canon 10x30 IS vs others (1 Viewer)

Great summary, Sancho.

If I might add:

Canon IS 8x25: Silly flat lithium battery ... what were they thinking?

Canon IS 10x42 L: Finger fall is bad but the button only has to be pushed to turn on IS and pushed (or the bin returned to the upright and hanging position) to turn of IS "click-on, click-off". Canon really intended that IS be on all the time. I'm slightly curious why they didn't make this fully automatic based on the gravity/shake accelerometer. They should come with a harness.

I think the best bang per buck is the 10x30 (it's the cheapest edge to edge sharp bin even without the IS!) but the updated 10x42 might make a good top end bin that you never want to trade in (ask Kimmo!).

KorHaan said:

BTW...

Anyone noticed that in the " Twitching - A very British obsession" documentary there was a guy who had Canon 10x42 L IS's around his neck? Brett Richards I believe his name is, a top twenty lister in the British ranking. He had a scope too. Now that's what I call dedicated!

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I noticed that too.

If you are "in the Premiership" you'd better take a scope too. Wouldn't want to get a hypertwitch like the Eastern Crowned Warbler in Sunderland (filmed in the documentary) and not get a view.

http://www.independent.co.uk/enviro...ors-debut-sparks-twitching-tizzy-1808131.html

News of the sighting brought anoraked and optics-laden enthusiasts flocking to South Tyneside from all over the country.

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Wasn't Brett Richards the older guy who was about to retire? Perhaps the one I had most sympathy with. BTW, the documentary is strongly recommended to see the "outer reaches" of birding. Quite an affectionate view too.

It all started on BF too. See these threads:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=112879
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=148517

Hi Sancho,

Congrats on the 15x50's!

Nice summing-up of the IS-models, thanks, very useful.
As much as I'd like to own the 10x42's, I still can't make the jump and empty my pockets for a pair. Your assessment of the "fingerfall" on the IS-button has added a little more doubt if I truly need these bins. Remarkebly, when lined up, the 10x42 and 15x50 IS's seem to show no conceivable difference as to thye location of the IS-button:

http://www.tvwg.nl/testrapporten/kijkers/canon10x42en12x36stb.htm

as shown on Jan Meijerinks review site.

I have, like you, no problem to place my index finger on the IS-button of the 18x50's, which are identical to the 15x50's. Is the IS-button on the 10x42's really that far off that it becomes awkward to reach?

BTW, the "click" of the button I've gotten used to. And the IS can also be engaged like in the 10x30's and 12x36's by keeping it pressed down; you don't have to release it when you don't want to.

And finally, for what it's worth: the 15x50's and 18x50's are all-weather, meaning they can be used in heavy rain without damage. (See instruction booklet.) And believe me, mine have been used in very, very wet weather, downpours, drizzle and sleet, seawatches with salt spray and sand blown over them, and have survived all ordeals with flying colours.
No scratch marks on the lenses either, the coatings are tough as nails.

Best regards,

Ronald

Kevin Purcell said:

Wasn't Brett Richards the older guy who was about to retire? ]

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Yes, that's him. He got my sympathy too, the whole documentary was a joy to watch. Very nicely done.

Best regards,

Ronald

KorHaan said:

Yes, that's him. He got my sympathy too, the whole documentary was a joy to watch. Very nicely done.

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Of all the guys he was the one I thought I'd most like to go birding with. I also noticed that he was counting (and not just listing) when seawatching. Sign of a good guy.

Canon 10x24 L and a Zeiss 85FL ... almost a man after my own heart!

Ronald,

I second Sancho's opinion about the IS button on the 10x42. I moved to this binocular from the 15x50, and even though it looks like the button is just in the same place and equally well contoured so that you should find it by "feel," it just isn't as natural to use. A big part of this comes, at least in my sample, from the button needing considerably more force to press and activate than in the 15x, so even after some considerable use and familiarity, it still happens that I don't push hard enough to activate and have to push again. With the 10x, it also takes more force to keep it down if you wish to use it the "push/on - release/off" way. With the 15x, the button always worked as I thought it should.

Kimmo

KorHaan said:

BTW, the "click" of the button I've gotten used to. And the IS can also be engaged like in the 10x30's and 12x36's by keeping it pressed down; you don't have to release it when you don't want to.

And finally, for what it's worth: the 15x50's and 18x50's are all-weather, meaning they can be used in heavy rain without damage.
Best regards,

Ronald

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Thanks Ronald! Good to know. The click-on/off is useful, but not always.

It´s a very personal thing, and all depends on how steady one can hold a good regular 8x/10x bino, but I think that below 12x, I don´t really need IS at all. The advantage of the 10x42L IS is outweighed (literally!) by it´s bulk and chunkiness.

It´s a pity, though, that the 8x25 IS isn´t a runner. When on a bird, in the garden for example, the views are beautiful. I don´t know why it pans so badly, but I tried two samples and didn´t like them. The FOV is also a bit tight compared to a normal 8x bino. The 10x30 IS is a nice bino, very easy to use, it´s a pity it wasn´t produced in an 8x30 IS version, with a wider FOV.

I´ll look forward to testing the 15x50 IS on a seawatch with some rain added. It certainly looks fairly weather-resistant.

I´ll look forward to testing the 15x50 IS on a seawatch with some rain added. It certainly looks fairly weather-resistant.

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But careful with the rain though. Wasn't there someone who reported he had a warranty repair turned down by Canon on the 15x50 or 18x50 because he got them wet. Just weather wet not immersion wet. They're just resistant not waterproof so Canon didn't see the need to fix them.

It seems like a worse gray area than the SE

kabsetz said:

Ronald,

I second Sancho's opinion about the IS button on the 10x42. I moved to this binocular from the 15x50, and even though it looks like the button is just in the same place and equally well contoured so that you should find it by "feel," it just isn't as natural to use. A big part of this comes, at least in my sample, from the button needing considerably more force to press and activate than in the 15x, so even after some considerable use and familiarity, it still happens that I don't push hard enough to activate and have to push again. With the 10x, it also takes more force to keep it down if you wish to use it the "push/on - release/off" way. With the 15x, the button always worked as I thought it should.

Kimmo

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Thanks, Kimmo.
Doesn't this bother you, after the 15x's? Is there some obstruction underneath that has something to do with the JIS 7- level waterproofing, I wonder?
If I'm not mistaken it is adviced to renew the rubber sealings around the battery door compartment every two years, to prevent leaking under submersion. Maybe it's got to do with that, somehow. Otherwise, I wouldn't know.

Best regards,

Ronald

Sancho said:

It´s a very personal thing, and all depends on how steady one can hold a good regular 8x/10x bino, but I think that below 12x, I don´t really need IS at all. The advantage of the 10x42L IS is outweighed (literally!) by it´s bulk and chunkiness.
.

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That's what I think, too. That's why I keep saying to myself that 1110 grams isn't all that much for such wonderful views, but though it's not as heavy as my 18x50's, these latter have the obvious advantage of showing me stuff the 10x42's couldn't. For no other reason do I tolerate that much weight!

Best regards,

Ronald

Kevin Purcell said:

But careful with the rain though. Wasn't there someone who reported he had a warranty repair turned down by Canon on the 15x50 or 18x50 because he got them wet. Just weather wet not immersion wet. They're just resistant not waterproof so Canon didn't see the need to fix them.

It seems like a worse gray area than the SE

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When I did some research on the 10x42 L IS's on the Internet, I strayed into some German forum discussion that got my neckhairs raised.
During an excursion by motorbike ( or moped, I forgot) the JIS7-level waterproof Canon 10x42 L IS's of one guy fogged up in one tube badly when they were underway for hours in pouring rain.

I'll take my chances with the 18x50's in the rain, because they're too bulky to
put them under my coat. We'll see if I need to post another tale of woe on here in the future, but for the time being I'll be using them as intended, i.e. in heavy rain.

Best regards,

Ronald

I have been out for days in all sorts of adverse weather conditions with my 15x and water has yet to make ingress into these.

Chris