Canon 10x30 MK2 IS. (1 Viewer)

[Binastro]

A couple of nights ago, I decided to use this Canon 10x30 again after having trouble resolving features 120m away with the Leica 8x32 BA.

The results at night are incredibly good.
The IS of this sample is the best I have seen in any IS binocular. It is as steady as a heavy duty tripod with no movement at all that I can detect.

The resolution of fine detail at night is probably double that of standard 10x binoculars.

However, in the day things are not so impressive.
The resolution is about 50% better than an ordinary 10x binocular.
There is some CA.
Quite a lot of pincushion distortion, which I don't mind.
The field size is not great at 6 degrees and the edge performance not up to the standard of the 10x42L IS.

There is the problem of having to push the button, but this is well placed and easy to use.
The batteries are fine after some years of storage.

When I bought the 10x30 Mk 2 IS it was reasonably priced and performs well, while having some negative properties.

But at night it is staggeringly good.

It weighs the same as the Leica 8x32 BA.

Regards,
B.

 

[yarrellii]

Interesting. Why do you think there is that difference in performance between night and day?

Oddly enough, coming from the 12x36 ISIII, I found the 10x30 ISII to be better in terms of CA. While I mostly use IS for birdwatching, it is true that it excels for sweeping the night sky effortlessly. The lack of tremor and the fact that the stars are pure pinpoint crisp and pure makes it feel somehow like gliding among constellations in a spacecraft.

 

[kabsetz]

At night our eye/brain system needs more time to extract information from dark and low-contrast objects. A stable image provides that time where a shaky image does not. I still recall when I was testing a Zeiss 10x42 FL against my Canon 10x42 IS L at night, looking to see how much I could see of the shore of an island some 200-500 meters away. Hand held, I could not even reliably reach focus of the shoreline with the Zeiss. With the Canon, focusing it as well as I could without IS and then turning the IS on showed me that my focus was clearly off, and after focusing I started seeing details of bushes, trees and rocks, but it took several seconds. The Zeiss is the brighter binocular of the two, and they were about equally sharp.

 

[Binastro]

I thought it might be personal to me.

My eyes are not as good as ten years ago, and my hands not as steady.

Somehow, during the days the faults are more easily seen.

The CA is modest.

Generally, I prefer 8x binoculars now, whereas earlier my standard binoculars were 10x or 12x.

I have to be more careful holding the 18x50 IS than earlier.
Also I have a little astigmatism in one eye and to get the best from the 18x50 IS I use glasses, although it is O.K. without.

It gets dark earlier now and is colder and night observations are more frequent.

Regards,
B.