porro cascades? (1 Viewer)

Hmmm, that latter comment makes me wonder if there a difference in stray color dispersion in the AK and SP roof prisms.

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...or something else in the total design used with the AK prisms which lends itself more towards CA. The full sized Conquest ABKs display noticeable CA in comparison to the full size FLs though the mid size Conquests do not.

Also, I wonder if your comments with regard to glasses and the Cascade porros might not be the issue. I can force myself to see it if I off center my eye in the eyepieces but otherwise I really have to look for it to see it.

My Leupold Cascades porro CF 8x42 arrived today. I agree with what FrankD had to say about these wonderful porro biniculars. Particularly, how they really perform when tripod mounted. You can really tell a lot about performance when you compare binoculars mounted on tripods.

What I love--optical performance (resolution, color rendering, contrast, depth of field); fine focusing; 100% waterproofing for a center focus porro; feel of the cascades in the hand; and diopter adjustment.

What I accept--eyecups do not exactly fit my eye sockets (I have to brace them against the bone under my eyebrow, just like the Nikon SE 8x32); focusing knob has more play than Nikon SE or Swift Audubon; not as bright as other 8x40-somethings I have used.

All in all, however, these are one great porro binocular. I got mine at Optics Planet for $218.15.

...Bob
Kentucky

. . .

I just came in from an hour of viewing along the tree line at the back of my back yard. The tree line runs East-West. When I started observing, two hours before sunset, the sun began to throw bright orange light on the tree line. As I write this now, the bright illumination has faded. But an hour ago, the trees were afire. And the Leupold Cascades porro captured all of the color in amazing detail. I just can not believe $200 can buy something this good.

...Bob

Bob,

I am glad to see someone else found the benefits of such a wonderful, ergonomic porro binocular. I wish I knew you were looking though. I sold all three of my pairs in mint condition for about $140 a piece on Ebay in recent weeks. "Spacepilot" on here bought one pair and another visitor (not sure if he posts but I know he visits) bought the other two.

I am sure I will regret it at some point but the Meoptas are keeping me happy for now.

FrankD said:

Bob,

I wish I knew you were looking though. I sold all three of my pairs in mint condition for about $140 a piece on Ebay in recent weeks.

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Frank...

I am sorry I missed your sale. I just made the decision last week to get the Cascades porro. Anyway, I am glad I have a pair.

...Bob
Kentucky

Bob,

I'm glad that you like your new Cascades porros. As Frank mentioned, I've bought my pair from him (thank you again, Frank!). They are very good binoculars at an amazing price. My impressions of them echo yours, Compared to my 6x30 Yosemite, the Cascades are more refined in every way. I like the center diopter adjustment and the slow focus as well. Compared to my newly acquired 8x SE's, the Cascades only fall short on the size of the sweet spot, depth of field, and focusing smoothness, at least when used in normal settings. They are not as well rounded as the SE's, with the narrower fov and lower focus, but for looking at slow moving objects, I find them perfect.

I found the Cascades eyecups work better for me than the SE's. Without eyeglasses on, I usually twist them 2/3 of the way out, and they prevent black-outs and still let me see the full image.

Have you thought about trying the 10x version of the Cascades. I'm trying to decide if I should get a pair of 10x Cascades while I save up for the 10x SE's.

Ning

Ning...

You raise a good question about purchasing the Cascades porro 10x42. However, I rarely use the 10x size binocular. Still, it is a good time to purchase the Cascades porro 10x while supplies last.

Regarding the Nikon SE, I have the 8x32 and 12x50 models. I thought about purchasing the SE 10x42 a while back. I do like my SE 12x50, particularly for long views and night sky observing. However, I find I frequently need a tripod to bring out the SE advantages of the SE 12x50.

I do own one 10x, the Pentax DCF ED roof CF 10x50. A nice binocular, but I just do not use it that much. But then, I do not use any of my roofs much anymore--I own three. I find myself much preferring the porro experience. I have been thinking of letting go of my roofs.

If you like 10x porro binoculars, I suggest you follow up on your plans to purchase both the Nikon SE 10x42 and the Cascades 10x42. I do not think we will ever see the likes of these fine models again.

...Bob
Kentucky

Bob,

I've only owned 6x and 8x bins. The 8x bins are great improvement over the 6x, but I still find myself wanting more magnification when watching birds at 100+ yards. That's why I'm thinking about those 10x porros. I hope I can hold 10x bins steady enough to use them without support. 12x might be too adventurous for me right now, but I can see a pair of 12x SE's in the future for me, if I ever get into stargazing or raptor watching. What other main applications are there for 12x SE's?

I think your suggestion makes sense. The SE's and Cascades (and its Opticron clone and the Minox BP) are unique bins. I don't expect to see any porros like them in the near future. Too bad they are discontinued. I wonder if porros will ever come back in fashion.

Ning

spacepilot said:

Bob,

12x might be too adventurous for me right now, but I can see a pair of 12x SE's in the future for me, if I ever get into stargazing or raptor watching. What other main applications are there for 12x SE's?

Ning

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I like to use the SE 12x50 to observe a forest edge 1000 yards through my front window. I have watched wild turkeys, vultures, deer, ground hog, hawks, and a bald eagle at the forest edge. One of the neatest sights was a pair of Red Tail Hawks sitting on the limb of a dead oak tree. One hawk facing North, the other facing South. They were less than a foot apart on the limb. Another sight was watching a Red Tail Hawk enter a 300 ft dive after a small animal along the shore of the Kentucky River. I also like to watch Great Blue Heron in the wetlands.

...Bob
Kentucky

Bob, your 12x SE's are used at quite longer ranges than my usually birding. The farthest birds I usually look at are probably 300 yards away. So 10x bins probably will be better for me because of the the holdability. I hope the 10x's don't make my 8x's useless.

Speaking of hawks, I've been deriving a lot of pleasure from a pair of Red-Tailed Hawks and their baby at my usual birding spot lately. Last week, one of the adults perched on a branch just 15 feet over my head after terrorizing the squirrels on nearby trees. I got a minute of good look of the bird before it flew away, and the whole time I was thinking "Oh, I hope it doesn't come down and eat my ears", lol.

Ning