FrankD said:
Out of curiousity, are the open bridge style binoculars like these, the Razors, Elites, ELs, etc... that much more expensive to manufacture? I ask because I am curious as to whether the price increase is the result of increased manufacturing costs, higher quality materials or just a higher profit margin for the more ergonomic design.
If it is the last of those possibilities then I wonder when someone will come out with a fairly inexpensive bridge style bin.
Frank,
From reading about the Swaro EL, I gather that the chief challenge with open bridge designs is creating a smooth focuser. Since the focuser is outside the body, it's trickier to make the linkage. However, Swaro has conquered that problem so all the clone engineers need to do is take one apart and retroengineer a focuser for their clone. Apparently, that's easier said than done since there were some problems with the initial run of Vortex Razors (hard to turn focusers).
Given the high price of Swaro ELs, which may have as much to do with Austrian economics as it does with quality engineering, I wouldn't be surprised if EL clone manufacturers feel they have to price their clones higher than their closed bridge designs to seem competitive with the EL.
A friend recently tried the Razor and Broadwing at an optics show. He said the overall quality of the Razor was not as good as he expected for that price point and could not tell the difference in build quality between the $349 Stokes Broadwing and the $699 Vortex Razor. But he did say that the views were brighter and wider than the Broadwings.
The sample Razor he tried had a focuser that was very hard to turn and would not focus at infinity. This was the third report of hard to turn Razor focusers I've heard about. According to the Vortex rep I contacted, the problem has been resolved, although the focuser is still slower than one might expect from a small turning circle of 1.25 turns from close focus to infinity.
Having owned mostly porros, I'm used to slow focusers, and actually find them easier to use. Fast focusers like the Nikon HG plays havoc with my focus accommodation, forcing me to refocus the right diopter at various distances.
If I had smaller hands, I would be able to hold a variety of roofs, but with XL hands, narrow roofs are hard to hold steady. I have to hold them with the middle of my palms pushing in at the sides and my overlapped fingers gripping them from above whereas I can support porros from the sides and underneath with my palms and thumbs -- a steadier and more comfortable grip.
I haven't tried a roof bin with thumb indents, perhaps that would help (if my thumbs fit the indents and if the indents were located in the correct position for my hands, a lot of "ifs"). The open bridge design would probably work best for my large hands. Unfortunately, I live far from optics stores that carry the EL. In the spring I plan to take a trip with a friend to a couple hunting supply shops that carry high end binoculars and see how the ELs fits my hands.
If the ELs work for me, so should the Elite, Razor, Diamond, and Steiner Peregrine XP, though the Steiner is priced beyond my budget.
The best ergonomics in close bridged roofs I've tried was the Nikon HG L; however, the lead-free optics and "warmer" coatings were two steps backwards, IMO, and the barrel distortion seemed even more severe than on the originals.
So the search continues... but meanwhile, I have fine birding porros to keep me happy (Nikon 8x32 SE, Swift 804 Audubon, and CZJ 8x50 Octarem).
Brock
