8x32 SE? (1 Viewer)

[spacepilot]

Apropos of not much, Nikon appears to have SE eyecups back in stock for those who want some for futurity. I ordered some in Feb or Mar and half assumed Nikon had just blown me off, but they finally arrived last week.

Yesterday I was out kayaking and had a heck of a time getting a clear ID on some black vultures (they were milling about at an insane height and I was down on the river). First thing I thought of? Wish I had my SE's with me.

Thanks for the heads-up on the eyecups!

I brought my 8x Cascades porros yesterday to the field, because it was raining. I haven't looked though them since I got the 8x SE's 2 weeks ago. The image of the Cascades is still as good as I remembered, but somehow it just didn't have the "bird-in-the-hand" view of the SE's. The SE's are certainly something else. I was missing them the whole time yesterday.

Ning

 

[jaymoynihan]

Are the 8x Se's available in stock in Canada?
Any experience with this vendor:
http://www.binocularscanada.com/ ?

 

[brocknroller]

Thanks for the heads up about the SE eyecups. I wonder if they also have EII eyecups in stock?

Btw, all the SE models use the same eyecups. So 8x32 SE owners don't need to special order 8x32 SE eyecups, they can use any SE model eyecups.

The SEs are alleged to be "showerproof" so no problem taking them in the shower with you.

However, they don't advertise that in their ads. I have found the SE to be well sealed, and have used it in a light misty rain, but it's not waterproof.

I wouldn't trust exposing it in a heavy downpour, but that's what WP field cases are for. The SE's leatherette case is not WP, and the flap seals only at the center.

For hiking, you can simply stick the SE in your knapsack if it starts raining heavy. Most knapsacks have some level of weather protection, some have "miracle plastic coatings."

If it's not adequate, use a large-sized, heavy duty freezer bag and put the SE in the bag and then in your knapsack.

However, I would not recommend taking an SE kayaking. SEs don't know how to swim.

Kayaks capsize easily, and while the SE could take a light rain, it is not submersible.

An 8x32 LX, with its internal focuser, would be a better choice for kayaking.

The best bin I would recommend for kayaking is the 6x30 FMTR-SX, if you could find one, they're discontinued, but Fuji also makes a 6x30 AR-SX model. It has lower ER and doesn't have field flatteners like the FMT.

The lower 6x power makes it easier to steady the image on the water (as long as they fit your hand well), and it's fully WP.

The quality of the optics is right up there with the SE. If my focus accommodation were better, I'd still have mine, but for birding on land, I found I had to focus the IF EPs more than I liked.

Ron Harper came up with a "belt drive" for it such that you could focus both EPs at the same time. Wish I had thought of that myself before I sold my 6x30 Fujis!

Brock

 

[John Dracon]

Ning - your mentioning of the Cascade porros brought to mind a routine that I'm falling into, viz., in fair weather, I take the SE 8x32 out; in inclement weather out come the Cascade porros. True the field is more limited in the Cascades, but the view is excellent. My estimation of the Cascades soared when I compared them to my Zeiss FL 8x32 at dusk and found I could see more detail with the Cascades. The extra 10mm of objective lens does make a difference. In fact I am becoming increasingly more protective of the SEs. Both the SE 8x32 and the Cascade 8x42 have a slow focus which suits me just fine. The focus rarely moves until I want it to. Contrast that with a pair of Nikon 10x32 LXs I have (super fast focus), but everytime I put them to my eyes, the focus needs adjustment. The two porros also allow covers to be rotated inward, completely out of the way, not dangling there or rubbing on the chest.
John

 

[Ardy]

One thing that I have a problem with the 8x32 se I bought,and maybe it's just my eyes,but there is a trailer about 50 yards out my back window,in a field.About 10 yards from the window,I have multiple bird feeders set up.So when I get home from work I pick up the se's and check what's on the feeders,and then focus on the trailer.Sometimes the trailer comes in with that perfect 3d effect and sometimes it comes in with a collapsed dof and double images of the licence plates windows and everthing else.I can put the binos down and come back to them 15 min. later,and everything is back to right.I've even had it where everything looks perfect,and if I cross my eyes to screw up the image,then I can't get the image back right again.It's almost like those computer pictures that were so popular a few years back,where you had to focus at a different point to to make the image appear.Is this a binocular or an eye thing?Never had this with any other binoculars I've looked through..

 

[ceasar]

The phenomenon you are describing seems to be a collimation problem, but if it is, you should also experience it in other places than when you are looking at the bird feeders and the trailer. Have you noticed the same problem while using the binocular elsewhere? Check to see if the center hinge has any play in it. I had an inexpensive Nikon Travelite that had a bit of looseness and play in the center hinge that caused a problem similar to what you are describing.
Bob

 

[Ardy]

The phenomenon you are describing seems to be a collimation problem, but if it is, you should also experience it in other places than when you are looking at the bird feeders and the trailer. Have you noticed the same problem while using the binocular elsewhere? Check to see if the center hinge has any play in it. I had an inexpensive Nikon Travelite that had a bit of looseness and play in the center hinge that caused a problem similar to what you are describing.
Bob

Nope no play at all.Just bought these brand new.If i go outside and move away from the trees,the trailer comes in the way it should.If I look at the trailer through the trees,then I get that double effect.
Also If I focus on a single star at night I just see one pinpoint image...

 

[Ardy]

Well I just picked up a pair of Leupold HD's today from that famous auction site,so I'll see if I have the same problem with them.

 

[ceasar]

Nope no play at all.Just bought these brand new.If i go outside and move away from the trees,the trailer comes in the way it should.If I look at the trailer through the trees,then I get that double effect.
Also If I focus on a single star at night I just see one pinpoint image...

Curious!!!
If it was a collimation problem you should also get a double effect on the trees too.
Bob

 

[brocknroller]

The fault, dear Ardy, lies not in your SEs, but in your eyes ...

-- Brock Shakesbeer

You said this happens when you focus close on bird feeders and then look far away at the trailer, or when you look at the trailer through the trees.

The same thing happens to me in similar situations on occasion so I think I know what's going on here.

This optical illusion can happen when your focus accommodation starts to wane, but I've even experienced it when I was a teen.

In both the cases you mentioned, your brain gets confused about distance, because the feeders/trees are close and the trailer is far. It can't decide which to focus on so, so it focuses on both. So you get two images.

Don't look at a nearby object first or remove the foreground, and voilà, no more double images.

Have you used mostly roofs before buying the SE? I tend to see this optical illusion much less through roofs, because the closer set barrels, particularly on mid-sized models, do not have much parallax effect.

If you look through a mid-sized roof and do the blink test - close your left eye and look through the right EP and then quickly open your left eye and close the right and look through the left EP, and go back and forth like that, you should notice a slight shift in the position of the image.

Do it the blink test with the SE, and you should notice a greater shift in image position when changing views from eye to eye.

Since porro objectives are spaced further apart than your eyes, the parallax effect is more noticeable in porros, particularly at closer distances.

This makes your eyes/brain more susceptible to optical illusions.

Here's another illusion, look at the "3-D" box on the site below.

If you move your eyes around the edges of the cube, it will shift perspective, the front "wall" will become the back wall and vice versa, because the drawing creates a perspective ambiguity.

http://www.illusion-optical.com/Optical-Illusions/Cube.php

Your eyes might eventually adjust to the 3-D/parallax effect of porro binoculars.

If not, you will have to take the bins away from your eyes after you focus close and rest them for a few seconds before looking far away and keep the foreground out of view (which is impossible in deep woods) or sell or trade your SE for a similar quality mid-sized roof such as the 8x32 LX.

Brock

 

[Ardy]

Senior Bacon; I agree wholeheartedly.The first time I saw it,it was a dark and dusky day.I noticed her out of the corner of my eye.Legs that went up to her neck.Red lipstick and red high heels.A mixture of channel and gunpowder wafted through the air.The hairs on my neck stood up as I watched through my looking glasses as she strode by.When she got to the potted palm,everything went double.I wasn't sure if I was in a dream,or just intoxicated by her scent.Then she turned my way and whispered HEY!... I'm over HERE!....Got to get my eyes checked........

Ardy The Spline

 

[brocknroller]

Senior Bacon; I agree wholeheartedly.The first time I saw it,it was a dark and dusky day.I noticed her out of the corner of my eye.Legs that went up to her neck.Red lipstick and red high heels.A mixture of channel and gunpowder wafted through the air.The hairs on my neck stood up as I watched through my looking glasses as she strode by.When she got to the potted palm,everything went double.I wasn't sure if I was in a dream,or just intoxicated by her scent.Then she turned my way and whispered HEY!... I'm over HERE!....Got to get my eyes checked........

Ardy The Spline

Ardy The Spline,

(spline trans. from the original Geek (more formally, "b-spline") = a curve generated by a computer-graphics program, guided by a mathematical formula that ensures it will be continuous with other such curves.

Excellent "detective noir" prose, Ardy, particularly for a geek!

Thanks for reminding me! I have appointment with the eye doctor tomorrow afternoon, but my secretary, Madeline, forgot to mark it in my book.

I'm going to ask him what the cure is for seeing a Purple Haze around buzzards flying in a gray sky.

Dixon "The Bézier" Hill

 

[Ardy]

"Thanks for reminding me! I have appointment with the eye doctor tomorrow afternoon, but my secretary, Madeline, forgot to mark it in my book. "

Make sure you have some polynomials with you, and don't forget the rye and ginger,or she'll forget again.

Ardy The Spline

P.S. who's calling who a geek???

 

[Ardy]

Just checked the SE's out against a pair of Leupold 10x32 HD's I got,and the Leupolds don't have the problem of the 3-D/parallax effect I sometimes get with the SE's.I do have to point out that I don't usually have a problem with the SE's.I've found it happens most when the sun is shining on the closest leaves and branches,and I'm trying to focus on something in the distance.I like the view from these enough where I'll see if my eyes will adjust.

 

[Ardy]

After comparing the two over the past few days,the SE's are brighter,sharper,and just overall more enjoyable to use.I also found that I cannot hold 10X as steady as I once could.The Leupolds will have to go.I'm still on a quest to find an 8X with optics comparable to the SE's that are waterproof and under $1000.Might give one of the Chinese ultras a try next.

 

[RJM]

Kowa Genesis 8x33 could be your ticket. Should be right at US$1000.

cheers,
Rick

 

[FrankD]

Ardy,

I would also suggest looking at the Meopta 8x32. Price is right around $700 and the optics are excellent.

Also consider the pre-lotutec 8x32 Zeiss FLs that are currently on sale at Cameralandny.com.....$769.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...2/gonew/1/Updated_Clearance_Sale_Deals#UNREAD

 

[NDhunter]

After comparing the two over the past few days,the SE's are brighter,sharper,and just overall more enjoyable to use.I also found that I cannot hold 10X as steady as I once could.The Leupolds will have to go.I'm still on a quest to find an 8X with optics comparable to the SE's that are waterproof and under $1000.Might give one of the Chinese ultras a try next.

Ardy: This thread on the 8x32 SE has been a long one, and what I would like to add here, is that your quest for another 8x32 to be comparable to the Nikon SE is going to be a difficult one. When I look throught mine, the view is just so good with the wide FOV, and most other roofs in 8x32 are going to have a more fussy IPD (inter-pupil distance) thing you are spoiled with. You may want to stay with the Nikons with their famous Nikon view (edge to edge clarity) that you have been seeing. See if you can try out a pair of the LX or LXL's. Otherwise, go with an 8x42, and you will open up another very long list of many out there. Of course, the size of most will be larger than the med. 8x32's. If you can, plan on keeping your SE, they are "special".

 

[Ardy]

Ardy,



Also consider the pre-lotutec 8x32 Zeiss FLs that are currently on sale at Cameralandny.com.....$769.

Frank,that's what I did.Could hardly go wrong at that price.

 

[FrankD]

I look forward to hearing your comments on the comparison when the time comes.