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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Collection feels complete… any ideas/suggestions? (1 Viewer)

kimmik said:
leica 7x35 is my favoured 7x option, modern compact with 5mm ep. If I lose a 8x30/32mm pair, this will be the one to take its place.

6x42 and 7x50 skipper style sound awesome, saved for a special day.

10x… i think you guys have convinced me to get a 10x! If a SFL 10x30 comes out, I will test it next to VP 10x25 and decide between the two. Probably good as a summer pocket pair as Richard D says. Winter pocket fits the 8x30 and 8x32 :).
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10x32 is my lower limit -I find 10x25's too jittery, but try and see!
 
Richard D said:
10x32 is my lower limit -I find 10x25's too jittery, but try and see!
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Everytime I test drive a V8/V10 car I want one… then end up buying a 4 cylinder 😂

That’s the story of how I got all my 8x binos 😛 there are flings and there are keepers…
 
kimmik said:
A brief explanation is that I’ve dabbled with astro, bino and camera optics for a while now and this year restarted collecting but more selectively. Didn’t want to put this in the swaro subforum because while I like them, probably better looking elsewhere at this point.

Current:
7x21 CL
8x30 Habicht
8x32 EL
8x42 NL
8x56 SLC
Papillio 8.5x21
8x leica, zeiss, nikon as brand representative.

So the suggested rules are:
1. Needs to be ”the best” at something, eg papillio even though it isn’t rare
2. Needs to be primarily handheld - eg not interested in the upcoming STC spotting scope, or >1.2kg binos
3. Image stabilisation/electronics “special features that might break” are allowed but only if monocular.

Eg something I’ve been keeping an eye out for, is a good drawtube telescope, and a pocket monocular rangefinder. Not sure if I’m also missing anything in the bino realm?
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I've never understood why anyone would want a draw tube telescope (other than nostalgia or pirate reenactments), when you could have a straight Nikon FS ED50. Probably the best little handheld scope I've ever used.
 
Good recommendation.

I’m working on image stabilisation, potentially to fit inside the barrel.

Folding has some advantages for handholding, such as stability and aperture for weight. Very tough and compact when folded.

And it just looks cool!
 
lilcrazy2 said:
I've never understood why anyone would want a draw tube telescope (other than nostalgia or pirate reenactments), when you could have a straight Nikon FS ED50. Probably the best little handheld scope I've ever used.
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Ahoy mihearty.

Ive exclusively use a draw tube for the last few years. Big aperture (75mm), long focal length and folded portability are my reasons for doing so. It's not a popular choice! The ed50 you mention has an exit pupil of 1.6mm at 30x mag, my ctc 30x75 has 2.5mm so its better when it gets darker and has a wider fov the rest of the time. It's the kind of thing you can sling in a bag with the stay on case and a mono pod and not have to worry too much where as I always tend to think of the smaller conventional scopes as being a tad fragile, the ed50 is known for snapping in half with similar treatment.

I'll walk the the plank now!

Will
 
William Lewis said:
Ahoy mihearty.

Ive exclusively use a draw tube for the last few years. Big aperture (75mm), long focal length and folded portability are my reasons for doing so. It's not a popular choice! The ed50 you mention has an exit pupil of 1.6mm at 30x mag, my ctc 30x75 has 2.5mm so its better when it gets darker and has a wider fov the rest of the time. It's the kind of thing you can sling in a bag with the stay on case and a mono pod and not have to worry too much where as I always tend to think of the smaller conventional scopes as being a tad fragile, the ed50 is known for snapping in half with similar treatment.

I'll walk the the plank now!

Will
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Hi Will, how is the transmission on CTC vs the SLC 56? According to spec sheet it is 85% vs 93%, but I couldn't understand why CTC is rated so relatively low for SW standards. Haven't seen one in person yet. Maybe after I play with the Mirador and know for sure I want the format long term.
 
kimmik said:
Hi Will, how is the transmission on CTC vs the SLC 56? According to spec sheet it is 85% vs 93%, but I couldn't understand why CTC is rated so relatively low for SW standards. Haven't seen one in person yet. Maybe after I play with the Mirador and know for sure I want the format long term.
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Hi Kimmik. I don't know the transmission figures myself, I recall John (Roberts) suggesting the relatively low figures may be an "advertising" percentage as the CTC is swaro's cheapest scope. May be worth looking at the meopta option as well as it looks a similar design to the CTC but has a zoom at a much better price then the swaro zoom draw tube.

Will
 
William, I agree, drawtubes are built to be usefully portable. I used my CTS 85 very little over the first ten years, but have started carrying it on most birding trips, usually with the 30x eyepiece (the 45x and camera set up both require a tripod).
Not sure if the majority of people would value one, especially at current Swaro prices, but I find it fun; have also tried an old Optolyth 30x75 which someone had out in the field, seems good for the price.
 
Had a browse locally at the sub 30mm options and while they are all perfect for what they are, I couldn’t “fall in” for any to the point of buying one. Had my habicht 30mm for comparison with its goods and bads. Just the CL 7x21 will do me for now for a small format bino.

so happily i declare the bino collection phase temporarily complete!

Going to spend some quality time with each of them 😂
 
Thanks to everyone once more for the suggestions, I'm glad it brought out so many ideas and variety to the discussion. Hopefully these ideas will serve as inspiration for others looking for variety even though I have limited the scope of discussion to strictly handheld.

Everyone's collection strategy is different - after all this time, my realisation was I care most about exit pupil than magnification or even aperture. 10x42 etc is only another way of saying 4mm EP to me. 8x is the highest mag I'm willing to use frequently, so 8x32 is my 10x42. 2.5mm EP (papillio 8.5x21) to 7mm EP (SLC 8x56):

2 of 2.5-3mm
3 of 4mm
2 of 5mm
1 of 7mm

GrampaTom said:
The NBE is hard to resist. Fight it man! Go birding.
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Time to ramp up nature loving and travelling!
 
kimmik said:
so happily i declare the bino collection phase temporarily complete!

Going to spend some quality time with each of them 😂
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kimmik,

Be assured that ten years from now, or sooner, every single bino in your "temporarily complete" collection will be either outmoded or obsolete!
Lots to look forward to. :giggle:
Ed
 
elkcub said:
kimmik,

Be assured that ten years from now, or sooner, every single bino in your "temporarily complete" collection will be either outmoded or obsolete!
Lots to look forward to. :giggle:
Ed
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An NL that weighs like a Monarch would be a dream.

IS 20x50 pocket monocular.

IS 30x75 drawtube scope.
 

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