KITE IBIS ED 12x50 (1 Viewer)

Hello everybody

I already have a pair of Zeiss Victory 10x32, which are very close to perfection in daylight. I use them for observation of birds and animals in the Alps during long hikes, so that the key argument is their weight.

I envisage buying a pair of Kite IBIS ED 12 x 50 (only 900g, and many positive comments) for shorter hikes when the weight is not critical. I've had a 12x before and I have no Pb with tremor.

I am short-sighted (-7 Diopters on both eyes) and I want to be able to use them without glasses. Nobody (even the manufacturer !) can tell me wether the focusing range allows it at infinity, and there is no retailer for Kite 200 km around to check visually.
Has any short-sighted birdwatcher looked into these binos and could answer my question?
Although this is an important criterion for many customers, the only manufacturer who provides this characteristic is -no surprise!- Swarovski : "diopter correction at infinity".

Thanks for the reply

JPMOY,
You could ask the Kite dealer in Belgium to send you one (buy it on the condition that you can return it, if you can not use it because of your severe short-sighted eyes). As far as I know the Kite dealer gives excellent service.
Gijs

A competent dealer contacted by phone accepted my sugestion to look through them with a +8D lens inserted between the eye and the ocular, to simulate my eyesight. the answer was positive and I bought them.
Unfortunately, my Kite bins were stolen before I had a long experience with them !
First of all, they do accommodate -8 Diopters shortsightedness. Some manufacturers (Swaro, Leica in the german list of specs) begin to mention this characteristic, critical for shortsighted users. Thank you SW & Leica !

the Kite bins were pleasant to handle: not too heavy, reasonable stability (for me!).
nice bright image. Apparently some slight difference in alignment/centering between the two channels, as the peripheral unsharpness is not the same on both sides (especially without my glasses, which adds up intrinsic field curvature: my distance of sharp vision being 150 mm whatever the direction). with my glasses, sharpness acceptable in the edges.
Indeed, perfect sharpness up to the very edge is in my mind a very hard and not so useful demand: seeing something in the very edge means immediately bringing it close to the center, and I would personnaly sacrifice sharp edges to a wider FOV and/or a lower price. Say the 2/3 center circle is really important!
No surprise, (subjective) contrast and color vibrance are good, but not at the same level as with my Zeiss 10x32 FL.
In summary, these binos are probably not the best of all, but my opinion is that given their price (~40% of the SW or Zeiss equivalent) and their low weight of only 900 g they are quite satisfying.

JPM