world's best binocular deal, ever, period. I guess I can rationalize with the thought that I really didn't need something like that with both an 8x Yosemite and a 7x Eaglet.

Seriously guys, I thought about PMing both SteveC and FrankD when I saw this. I know you are both incurable binocuholics. But I convinced myself that this was probably bogus and I'd end up posting on a near-miss typo comment to the forum. I was a bit surprised when I got the UPS shipping confirmation.

I suspect this must either be a deal with Pentax or a Pentax distributor for "new, old stock". Given the speed at whicch it disappeared I suspect there must only have been 10s of units at most.

Do I need another bin ... in this class:

Winchester 8x32 (not phase corrected)
Promaster Infinity 7x32 (not phase corrected)
Yosemite 6x30 (no need for that phase correction malarkey)

Obviously ... I don't have a phase corrected 8x32 (or a Pentax of any sort) so I need one

On the other hand I rather like the idea of it being karma as I was web searching and thinking about responses to the "$100 roof thread" when I found this bin. That's my story anyway.

In fact I don't have a duplicate of any manufacturer amongst the 13 bins (crap, thirteen!) I own. OK, some of those are complete junk. I really don't have a problem. Honestly.

FWIW, I note that searching on Google for this you get Eagle Optics page and second you get Birdforum. Birdforum seems to have a pretty good ranking on Google.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Pentax+Binoculars+DCF+WP+8x32

Did only two of us "win" (to use the obnoxious eBay terminology) this bin?

I haven't found any reviews of the 8x32 but the 8x42 has some prescence for example at BVD. It was the first phase corrected Pentax roof (I think) perhaps the late 1990s? Steve liked it at that point.

http://www.betterviewdesired.com/Pentax-8x42-DCF-WP-with-Phase-Coating.php

And at birdwatching.com (who seem to like all of the bins they sell )

http://www.birdwatching.com/optics/binocsbwd2000reviews.html

Comparing the WP 8x42 to the Monarch

http://forums.cheaperthandirt.com/viewtopic.php?t=1224

And this hunting magazine comment on safari in 1999.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_12_45/ai_57006117

After a day's use, both were as impressed with the DCFs as I am, particularly when I told them the street price of around $400, which is less than half the price of the top German and Austrian glasses.

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The Euro 3 bins appreciated faster than the stock market

Obviously ... I don't have a phase corrected 8x32 (or a Pentax of any sort) so I need one

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Yes you do. I showed up in the mail yesterday.

Steve,

PM sent shortly. Thanks.

Norm,

Ok, maybe the second best binocular deal...ever!

Yes, Frank, my mind hasn't quite assimilated the Discovery and the Conquest yet (though it is 8x30 and the 2mm make all the difference )

The WP arrived today.

Just took the Pentax WP outside in a break in the rain to check it out.

Very nice bin. I'm quite surprised. Equals or betters the Yosemite in it's sharp, bright, contrasty view. It's also rather compact.

Certainly the best $50 I've spent on a bin.

More detailed review later.