Maven B.2 7x45 (1 Viewer)

dae33 · Dec 29, 2018

I would like to leave my initial impressions about the Maven B2 7x45.
I have briefly compared them to Fujinon fmt-sx 7x50 and Leica Trinovid 7x42 BN. Serial number is 2526.

First of all, about the field of view. TVOF is about 7.5-7.6* - a little more, then in Fujinon (which has 7.4* measured TVOF), but noticeably less, then in Leica (which has 8* measured TFOV).
AFOV looks slight more, than in Fujinon AFOV, so it is about 52-53*. So are in accordance with the official specification. I have C2 7x28, which has a little bigger field of view, than advertised - AFOV 48* and TVOF 6.8* at infinity.

Maven has slight pincushion distortion. While Fujinon has zero tangent distortion, and Leica has huge pincushion distortion.
Good 3-dimensionality, comparable to Fujinon, and much better then Leica.

Axis sharpness is comparable to Leica (which is very good), much better than Fujinon has.

Aberrations correction across the field of view is the worth. Worse than in Leica, and much worse than in Fuj. But Maven has smallest eye pupil darkening.

Effective aperture is around 43mm.

Eye relief is around 12mm.

Weight of binoculars plus caps and neck strap is 1070 gr. Neck strap has very short ropes at the end, and does not let put rain guard up at folded eye cups. Only at collapsed eye cups.

Materials and finish is not similar to Alpha bins. You get what you've paid for. Good binoculars, but it is in the $1000 league. Not an Alpha.

Shape and focuser wheel (up and down parts do not rotate, middle only) is very similar to Blaser Prius binoculars. Same factory?

Very bright binoculars. The view is brighter than in Leica (much) and in Fujinon (a little).

Strong CA at the edge of the field. Looks more, than in Fujinon, and may be more, than in Leica.

chill6x6 · Jan 1, 2019

Enjoyed your review!

If the FOV were around 8 degrees, I'd probably own one.

Steve C · Jan 1, 2019

The measured fov on the Maven 7x45 B2 is 8* on the money. I have stated before Maven typically understates their fov specifications. I have a couple of other 7x42 with stated fov specifications of 8* that the Maven matches.

dae33 · Jan 2, 2019

Thank you for the comment. I decided to buy B2 after reading your review of 7x45 and 6x30.

My option was to buy Zeiss Victory 7x42FL used or Maven B2 7x45 new. Since i prefer new binoculars, i went with Maven.
The AFOV of B2 does not look restrictive, because of the quite enough 53* AFOV and big exit pupil. The same feeling is in Swarovski Habicht 7x42 Porro - which has just 42* AFOV, but it looks more like 50*.

I made new comparison of TFOV by checking tree height in my yard. Leica Trinovid 7x42BN has the widest TFOV, then Swarovski Habicht 8x30 Porro, then Maven B2 7x45 with the smallest TFOV. It does not look much smaller, just a little.

So i made a tape comparison in 5 meters indoors (too small distance, so the result is rough):
Leica gives about 8.2* TFOV
Swarovski gives about 8* TFOV
Maven gives about 7.7* TFOV

I like Maven B2 a lot. I can hold it stably, eye cup fits me well. Very bright binoculars with neutral color reproduction. I don't like too much CA and aberrations at the edge of the field (most probably because of the simple 4 elements eyepiece).

jremmons · Jan 2, 2019

Due to my potentially interest in this model I confirmed with Maven that the FoV numbers are indeed underestimated. They did not specify what the actual measurement was, but this is enough to further push me towards this model as a future purchase....

james holdsworth · Jan 2, 2019

Why can't Maven give an accurate FOV figure in their literature? Seems like a no-brainer as FOV is vital for many buyers...

Steve C · Jan 3, 2019

james holdsworth said:
Why can't Maven give an accurate FOV figure in their literature? Seems like a no-brainer as FOV is vital for many buyers...

Strange as this sounds that is not Maven's doing. Kmakura is insistent upon taking a conservative approach. Pretty dumb if you ask me, but it is what it is. Bump up the angular field by a half a degree or so and you will be closer.

chill6x6 · Jan 3, 2019

jremmons said:
Due to my potentially interest in this model I confirmed with Maven that the FoV numbers are indeed underestimated. They did not specify what the actual measurement was, but this is enough to further push me towards this model as a future purchase....

That B.2 7X45 wouldn't be a bad choice for you....

Get you a demo at no obligation. Keep it at the reduced price, return it for a new one, OR just plain return it for refund.

jremmons · Jan 3, 2019

chill6x6 said:
That B.2 7X45 wouldn't be a bad choice for you.... Get you a demo at no obligation. Keep it at the reduced price, return it for a new one, OR just plain return it for refund.

Ah you're just saying that so that I stop harassing you via PMs...

I may just do this if a well priced 7x T*FL doesn't show up between now and when my Leupold GR HD are returned from the Service Department...

And James, based on my correspondence with Maven directly, Steve's statement is accurate - Kamakura wishes to be modest in the spec-sheet for whatever reason. I was initially one of the first to comment upon my disappointment with the reduced FoV of the Maven, so I too agree this is a foolish thing to do, particularly since these binos can't be tried in store to test FoV relative to other models with wider fields.

Justin

dae33 · Jan 3, 2019

I had several days for testing due to NY holidays. And i like B2 more and more i test it.

The plan was to replace Leica Trinovid 7x42BN and Fujinon fmt-sx 7x50 with the Maven B2 7x45. As the one binoculars for terrestrial and night observations.
Fuj is the binoculars with the best aberrations correction over the field i know, very good for stargazing. But the weight, IF and strong Rolling Balls effect make it useless for day time observations for me.
Leica has CF (central focus), worse correction over the field of view than Fuj, but strong pincushion distortion, which eliminates Rolling Balls effect. Good for day time observations, and acceptable for stargazing. Two things, which i don't like in this Leica are eye cups (two positions only) and the binoculars is too dim. Light transmission is about 82-83%. Not up to date.

So i was looking for the bright 7x42 binoculars with CF, enough TFOV and good aberrations correction at edges. Victory FL does not match the last requirement, unfortunately.

When i got B2 7x45, i was disappointed a little. It has TFOV less, than my Leica 7x42, and aberrations at the edge of the view are stronger. But then i realized, that the easy of view is much more easy, than in Leica. The easy of view is remarkable, actually. Noticeable better, than in other binoculars i have. I just pick up B2 and watch. I don't need to find the exit pupil, like in Habicht 8x30 Porro or in Leica. I can see the whole field of view easily. There is no darkening at the edge of the view due to small vignetting of the exit pupil. Which i can see in both Habicht and Trinovid. Just bright and relaxed view. And AFOV does not look restrictive. It's not big (52-53*), but enough for me.

Comfortable multi position eye cups, with enough outer diameter. Much better, than in Trinovid. And huge difference to Habicht 8x30 Porro (even with replaced GA eye cups).

During daytime edge softness is less, than in Habicht 8x30. Not excellent result, but ok. Fujinon fmt 7x50, Vixen Foresta 7x50 and Leica Trinovid 7x42BN are better in this respect. Maven C2 7x28 is worse.
The edge softness of B2 7x45 becomes similar in twilight to daytime edge softness of Habicht. When Habicht is already too dim, and there is a mesh at edges. B2 gives beautiful night terrestrial observations, enough exit pupil and light transmission provide better view and resolution, than in Leica. And than in Fujinon, actually (due to 92-93% light transmission vs 87% in Fuj).

And the last but not least thing is 3 dimensionality. Maven B2 gives nice feel of 3d space. The view is not flat (i don't like the flat feel of Roof binoculars). Similar to Fuj, better, than in Leica. Thanx to Abbe–Koenig prisms and little pincushion distortion. Perfect combination. The binoculars is long enough to hold it steadily. And provides 3 dimensional feel, close enough to Porro binoculars.
And B2 does not have spikes at bright lamps from roof edges, like binoculars with Schmidt-Pechan prisms have.

Steve C · Jan 3, 2019

dae33 said:
I had several days for testing due to NY holidays. And i like B2 more and more i test it.

The plan was to replace Leica Trinovid 7x42BN and Fujinon fmt-sx 7x50 with the Maven B2 7x45. As the one binoculars for terrestrial and night observations.
Fuj is the binoculars with the best aberrations correction over the field i know, very good for stargazing. But the weight, IF and strong Rolling Balls effect make it useless for day time observations for me.
Leica has CF (central focus), worse correction over the field of view than Fuj, but strong pincushion distortion, which eliminates Rolling Balls effect. Good for day time observations, and acceptable for stargazing. Two things, which i don't like in this Leica are eye cups (two positions only) and the binoculars is too dim. Light transmission is about 82-83%. Not up to date.

So i was looking for the bright 7x42 binoculars with CF, enough TFOV and good aberrations correction at edges. Victory FL does not match the last requirement, unfortunately.

When i got B2 7x45, i was disappointed a little. It has TFOV less, than my Leica 7x42, and aberrations at the edge of the view are stronger. But then i realized, that the easy of view is much more easy, than in Leica. The easy of view is remarkable, actually. Noticeable better, than in other binoculars i have. I just pick up B2 and watch. I don't need to find the exit pupil, like in Habicht 8x30 Porro or in Leica. I can see the whole field of view easily. There is no darkening at the edge of the view due to small vignetting of the exit pupil. Which i can see in both Habicht and Trinovid. Just bright and relaxed view. And AFOV does not look restrictive. It's not big (52-53*), but enough for me.

Comfortable multi position eye cups, with enough outer diameter. Much better, than in Trinovid. And huge difference to Habicht 8x30 Porro (even with replaced GA eye cups).

During daytime edge softness is less, than in Habicht 8x30. Not excellent result, but ok. Fujinon fmt 7x50, Vixen Foresta 7x50 and Leica Trinovid 7x42BN are better in this respect. Maven C2 7x28 is worse.
The edge softness of B2 7x45 becomes similar in twilight to daytime edge softness of Habicht. When Habicht is already too dim, and there is a mesh at edges. B2 gives beautiful night terrestrial observations, enough exit pupil and light transmission provide better view and resolution, than in Leica. And than in Fujinon, actually (due to 92-93% light transmission vs 87% in Fuj).

And the last but not least thing is 3 dimensionality. Maven B2 gives nice feel of 3d space. The view is not flat (i don't like the flat feel of Roof binoculars). Similar to Fuj, better, than in Leica. Thanx to Abbe–Koenig prisms and little pincushion distortion. Perfect combination. The binoculars is long enough to hold it steadily. And provides 3 dimensional feel, close enough to Porro binoculars.
And B2 does not have spikes at bright lamps from roof edges, like binoculars with Schmidt-Pechan prisms have.

We have a bit of a different take on the fov. Having said that it would be an absolute grand scale improvement with a 9* fov like the ZR 7x36 had. But we agree about ease oif view and balance. For me the B2 is a grab it any place, look at your target, bring up the binocular, and the target is right there in the middle of the field. Except for a magnified view, it is like the binocular is just not there. We are also in agreement on the apparent 3-D effect. Additionally I agree the B2 has a very flat field like view.

You illustrate a point I have long held. Many worries of specs that don't match our "needs" may well simply vanish if, for example, we just stop worrying about the extra fov that is not there and just enjoy the binocular. The balance, ease of view, pin sharp focus of both barrels, and the 3-D effect will make those worries go away.

dae33 · Jun 4, 2019

It passed some time since the first meeting with B2. And i'd like to share my experience with it.

B2 7x45 replaced Habicht Porro 8x30 easily. Almost the same TFOV, same brightness, less magnification and more relaxed view. Twist eyecups let me use sunglasses with the bin during sunny summer days. While Habicht does not let this because of small Eye Relief.

Two things which i was not happy with in B2: quite big size\weight and not very wide AFOV of 52*. So i purchased Vixen SG 6.5x32. This is a remarkable bin! It is compact, but weights enough to be handed steadily. It has wider AFOV (around 57*), same sharpness on axis, much less CA on edges, and less softness on edges. SG gives same neutral color reproduction as B2, and even more vivid colors with better contrast. Probably, because of less light transmission in SG (i think 89-90% vs 94% in B2). The view through SG is similar to Zeiss Conquest HD 10x32 in macro contrast.

SG is highly recommended. Costs 1/2 of B2

Maven B.2 7x45 (1 Viewer)

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