Steve C
Well-known member
Well I just got these this morning, mine are the 6.5x32. I will use them more over the long weekend and post a more complete set of observations in a few days. I now have on hand the following 6-7x binoculars for comparison.
6x30 Yosemite
6.5x32 Raven
6.5x32 Minox IF
6.5x32 Vortex Fury
7x36 Bushnell EX
7x36 Vortex Diamondback
7x36 Swift Eaglet
7/12x32 Leupold Switch Power
My first impression was they felt bigger than the Yosemite. They are, but not by as much as they feel. They are (without measuring) about 1/8" both longer and wider than the Yosemite.
I went home over lunch break and did a quick comparison, mostly with the Yosemite. The extra magnification of the 6.5 Raven does show a larger image than the 6x Yosemite. The image appears brighter than the Yosemite as well. The center field resolution is very good. The image seems at this point to go to the Raven by a bit. But that might well be due to the bit of extra magnification as much or more than anything else.
The IPD is the same as the Yosemite, 50-70mm. The focus will win the Raven the most friends. It is very quick and quite precise. It operated through only 0.8 turns of the wheel, and is noticeably smoother and operates with noticeably less friction than the Yosemite. I have not yet measured the close focus, but this Raven focuses closer than my Yosemite, by maybe 4'.
It seems clearly superior in image to both the Diamondback and Bushnell EX. Both of those appear to be the same binocular with different eye cups in different housings.
So for now I give it a thumbs up. My first impression is that it is worth the extra few $$ over the Yosemite and will, I think, give the Yosemite a hard run for the money. I think that it was a wise idea on the part of the folks at Vortex to put in the extra .5x magnification. It looks like it balances out the tendency of the porro to give a bit smaller image.
6x30 Yosemite
6.5x32 Raven
6.5x32 Minox IF
6.5x32 Vortex Fury
7x36 Bushnell EX
7x36 Vortex Diamondback
7x36 Swift Eaglet
7/12x32 Leupold Switch Power
My first impression was they felt bigger than the Yosemite. They are, but not by as much as they feel. They are (without measuring) about 1/8" both longer and wider than the Yosemite.
I went home over lunch break and did a quick comparison, mostly with the Yosemite. The extra magnification of the 6.5 Raven does show a larger image than the 6x Yosemite. The image appears brighter than the Yosemite as well. The center field resolution is very good. The image seems at this point to go to the Raven by a bit. But that might well be due to the bit of extra magnification as much or more than anything else.
The IPD is the same as the Yosemite, 50-70mm. The focus will win the Raven the most friends. It is very quick and quite precise. It operated through only 0.8 turns of the wheel, and is noticeably smoother and operates with noticeably less friction than the Yosemite. I have not yet measured the close focus, but this Raven focuses closer than my Yosemite, by maybe 4'.
It seems clearly superior in image to both the Diamondback and Bushnell EX. Both of those appear to be the same binocular with different eye cups in different housings.
So for now I give it a thumbs up. My first impression is that it is worth the extra few $$ over the Yosemite and will, I think, give the Yosemite a hard run for the money. I think that it was a wise idea on the part of the folks at Vortex to put in the extra .5x magnification. It looks like it balances out the tendency of the porro to give a bit smaller image.