Global birdfair (1 Viewer)

[William Lewis]

Hi All.

Me and the family just got back from a very nice day out at global birdfair up in Rutland UK.

All the major optical companies were there that work in the UK with there wares so it was a good chance to look through all the latest and greatest. The bto had a ringing stand which was probably the highlight for me and the wife and kids, must join up to give them a hand!

Optics wise I was looking to see if there was anything to replace my venerable habicht 7x42's so had a bit of a shortlist of contenders to have a look at. As they were pretty much all together I though it would be enlightening to give them a glance, you can more or less back to back them in exactly the same conditions although obviously this will play to some of there strengths more than others! I'm layman but these are the ones I particularly wanted to try and what I thought.

Leica 7x42 ultravid hd - schmidt pechan prisms let's them down, not very sparkly, otherwise good.

Swarovski nl pure 8x42 - best Schmidt pechan I've looked through, almost up there with porro or abbe Koenig, the 8x42 seemed the best of the NL's.

Swarovski SLC hd 8x56. Abbe Koenig prisms- Proper nice, really bright, clear, decent fov. The only really wow non i.s bin I looked through.

There were many more i had a glance through but the family were not too impressed - although they kind of knew what they were in for!

The binocular that really stood out for me other than the SLC though was a totally new one to me. Kite apc 16 X 42. What an amazing bit of kit. I looked throught the cannon i.s range including the 10x42 is L and wasn't impressed - the ergonomics are terrible but the kites showed this does not have to be the case.

Good eye cups (unlike the cannons). Light (760g without batteries) and really well designed, Japanese made to.

Little things stood out like them automatically turning off when pointed straight down, then turning straight back on when moved towards horizontal to save battery life.

Talking of battery life - they have loads of it but the design (reverse porro from appearances) has 2 battery compartments, one on either side, one has the live batteries in, one carries the spares.

The focuser is near the objectives- which helps as stability is enhanced when holding there anyway but it's not uncomfortable as due to the width being the same as conventional binoculars due to having battery compartments either side they just fall nicely to hand.

I.s angular range is greater than most, much more than cannons, 30 year optics warranty, 2 year electrics. Fully nitrogen purges and immersion waterproof, I believe it's 1m for 30 minute.

Some CA but not too much, 2.6mm exit pupil (more than a 75mm scope at 30x) so wouldn't be amazing in low light. 68m at 1000m fov so also not amazing.

I.s just lets you see so much more though, price £1099.

Bargain.

Haven't decided yet, SLC or kite, who'd have thought it although kite may have to be an addition instead of a replacement!

 

[Mike Crawley]

I went with a car full on Friday.
Aimed for 09:30 but expected to be later. However, parked up by 09:35 and immediately impressed by the organisation and logistics. Getting in and parked was much easier than previously.
Holding the fair at a dedicated venue is clearly a big improvement

Marquees laid out in a much better way than previous and felt "airier" with decent through flow of fresh air.
As William says above, fabulous display of almost all the latest offerings in binoculars and spotting 'scopes. Representatives are kit from just about every manufacturer, short queues to try stuff out. Interesting stand with thermal imaging and a guy from West Midlands Ringing Group explaining how he used the kit to find Common Snipe and Jack Snipe in arable fields for ringing.

Food offerings were excellent and varied from vegan samosa, etc to beef burgers and pulled pork sandwiches.

Getting out and away, also easier than previously.

 

[PeterPS]

Hi All.

Me and the family just got back from a very nice day out at global birdfair up in Rutland UK.

All the major optical companies were there that work in the UK with there wares so it was a good chance to look through all the latest and greatest. The bto had a ringing stand which was probably the highlight for me and the wife and kids, must join up to give them a hand!

Optics wise I was looking to see if there was anything to replace my venerable habicht 7x42's so had a bit of a shortlist of contenders to have a look at. As they were pretty much all together I though it would be enlightening to give them a glance, you can more or less back to back them in exactly the same conditions although obviously this will play to some of there strengths more than others! I'm layman but these are the ones I particularly wanted to try and what I thought.

Leica 7x42 ultravid hd - schmidt pechan prisms let's them down, not very sparkly, otherwise good.

Swarovski nl pure 8x42 - best Schmidt pechan I've looked through, almost up there with porro or abbe Koenig, the 8x42 seemed the best of the NL's.

Swarovski SLC hd 8x56. Abbe Koenig prisms- Proper nice, really bright, clear, decent fov. The only really wow non i.s bin I looked through.

There were many more i had a glance through but the family were not too impressed - although they kind of knew what they were in for!

The binocular that really stood out for me other than the SLC though was a totally new one to me. Kite apc 16 X 42. What an amazing bit of kit. I looked throught the cannon i.s range including the 10x42 is L and wasn't impressed - the ergonomics are terrible but the kites showed this does not have to be the case.

Good eye cups (unlike the cannons). Light (760g without batteries) and really well designed, Japanese made to.

Little things stood out like them automatically turning off when pointed straight down, then turning straight back on when moved towards horizontal to save battery life.

Talking of battery life - they have loads of it but the design (reverse porro from appearances) has 2 battery compartments, one on either side, one has the live batteries in, one carries the spares.

The focuser is near the objectives- which helps as stability is enhanced when holding there anyway but it's not uncomfortable as due to the width being the same as conventional binoculars due to having battery compartments either side they just fall nicely to hand.

I.s angular range is greater than most, much more than cannons, 30 year optics warranty, 2 year electrics. Fully nitrogen purges and immersion waterproof, I believe it's 1m for 30 minute.

Some CA but not too much, 2.6mm exit pupil (more than a 75mm scope at 30x) so wouldn't be amazing in low light. 68m at 1000m fov so also not amazing.

I.s just lets you see so much more though, price £1099.

Bargain.

Haven't decided yet, SLC or kite, who'd have thought it although kite may have to be an addition instead of a replacement!

There are lots of comments about Kite 42mm IS in the following thread:
New APC 42 Stabilized
Some of them might help you decide.

 

[Tringa45]

Swarovski SLC hd 8x56. Abbe Koenig prisms- Proper nice, really bright, clear, decent fov. The only really wow non i.s bin I looked through.

I'll second that !

John

 

[Patudo]

I went Saturday with my brother, arriving at around 1.30pm and leaving around 5.00pm.

"Global Birdfair" seemed a smaller occasion than before Covid, with fewer exhibitors - Meopta and Kowa were amongst the optics names that gave it a miss although Vortex was there, I think for the first time. The venue, too - a local showground/camping ground surrounded by farmed fields - was not quite as spectacular as the former site overlooking the reservoir. I suppose the location was less important if you were not dead keen on trialling optics and the other tents had plenty of interest, especially if one enjoys birding travel - although some of the more exotic birding destinations seemed a little extravagant/unrealistic in this day and age (travel restrictions/travel chaos, high fuel prices and the general zeitgeist). There was some beautiful wildlife art on display and (for those with deeper wallets than myself) for sale - Jonathan's Pomroy's exquisite watercolours, in particular, standing out to me. The swift conservation stand and the separate stand showcasing the Lee Valley (north of my operating area) were also very worthwhile. I wonder how best to get the relevant people in London interested in putting up swift nest sites on tall buildings and house martin nest cups on (for instance) the many London bridges?

The event being less crowded than before did allow those who were there more time to look through the various binoculars and scopes on display, of which there were still a good few. L, S and Z were all there as were Nikon and Canon although N's binoculars were on a shelf behind their staff and seemed to be the new Prostaff range and Monarch HG 8x30s which weren't of great interest to me.

A note about the conditions - very significant heat haze made discerning detail at distance (my favourite test) difficult, and there were very few birds around, certainly compared to the last time (highlight of which was when an obliging osprey hunted and caught a fish in front of the optics tent, viewed by probably a hundred or more people). The sun being high in the sky also made glare a non-issue. Very bright sunlight would have tended to make smaller objective binoculars (x32s etc) easier to use and may have made differences in colour rendition not as obvious.

S - I was able to look through the NL x42s while my eyes were still fresh and was extremely impressed. I found the rearward balance and narrow waist worked really well making for a binocular that handles and points excellently and with the weight being more in one's hands than further forward, makes holding it to your eyes easier than the EL (a small difference but, as with the similarly designed SF, noticeable). I felt the wasp waist more natural in terms of placing my hands than the somewhat contrived thumb indents of the EL (which I never use) and very reminiscent of my old Dialyt 10x40 which I always got along well with. All in all a very ergonomic binocular into which a lot of thought had clearly been given.

I tried the 10 and 12x42 sans headrest first, then with (the chap at the S stand graciously transferring the headrest between the three x42s on request - thank you very much!). At first glance it looks gimmicky and does not seem made to the standard one might expect from the S name (though worth noting that the unit I experienced had survived dozens of shows and hundreds of people trying it). I also think given the price of the binocular it ought not to be sold as a separate accessory. But from the point of utility ... it works very well, making a noticeable difference with the 10x and more so at 12x. Not as effective as actual IS, but a definite help, especially if your birding involves being "in the glasses" for long periods. Very clever indeed. I'm surprised other manufacturers haven't introduced similar devices, as from what I gather the concept has been around for a while.

Image - superb, as one would expect, bright, extremely sharp, outstanding field of view practically all of which is sweet spot, which allied to a kind of cleanness to the image (more technically conversant folks might call it well corrected - the precise terminology and assessment is beyond me but I do notice it) made it a real pleasure to look through. I can't say I noticed a great difference in colour rendition between the EL / SLC (I tried the 10x50 EL SV and the 8x56 SLC both of which were every bit as impressive as I had remembered) and the NL under those conditions but in general I adapt to the (pretty small) differences in colour rendition quickly - for instance when I switched to my reference binocular (Nikon 10x42 SE) I noticed a slightly different colour cast straight away, but within 10 to 15 seconds had adapted to it.

(to be continued...)