Ex-Demo Minox HGs (1 Viewer)

[NoSpringChicken]

I was browsing the Sherwoods site when I noticed that they are advertising ex-demo Minox HG bins. They are being sold as unboxed for demonstration purposes but as new with full warranty. They are around £200 cheaper than new: 8x33 £415, 8x43 or 10x43 £445, 8.5 x 52 £475.

Sounds like a good buy, although it is not clear from the website whether they are the latest German-made versions or the previous model.

http://www.sherwoods-photo.com/minox_bino/minox_bino_fs.html

Ron

 

[mayoayo]

The Field of view of the model they are advertising is that of the German made model..I would say that the demos are of that one too..thats a bargain !

 

[Duke Leto]

Ron, my Minox 10x43 HG's arrived today and to be fair I cant see how they are ex demo, in A+++ condition, fully packaged and boxed with strap never have been connected and with a years warranty. 1st impressions are good, feel nice, slightly heavier than the RSPB ones there replacing, brighter image and better saturation.

Thanks again for the tip off

 

[NoSpringChicken]

Sounds good Steve. Well done. I notice you say 'a years warranty' but the advert says 'full warranty'. I would have expected them to come with at least 10 years warranty. Out of interest, is there anything to say whether they were made in Germany or Japan?

Ron

 

[FJDave]

Sounds good Steve. Well done. I notice you say 'a years warranty' but the advert says 'full warranty'. I would have expected them to come with at least 10 years warranty. Out of interest, is there anything to say whether they were made in Germany or Japan?

Ron

The German made ones say "Made in Germany" on the focus wheel. The Japanese one that I have says "aspheric lens" I believe...I'm at work and it is not here to check.

I have the MIG 10x43 and really like it. Very nice view indeed. :t:

 

[Duke Leto]

My mistake they do have a full warranty not a year, yes they are MIG this is indicated on the bins and the box.

 

[NoSpringChicken]

My mistake they do have a full warranty not a year, yes they are MIG this is indicated on the bins and the box.

Excellent. They do sound like a genuine bargain. :t:

Ron

 

[NoSpringChicken]

Having started this thread I have been checking Sherwoods' website every so often to see if the demos are still for sale. They appear to have sold all the 8x33s but are still advertising the other formats, so today I finally gave into temptation and ordered the 8x43 version. It seemed like too good an offer to miss and I want a pair of larger objective bins to back up my 8x32 Trinovids in poor light. I am looking forward to receiving them next week and hope that they are as good as they sound.

Ron

 

[Duke Leto]

you wont be disappointed Ron, love mine and what a bargain, once again thanks

 

[squidge]

You will not be dissapointed as I think mine are the bees knees.Ger.

 

[brocknroller]

Ron, my Minox 10x43 HG's arrived today and to be fair I cant see how they are ex demo, in A+++ condition, fully packaged and boxed with strap never have been connected and with a years warranty. 1st impressions are good, feel nice, slightly heavier than the RSPB ones there replacing, brighter image and better saturation.

Thanks again for the tip off

Duke,

Sounds like you got a good deal (you might have to dust them for fingerprints to find if they were handled .

Cameraland NY sells Minox demos on this side of the pond, but I haven't seen any demo MIGs yet, only Japanese made models, which are probably very good but stingy on the FOV (at least on the full sized models).

How is the DOF and the 3-D effect on the Minox 10x43 MIG compared to other 10x roofs you've tried?

I also have those same questions for those who bought the 8x43 MIG.

Brock

 

[NoSpringChicken]

The HGs arrived this morning. Excellent service from Sherwoods, as usual, and from DPD carriers, both of whom kept me informed about progress, eventually narrowing the delivery down to a 1 hour slot.

The bins look well worth the money. There are some slight signs of use on the rubber armouring, in line with shop demo use, but the lenses are pristine and unmarked and the strap is unused in a sealed bag. The construction seems excellent and they have a nice substantial feel to them. The focusing is precise and reasonably weighty and the locking diopter adjustment is positive in action. The eyecups rotate out smoothly and lock positively into the three different extended positions. I will use them fully extended, as I don't wear glasses when birding. The eye relief is generous at 19.2mm. The IPD adjustment seems all right: I thought it was slightly slack at first but there is no sign of it moving once set.

I haven't had a chance to use them outside yet but have been comparing them indoors to my Swift HHS roofs which I keep at work. I rate the Swifts very highly and, to be honest, I can't see much difference between the images from both bins. The Swifts are 8.5x44 so, obviously, the image from them is slightly bigger. They both seem to be equally bright and they are both very sharp. I know the Swifts have quite a bit of CA at the edges of the image but I haven't checked the Minoxes for this yet. The HGs also have a wider FOV than the Swifts (126 metres against 112) which should be useful. The focusing on the HGs is much faster than the Swifts but is possibly slightly heavier. The big difference is that the HGs have the lovely twist out eyecups, whereas my original model HHSs have pop up versions which no longer stay in place. This is infuriating and makes them virtually useless in practice. This is the main reason why I was looking for another pair of 8x42 bins to complement my 8x32 Trinovids.

I am looking forward to trying the Minoxes outdoors on some birds and will post my conclusions in a day or two. I am very pleased with my purchase at the moment.

Ron

 

[brocknroller]

The HGs arrived this morning. Excellent service from Sherwoods, as usual, and from DPD carriers, both of whom kept me informed about progress, eventually narrowing the delivery down to a 1 hour slot.

The bins look well worth the money. There are some slight signs of use on the rubber armouring, in line with shop demo use, but the lenses are pristine and unmarked and the strap is unused in a sealed bag. The construction seems excellent and they have a nice substantial feel to them. The focusing is precise and reasonably weighty and the locking diopter adjustment is positive in action. The eyecups rotate out smoothly and lock positively into the three different extended positions. I will use them fully extended, as I don't wear glasses when birding. The eye relief is generous at 19.2mm. The IPD adjustment seems all right: I thought it was slightly slack at first but there is no sign of it moving once set.

I haven't had a chance to use them outside yet but have been comparing them indoors to my Swift HHS roofs which I keep at work. I rate the Swifts very highly and, to be honest, I can't see much difference between the images from both bins. The Swifts are 8.5x44 so, obviously, the image from them is slightly bigger. They both seem to be equally bright and they are both very sharp. I know the Swifts have quite a bit of CA at the edges of the image but I haven't checked the Minoxes for this yet. The HGs also have a wider FOV than the Swifts (126 metres against 112) which should be useful. The focusing on the HGs is much faster than the Swifts but is possibly slightly heavier. The big difference is that the HGs have the lovely twist out eyecups, whereas my original model HHSs have pop up versions which no longer stay in place. This is infuriating and makes them virtually useless in practice. This is the main reason why I was looking for another pair of 8x42 bins to complement my 8x32 Trinovids.

I am looking forward to trying the Minoxes outdoors on some birds and will post my conclusions in a day or two. I am very pleased with my purchase at the moment.

Ron

NoSpringChicken,

I'm glad you're pleased with them (at least for the moment!). I do fancy the Volkswagen design myself, but have never looked through one.

N.B. I normally don't use the word "fancy" and I would probably get pantsed if I said that word in a whiskey, bourbon, and beer bar so they could verify my gender, but it's something I picked up from the Brits. Ditto for N.B.

One comment that jumped out at me was that you said Minox's top of the line MIG roofs seem to be equally bright as the Swift HHS.

One of the common complaints I've read about the HHS was that it wasn't as bright as other good quality roofs (and certainly not as bright as the 820 porro version).

According to the reviews at allbinos.com, the Swift HHS light transmission is only around 75%, which they put in their "Cons" list as "average transmission" along with "distinct brightness loss at the edge of the field of vision."

Given the higher light transmission of some mid-priced roofs these days, they might have even rated that transmission as below average.

I think you might see a more noticeable difference between the HHS and Minox when you use them outside, particularly on an overcast day.

Here's the review:

http://www.allbinos.com/167-binoculars_review-Swift_Optics_828_HHS_Audubon_8.5x44.html

Free-RangeOrganicTurkey

 

[NoSpringChicken]

Hi Brock. Thanks for posting the review of the Swifts. As you say, I can't really judge the brightness of the HGs until I try them outside. Please bear in mind that I am not the most discerning of users and the finer points of image assessment are lost on me.

Out of interest, I have been comparing the HGs to my Trinovid 8x32 BNs indoors tonight. The extremely crude test consisted of reading the fine print on some medical packages (approximately 5 point type) from a distance of 4 metres (this is where the MG's distance scale was useful). I have to say that for me, under those conditions, it was much easier to read the type with the Trinovids. It was easier to focus with the Leicas and, strangely, it was easier to hold them steady. I have small hands and possibly the smaller bins are better balanced in my hands.

I have to say that I am feeling slightly disappointed with the HGs at the moment but perhaps things will change when I try them outdoors.

Ron

 

[brocknroller]

Hi Brock. Thanks for posting the review of the Swifts. As you say, I can't really judge the brightness of the HGs until I try them outside. Please bear in mind that I am not the most discerning of users and the finer points of image assessment are lost on me.

Out of interest, I have been comparing the HGs to my Trinovid 8x32 BNs indoors tonight. The extremely crude test consisted of reading the fine print on some medical packages (approximately 5 point type) from a distance of 4 metres (this is where the MG's distance scale was useful). I have to say that for me, under those conditions, it was much easier to read the type with the Trinovids. It was easier to focus with the Leicas and, strangely, it was easier to hold them steady. I have small hands and possibly the smaller bins are better balanced in my hands.

I have to say that I am feeling slightly disappointed with the HGs at the moment but perhaps things will change when I try them outdoors.

Ron

Well, diehard Trinnie fans will be happy to hear that! But again, indoors at a close range is not how you will usually be using the HGs, I assume, so also not a fair comparison.

Given the more advanced coatings and larger aperture than the Leicas, I'd be very surprised if the HGs didn't "outshine" both the HHS and Trinnies on overcast days and whilst looking for birds in the shadows. If not, ship 'em back and supplement your Trinnies with an 8x42 Leica Ultravid (for a bit more money .

But first, let's see how they do in a "real world" test.

N.B. I just checked allbinos again, and according to that site, the 10x42 Ultravid BR only has 1% more light transmission than the 10x42 Trinovid (89% vs. 88%). So maybe it's not worth paying through the proboscis for an Ultravid, at least not for better light transmission.

 

[squidge]

Hi Brock. Thanks for posting the review of the Swifts. As you say, I can't really judge the brightness of the HGs until I try them outside. Please bear in mind that I am not the most discerning of users and the finer points of image assessment are lost on me.

Out of interest, I have been comparing the HGs to my Trinovid 8x32 BNs indoors tonight. The extremely crude test consisted of reading the fine print on some medical packages (approximately 5 point type) from a distance of 4 metres (this is where the MG's distance scale was useful). I have to say that for me, under those conditions, it was much easier to read the type with the Trinovids. It was easier to focus with the Leicas and, strangely, it was easier to hold them steady. I have small hands and possibly the smaller bins are better balanced in my hands.

I have to say that I am feeling slightly disappointed with the HGs at the moment but perhaps things will change when I try them outdoors.

Ron

I have to be honest, I felt the same way initially when I first received my Minox. I even put them up for sale. However after I brought them outside and gave them "a real world test" I decided they were too good too sell. I sold my Nikon E11 Instead. The Minox didnt give me the wow factor but then I'm very hard too please. They grew on me and when I looked at it rationally and ticked the boxes I was looking for in a bin. Build quality, Waterproofing, Optics, Feel the Minox ticked them all for me. When I took into account the price I paid I got myself an excellent pair of binoculars. Maybe I was lucky but the pair I got had no sign whatsoever of being handled. Maybe the Minox will grow on you aswell but if not then maybe they will grow on somebody else after all there is no perfect binocular as we would all be using that one. Ger.

 

[NoSpringChicken]

Update. I took the HGs to my local harbour this lunchtime and have totally changed my opinion of them. They are brilliant! Outdoors, under real world conditions, they are completely different: extremely bright, very sharp and contrasty with virtually no CA that I could detect. An excellent image.

My only slight criticism would be that the DOF is not that great and I had to continually tweak the focusing a minute amount as I scanned about. I am not too bothered by that. I have found that I get on better if I use both index fingers to focus; one 'pushing' and the other 'pulling'.

I now feel so much better about the bins than I did last night and am very pleased indeed with my purchase. As an added bonus, I got to watch 11 Sanderlings running about together in front of me on the beach. What a way to spend my lunch break!

Ron

 

[Common Crane]

I have the Ultravid 8x32, which should not be inferior to the Trinovid and I can not confirm the results of your test. Infact the Image is very similar, in good light the capability to read fine printing is exactly the same, if I dim the light the Minox 8x43 becomes the better binocular. I think it can not be the optics that are responsible for your results. Probably it is the other two things that you mentioned. The quick focus of the Minox (which works very well after some training hours) and the fact that you can hold the Trinovids more steady. Trembling has very bad Influence on the contrast.
I have average sized hands, the Minox just seems to be made for them and I can hold them very steady.