ok so I finally used the new Viper's yesterday for a little bit. I had the day off for doctor's appointments, but squeezed in some time. My primary doc is located in Hillsborough right accross from Dukes Farms. For the edification of those unfamiliar...Dukes Farms is the estate of the late Doris Duke, tobacco empire heiress, and I believe at one point the richest woman in the world. Well, the estate is an amazing example of conservation; rich in extensive gardens, 300+ acres of protected land and avifauna as well as other wildlife; a shining example of environmental management. Well, I didn't have time to go to Dukes Farms, as I had another appointment to make (not even sure if it was open or not), but the point is that you will see interesting birds in and around this area. Right next to the medical office complex is a small field, so I tested the Viper there. After I adjusted the diopter (which I always feel challenging...eyes are not what they used to be) I focused on the field. A handful of birds flew above me and landed on the small patch of trees on the perimeter of the field just above me. The first bird I saw with the new glasses was a Blue Bird. Pretty cool right? Shortly thereafter quick movement caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. Two raptors were flying low in the field and one was chasing and harrassing the other. It was a male Northern Harrier chasing away a Red-Tailed Hawk. The Harrier is a lifer for me and I didn't know what it was until I consulted the Sibley guide. I knew it was surely an uncommon bird (to me) the second I saw him with his conspicuous markings...first thought was 'whoa' ...what is it ! After a few minutes he flew across the highway over to the Dukes Farms. It's a very distinct bird and amazing looking hawk and also counts as a rare bird sighting on e-bird, so that made my day right there. Nobody from e-bird has contacted me yet which is odd since they usually do right away when you get a rare bird sighting.
Well, I'm not going to give an in-depth technical review of the new Vipers and this is b/c I really don't know what the heck I'm talking about
But, I can say that I noticed quite quickly that these are superior in almost every way to the last 8x32 I owned which was the Leupold Katmai (which I sold). The Viper has much better/wider fov and it's noticeable at first glance. It has a large sweet spot. It is very bright and has great crisp clarity and the colors and contrast are excellent. It was a bright sunny agreeable day, so we'll see how they do on a cloudy gray or white-ish day. They feel very nice and, at first I felt they were heavy, but that changed over time. They are relatively light. I really like the thumb indentations which fit me well. It has the locking diopter which is nice. Online I felt they were not very attractive, but in person they are actually a very nice looking instrument. I did not expect to like them as much as I do. I really like the wide clear view. The close focus of 3 ft is accurate and it's very cool to have this ability for the insects and butterflies.
Only one thing I noticed that was weird. It sort of had a minor 'rolling ball' (I think) effect when panning moderately fast. I noticed it later in the day when I had a chance to go to the town park around 3pm. I panned the bank and noticed this effect. When panning slowly it's not really noticeable and , overall, it's not too bothersome ultimately to me.
Does this rolling ball effect happen when the glass is a bit flatter?...flatter field ?
In a nutshell I really like these binoculars. I'm glad I made a great choice and happy for the support and advice of all the kind people on the BF
