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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

What bin do we use (1 Viewer)

Your remark about the store that "educated" you made me think on a "thinktank session" with Mike (ex-Zeiss USA) who told me his reps were instructed by him to educate the shopkeepers so that the customers good be brought up to speed about the consequences of their choices. Both of us were convinced that only education and customers practical field experience could lead to certain choices.

Yes, but many consumers are less than ethical and will “showroom”, pumping the specialty retailer for information then go ahead and make the actual purchase online. I didn’t have that dilemma as Scope City was actually cheaper than B&H.

There are two kinds of consumers, satisficers and maximizers. Satisficers will settle for good enough and just want to get on with the rest of their lives. Maximizers want the absolute best, will spend hours researching decisions, and end up getting alphas.

It’s also important to understand the customer journey. I came to Leica binoculars from their cameras (I bought my first Leica, a M6TTL in 2002), and my childhood camera was a hand-me-down Zeiss Ikon Contaflex when my father upgraded to a Nikon F3. Nikon or Canon can capitalize on the same dynamics. Obviously no one is going to go from Swarovski crystal bling to binoculars. Zeiss has a strong enough reputation in optics generally that anyone seriously researching the topic will come upon them. I am not sure how people find out about Kowa, Meopta or Steiner, on the other hand.

$2000+ is a lot of money to pay for binoculars, but many people will pay more than that on cameras and lenses, and unlike the typical DSLR or mirrorless, binoculars don’t get obsolete after a mere couple of years.

Binoculars cater mostly to birdwatchers and hunters, with a smaller contingent for astronomers. The tourist market is comparatively neglected, like people who go on cruises or safaris. I’d love to see more lightweight models ditching bulky and stinky rubber armor for leather or leatherette like the Leica Ultravid BL (sadly they don’t make the tourist-friendly 8x32 format in leather, unless you count the ridiculously expensive Hermès limited edition).
 
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Oh, I should mention I started wearing glasses around 2008. The Leica 8x20 are much better instruments for people who don’t wear glasses, so that also has a big bearing on purchase decisions.
 
Hi Fazelmajid,

Nice summup of the daily reality.

BTW, the Leica 8x32 is available in leather in a beautifull green colour, called Edition Safari.

Jan
 
First good binoculars I bought were Leitz 10x25s in 1982.
Had mostly Leica since inc 10x42 BAs, 2 pair 7x42 Ultravids, 8x42 Ultravids, and my current best bins- 8x32 BNs.

Sprinkle amongst those Nikon 8x30 EIIs, Nikon ProStaff 8x25s, Vanguard Endeavor EDII 10x42s and 8x32 EDIIs, several IF Fujinon porros 6x30: 7x50: 16x70, Zeiss 10x25 Victorys,
and some cheaper (Browning and Bushnell) car bins.

I'm mostly a Leica guy.

Kevin was that IF Fujinon 6x30 something like this?
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/133024/ppuser/28262

I use a Swarovski SLC 8x30 WB HABICHT, Nikon 8x32SE and a Kenko 8x32
 
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For many years now I've tried to get by with two binos so different that I don't struggle to decide which to leave behind. 97% Leica 10x32 (UVHD+, before that BN), 3% Zeiss 15x60 (including astronomy).

Temptation can arise. Before upgrading my 32mm I got excited about the new (now old) Trinovid 10x42 but it just didn't work out. I'm curious about a 12x50mm SV but have never had a Swaro and clearly don't really need it, until I can no longer (sort of) hold the big Zeiss.

(Ancient history: a B&L Zephyr 7x35 and Zeiss 10x50 in the family, then Zeiss 8x30 Dialyt. Raised on quality, in binoculars at least. That makes me a "maximizer" as fazalmajid just said.)
 
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...The Leica 8x20 are much better instruments for people who don’t wear glasses...

Funny, but I've argued just the opposite, at least for those who wear glasses for nearsightedness. The Leica 8x20 Ultravid has generous enough eye relief that I can use it comfortably with any of my glasses. Pressing the bins against the glasses allows for a good quality and steady view. A hat helps reduce light from outside the instrument. Folks without glasses have little choice but to put the eyecups into their eye sockets (since the cups are too small to rest on the brow or otherwise) which is uncomfortable, pushes on the eyes causing eye misalignment, and generally contributes to the poor reputation of pocket roofs.

--AP
 

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I have tried at least a 100 binoculars over the last 10 years. Right now I have only five.

1) Canon 10x42 IS-L (Primary Birding binocular when not hiking. You can see more detail than any 10x)

2) Nikon 8x32 EII (Favorite Porro because it has the widest FOV of any binocular)

3) New Swarovski 8x30 CL (Travel and Hiking binocular. Big improvement over the old CL)

4) Swarovski 8x25 CL-P (Best Pocket binocular I have found for me)

5) Vortex Viper HD 8x32 (Car Binocular and rough use with a great unconditional warranty)
 
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For half the SV price you'll have a 12x50HD Meopta. One I reckon for 99% A.

Jan

What's the eye relief on that one? As a glasses wearer it's only a worthwhile upgrade for me if it has better eye relief than the Monarch 5. Meopta seem to list 15mm on their website but from what I've learned so far is that not all is equal between brands with how they measure eye relief.
 
What's the eye relief on that one? As a glasses wearer it's only a worthwhile upgrade for me if it has better eye relief than the Monarch 5. Meopta seem to list 15mm on their website but from what I've learned so far is that not all is equal between brands with how they measure eye relief.

Starfighter
All of my info points to all the manufacturers using the same method to define eye relief but what you don't know until you try the binos is how the eyecup works with the ER. Some eyecups deliver your eye to the right place and some don't. Some can be persuaded to deliver your eyes to the right place by inserting rubber 0-rings underneath them.

Its tricky because the eye relief is an optical concept and takes no account of the size of the eyecups.

Lee
 
It wasn't until about 1990 that i got my own bins. I'd inherited an unnamed porro from my gran, and had my cousin's ex-Merchant Navy marine set as a kid (latter almost prevented me cycling!)
I spent £150 on Viking porro 8x42 HRs in 1990-ish and endured the wrath of my partner, as we had little money, our first child and this was definitely AN INDULGENCE!
I nearly trashed those bins for 17 years (they're now with a bird observatory in Gambia), and it was only when making a concerted effort to become better at birding that i stepped into the modern world, via Vanguard Endeavour 8.5x45 - couldn't believe what was now possible! So that's why my i.d. skills were poor - i couldn't see them!
A couple of years after, i came by a set of FL 8x32 on Ebay, upgraded to the Endeavour EDII 8x42, and that'll do nicely, thanks....The FL and I are a match made in heaven, and unless the anticipated SF 8x32 is completely irresistible, reckon i'm where i need to be optics-wise.
 
It wasn't until about 1990 that i got my own bins. I'd inherited an unnamed porro from my gran, and had my cousin's ex-Merchant Navy marine set as a kid (latter almost prevented me cycling!)
I spent £150 on Viking porro 8x42 HRs in 1990-ish and endured the wrath of my partner, as we had little money, our first child and this was definitely AN INDULGENCE!
I nearly trashed those bins for 17 years (they're now with a bird observatory in Gambia), and it was only when making a concerted effort to become better at birding that i stepped into the modern world, via Vanguard Endeavour 8.5x45 - couldn't believe what was now possible! So that's why my i.d. skills were poor - i couldn't see them!
A couple of years after, i came by a set of FL 8x32 on Ebay, upgraded to the Endeavour EDII 8x42, and that'll do nicely, thanks....The FL and I are a match made in heaven, and unless the anticipated SF 8x32 is completely irresistible, reckon i'm where i need to be optics-wise.

Paddy,

IMHO your story says it all.
The one and only reason for the excistence of A optics.

Thanks

Jan
 
Interesting that I just had a great weekend out with the Vanguards - a bit of fiddling at first to get used to faster focus, narrower FoV, flatter field, but then all good, and very enjoyable and productive.
Then, the return to the FLs, which of course reminded me how splendid they are for birding.
This is not a bad exercise, if you ever want to refresh your vision, and remind yourself of a good choice made. Spend a weekend with a good (but 'lesser') pair, then return to your good 'uns...
 
Jan, sorry if this should be obvious, but what does "99% A" mean there? Thanks. (I am thinking of getting this model.)

To be frank....... their price.
If they would ask double their current pricing, everybody would consider them Alpha.

If one would take the plants of Swarovski, Zeiss and Leica and put it on the property of Meopta, their would still be plenty of space.
Tsjech is a (compared to the rest of the EU) low labor cost country, which is why they can produce relatively cheap.
Their gear is top notch, they offer 30 years garantuee and have a repair department.

Jan
 
Tsjech is a (compared to the rest of the EU) low labor cost country, which is why they can produce relatively cheap.
Their gear is top notch, they offer 30 years garantuee and have a repair department.

As the former industrial heartland of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, prewar Czech industry was a match for Germany, and of course Bohemia has a long and distinguished tradition of crystal and glass making.

The previous-generation Leica spotting scopes were actually manufactured by Meopta.
 
As the former industrial heartland of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, prewar Czech industry was a match for Germany, and of course Bohemia has a long and distinguished tradition of crystal and glass making.

The previous-generation Leica spotting scopes were actually manufactured by Meopta.

As were the same of Zeiss.

Jan
 
Hello,

My principall binocular for bird watching is the Zeiss 8x32 FL, which was purchased based on posts in BF. However, I must caution that I was misled by the glowing posts on other binoculars which were enthusiastically praised in this forum. From time to time, I do use other binoculars, including a couple of really old Porro glasses.


Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :hi:
 

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