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Vintage Miniature Binoculars (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter bh46118
- Start date
looksharp65
Well-known member
I own and use the Nikon Mikron 6x15 CF Anniversary (Multicoated) and it's an amazing little piece. The image is astounding, considering its outer dimensions, but the ergonomics are very poor - it's simply way too small.
Individual focusing would have been better unless you have the hand size of a 1-year-old child.
FrankD
Well-known member
That is pretty neat. I have seen these, style not necessarily these in particular, turn up from time to time. I never gave them a second thought as I have a hard enough time with some of the 7x18 reverse porros I acquired. My hands, and nose in particular, are simply too bid to make using them a comfortable experience.
The design really became popular in the late 1940's through 1960's when numerous Japanese brands offered sizes ranging from at least 5x15 through 10x30 in the reverse external porro prism design. Both center and independent focus models regularly seen on Ebay. Nikon introduced an anniversary version about 10 years ago that delivers really sharp images with excellent color rendition. It is my favorite travel and theater glass because it is so compact and yet easy to use.
elkcub
Silicon Valley, California
Here's an old well-made collectable in 8x20, probably from the 1970s. I assume it's Japanese, since there are no markings. It's a bit fiddly to use, for sure, but no comparison with an 8x20 Swaro that fits into the same case with room to spare. It's 5 deg. TFOV produces an apparent field of only 40 deg., while the Swaro., with 6.6 deg. TFOV, has a more useful apparent field of 53 degrees. That's a 43% difference on an area basis.
I admit it's a cutie to look at though.
Ed
I admit it's a cutie to look at though.
Ed
Attachments
re: Lupinus binoculars
The Lupinus brand is owned by the Japanese optical company Kowa Co Ltd., so your binoculars are almost certainly a Kowa product. However Lupinus binoculars were manufactured for Kowa by other companies, and I have seen at least one pair of Lupinis binoculars like yours marked with the manufacturer's code for Omori Sogo Kogaku, who made binoculars of this type for many other companies, and under many brand names. As another contributor noted, the reference website www.miniaturebinoculars.com discusses looking for the manufacturer's code, and lists Lupinus among the many brands discussed.
The Lupinus brand is owned by the Japanese optical company Kowa Co Ltd., so your binoculars are almost certainly a Kowa product. However Lupinus binoculars were manufactured for Kowa by other companies, and I have seen at least one pair of Lupinis binoculars like yours marked with the manufacturer's code for Omori Sogo Kogaku, who made binoculars of this type for many other companies, and under many brand names. As another contributor noted, the reference website www.miniaturebinoculars.com discusses looking for the manufacturer's code, and lists Lupinus among the many brands discussed.
