I'm already there, believe me.
They are already one of my favourites, for their qualities, for sure. For me, I would choose them ahead of anything 8x currently offered by Zeiss or Swarovski. Whether I can really say the same for Leica, is more open to question, but in time there's every chance I'll come to the same conclusion as you. For now, I'm in awe of their control of light in difficult conditions, their ease of view and their natural rendition of colour. They present a very calm and controlled image, always. But, is that what I always want? I'm not sure...
Now, if I didn't wear glasses, the world of porros would open up to me, which could potentially turn all my perceptions/conclusions about binoculars I've tried, tested and owned, on their head.
The Fuji 6x30 has 20mm ER, though I'm not sure how much of that is usuable, but it's enough to close image blackouts if I'm too close. The 7x50 and 10x50 Fujis also have long ER. They are limited for birding in close but they provide a WOW! view that's alphaeseque plus a super 3-D view. The Nikon SE series have 17.5 mm ER, which seems to suit most eyeglass wearers as long as they are not bothered by image blackouts.
The new OB SE has 15mm of usuable ER if that's enough. There are 12 Oberwerk bins, mostly porros, which have 15mm ER or more:
Oberwerk Products Comparison Chart Series Model Features* Effect. Aprtr. (%) FOV (degrees) FOV (@1000m) AFOV (degrees) Usable Eye Relief (mm) Exit Pupil (mm) IPD Range (mm) Min. focus (meters) Length (in.) Weight (lbs.) Price (USD) LightWeight 6.5x32 LW WP, WA, soft case 94 8.0 143m 52 19.3 4.65...
oberwerk.com
I think he's in Utah, USA, so no fees. When I checked, Kyoie Osaka had a better price than any I could find In Europe. The exchange rates go up and down. It would be nice to not have a language barrier, but Kyoei's manager does communicate well in English.
Yes Brock, 7x35EC Eric Clapton, it's a signature model
Wow, I do not keep up to date on birds around the East Coast, it sounds like bald eagles are settling in everywhere. Pennsylvania's got some nice land and rivers, pictures of the Susquehanna look beautiful. I think the eagles are fair game to turn up anywhere there's a lake or river these days.
Maybe your giant red-tail will come back. They seem to appear out of nowhere. I've got a medium-size one that stops by my back yard around lunchtime, to check the yard for rabbits & mice. I need to get better at owls, I think they're out there most nights too.
Goliatha appeared in 2015, which was the coldest February in State College, Pa., when the average temperature of 17.3 °F was 12 °F below normal. The lowest temp that year was -8*. The copper pipe that led to the outside spigot, though insulated, burst that night. I found two black and white mice in a bag I had hanging in the cellar with my plug for my electric lawn mower.
I poked a hole in the bag and fed them lactose-free milk through an eyedropper, and then they went up into the walls, and i feed them and gave them water for about a year (left the garage door open in the spring, so they could go out into my wooded backyard, where. they came from, but Blackie, a feral cat wandered in, not sure if they left or he got them, but they disapeared after that. I took Blackie inside. I had already taken in his mother two years earlier.
I miss the birds and squirrels, and I'm sure they miss me since I feed them every day, rain or shine, 0* or 100*, seeds and peanuts. The first winter I left, I went back once a week and feed them. I've got to post some photos, they are on my old computer. Got to transfer all those files off that 20-year-old PC to an external HD before it crashes, and I lose all my cat and wildlife photos and videos.
After the APM 6x30, I might eventually buy one more top banana before squirrling my money away for retirement and calling it quits on new bin purchases forever.
Not that I need another alpha. Even my second sample 8x32 Cabela Guide, which I think has upgraded prism coatings (dielectric) vs. my other samples with lower serial #s, competes very nicely with my 8x32 EDG II. In fact, when I was at the duck pond a few days ago, I found myself favoring it over the EDG due to its more open view (not much wider in actual FOV 8* vs. 7.8*) but perhaps due to greater pincushion and being able to set the eyecups lower than the EDG's before "blacks outs" appear, the view seems more open and easy.
And surprisingly, it doesn't give up much in sharpness and color rendition to the EDG. It's not sharp to the very EDG, but it has a large sweet spot and fall off at the edges is gradual and unobtrusive. It's also a bit easier to handle than the EDG since the bridge is smaller and set back farther. I don't have to think about where to put my hands, I just pick them up and my hands fall naturally in place like a good fitting pair of gloves.
It was chilly, and the Guide's focuser moved easier than the EDG's, which though buttery smooth in warm weather, has more resistance at lower temps.
This experience made me think about how much brand, marketing and reputation can increase the
perceived value of binoculars. The EDG might be better than the Cabela Guide, but not thousands of dollars better. I don't think this is a knock against the EDG, which is outstanding, but rather kudos to Kamakura for making very good optics at a very afforable price.
Many hobbysts who use optics, be they amateur astronomers, photographers, birders, hunters or microscopists (they have a forum on Cloudy Nights!), are willing to spend increasingly more money for incremental improvements in thier instruments, which to those less informed and with less trained eyes would not notice any more than a tone deaf person would hear the difference in an audiophile's expensive home theater that aspires to recreate the 'immersive' experience they feel in concerts, stadiums and movie halls. "Yeah, it's loud."
With this in mind (and an eye on their continued employment), the Wizards of Wetzlar, Oberkochen, and Absam stir their cauldrens and add a few new magic ingredients to see how to incrementally improve on perfection and increase corpoarate profits.
Now to think about that one more alpha and apply for PayPal Credit.
Brock
