Binastro,The Canon 8x25s have optical windows which may help.
Some of the other Canon IS don't.
One optical window fell off both our 8x25s. There is not much to grip onto.
Regards,
B.
Thanks for that info Binastro, very helpful! I'm sure the clock still works 😉Hi Bryan,
Optical windows are very flat pieces of high quality glass in the front of an optical system.
They should be of better quality than a camera lens UV filter…
Fazalmajid,Generally stabilized Fujinons are considered better marine binoculars than Canon. The 10x42L IS is excellent, but it is heavy.
Have you had a chance to try the Opticron Imagic Image stabilized bins. I’m wondering how they compare to the Fujinons for pelagic birding from a boat.
Thanks for that Fazalmajid,Nikon also sell stabilized binoculars (StabilEyes) that look suspiciously like Fujinons.
Hello pbjoshOn a genuinely small boat I think an 8x or lower is still the way to go, and it seems that there aren't really any great 8x IS options.
That makes sense. I prefer a higher magnification IS bin (12-16) for birding places like the open marshlands and Paramos of Central America and Colombia. As you point out a lower IS bins (8-10) is the better choice for small boat pelagic birding and navigation.
Does this mean I have to save up for two IS bins? Having two to play with wouldn’t be awful would it? 😉
‘I agree a 6 plus IS bin would be nice. Can you imagine? A Wide ish relaxed FOV ”and” IS! what‘s not to like. More’s the pity it’ll never happen.A pair of 6-8x with 6+ degrees of IS would be amazing here but I doubt such a product will ever exist due to a vanishingly small market.
‘I agree a 6 plus IS bin would be nice. Can you imagine? A Wide ish relaxed FOV ”and” IS! what‘s not to like. More’s the pity it’ll never happen.
I once ran out of batteries for the Canon 8x25’s and had to use the bins sans IS for navigating in boisterous seas, it was awful (and nauseating) to the point of being useless.
Our boat which is over 40 years old has a yaw/pitch/roll frequency which is much slower and longer than modern boats. I suspect IS bins might be more effective with our boats particular kind of motion but how well they handle the faster and shorter motions of modern sailboats I can’t say.
I often wonder if the IS bin manufacturers ever test their products under a variety of sea conditions and vessels. I’d sure be interested in trying out a collection of them in varying sea states just to see which ones would suit our boats particular motion best.
Regarding the maximum stops an IS instrument can achieve I found this interesting.
Earth’s Rotation Limits IBIS Performance to 6.3 Stops
In the interest of full disclosure I did read the article but am really hoping none of it is on the test😂
Cheers,
Bryan