Greetings!
So, I have been expanding my hobby by rebuilding vintage binoculars, and have come across a pearl for backyard/kitchen birding - it's the Tasco J-B208.
What's that you say? Why, it's a high quality, Japanese knockoff (OEM to Tasco) of the Swift Lark 4x30!
(1) it's a Galilean Binocular - it has no prisms of any sort in the path, just two fine, coated Japanese lenses in a beautiful binocular body - ultra-light, yet very quality feeling in the hand;
(2) It's the ultimate extension of the "opera glasses" concept, which max out by design at 4x magnification (just like Galileo's did)
(3) The Tasco's are small - really small - yet quite attractive, and falls perfectly in the hands (rather, fingers). For well preserved copies, expect smooth, quality mechanisms, lots of actual chrome steel bits, and a fine leatherette barrel housing. The optics are coated. They fit just about anywhere - pocket, purse, shirt pocket, leather pouch, you name it (mine came with a handsome black real leather case, with red velour lining).
(4) by comparison to modern prism binoculars, it has a really small FOV - and yet there is something deeply attractive to only seeing what you want to see, rather than a bunch of stuff around what you want to see - pretty much any bird simply fills the field of view - counter-intuitive, and strangely addictive. Also, while not super-sharp images, they do reveal fine detail in birds out to perhaps 60 feet. Plus, they have an interesting, eye-friendly "3D effect" for close objects (close focus is around 10 ft). Oh, and they are Bright - very bright for their size. Their 30mm primaries and low power put my Swift Micron 8x21 Porro and Bushnell 8x21 WA roof to shame in color, brightness and contrast.
(5) The same discussion around 6x30 Leupold Yosemites applies here, even moreso - 4x is supremely easy to hold in the hand (my wife prefers these to anything we have at 7x or 8x for garden viewing) and pending your distance to the subject, can be very effective. Their sweet spot is the distance across a yard garden, or to your suburban back fence. Again, their charms apply for yard bird feeders, kitchen observing, and backyard birding.
(6) I picked these babies up for $10 on eBay. They arrived out of alignment, so I completely disassembled 'em, then put them back together piece-by-piece. Since they are a ruthlessly simple design, it was much easier than expected. Hours of engineering enjoyment later, I ended with something with real charm, quality (I think these look even better than the Larks, with a nicer focus wheel) and something I now use regularly, even with my arsenal of quality binoculars - they are a breath of fresh air apart from our more intense usual discussions on binocular characteristics, and a nice added dimension to any regular binocular portfolio.
Lots of pictures from the rebuild - and if you can find a good example for cheap, give 'em a go - you and your backyard birds may be pleasantly surprised...
So, I have been expanding my hobby by rebuilding vintage binoculars, and have come across a pearl for backyard/kitchen birding - it's the Tasco J-B208.
What's that you say? Why, it's a high quality, Japanese knockoff (OEM to Tasco) of the Swift Lark 4x30!
(1) it's a Galilean Binocular - it has no prisms of any sort in the path, just two fine, coated Japanese lenses in a beautiful binocular body - ultra-light, yet very quality feeling in the hand;
(2) It's the ultimate extension of the "opera glasses" concept, which max out by design at 4x magnification (just like Galileo's did)
(3) The Tasco's are small - really small - yet quite attractive, and falls perfectly in the hands (rather, fingers). For well preserved copies, expect smooth, quality mechanisms, lots of actual chrome steel bits, and a fine leatherette barrel housing. The optics are coated. They fit just about anywhere - pocket, purse, shirt pocket, leather pouch, you name it (mine came with a handsome black real leather case, with red velour lining).
(4) by comparison to modern prism binoculars, it has a really small FOV - and yet there is something deeply attractive to only seeing what you want to see, rather than a bunch of stuff around what you want to see - pretty much any bird simply fills the field of view - counter-intuitive, and strangely addictive. Also, while not super-sharp images, they do reveal fine detail in birds out to perhaps 60 feet. Plus, they have an interesting, eye-friendly "3D effect" for close objects (close focus is around 10 ft). Oh, and they are Bright - very bright for their size. Their 30mm primaries and low power put my Swift Micron 8x21 Porro and Bushnell 8x21 WA roof to shame in color, brightness and contrast.
(5) The same discussion around 6x30 Leupold Yosemites applies here, even moreso - 4x is supremely easy to hold in the hand (my wife prefers these to anything we have at 7x or 8x for garden viewing) and pending your distance to the subject, can be very effective. Their sweet spot is the distance across a yard garden, or to your suburban back fence. Again, their charms apply for yard bird feeders, kitchen observing, and backyard birding.
(6) I picked these babies up for $10 on eBay. They arrived out of alignment, so I completely disassembled 'em, then put them back together piece-by-piece. Since they are a ruthlessly simple design, it was much easier than expected. Hours of engineering enjoyment later, I ended with something with real charm, quality (I think these look even better than the Larks, with a nicer focus wheel) and something I now use regularly, even with my arsenal of quality binoculars - they are a breath of fresh air apart from our more intense usual discussions on binocular characteristics, and a nice added dimension to any regular binocular portfolio.
Lots of pictures from the rebuild - and if you can find a good example for cheap, give 'em a go - you and your backyard birds may be pleasantly surprised...
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