I like slower focus (1 Viewer)

[etc]

I've had several alphas in the last decade from Leica, Swarovski and Zeiss and IMO I don't like the trend towards faster focus. Why? Because it harder to zoom to a specific setting. I tend to overshoot a bit and then go back. When the focus is slow or slower, it's easier to dial in precisely to the value you want.

I do understand the rationale for fast focus, you are watching moving objects and need to rapidly adjust the focus. However in my experience that has rarely happened. Almost never in fact. Even with moving objects, once you dial in to a setting, they tend to stay in that range with very little need for adjustment.

The other stupid, IMO, trend is close focus. I don't care to see fleas on a butterfly 10 feet away. I do want higher values for diopter value at infinity being severely myopic.

 

[Upland]

I prefer a medium focus as it helps me keep objects in focus. As for close focus I don’t use it much but occasionally for me it’s nice to have. Don’t think it’s stupid though especially for plenty of folks on this forum who use it quite a bit. To each their own.

 

[Maljunulo]

The other stupid, IMO, trend is close focus. I don't care to see fleas on a butterfly 10 feet away. I do want higher values for diopter value at infinity being severely myopic.

I thought fleas only infested mammals.

Guess I learned something today.

 

[quincy88]

Interesting thoughts etc.
I'm pretty agnostic on the close focus. A short close focus is cool, and I do like it, but I hardly ever actually use it.
Do you think that there is a sweet spot as far as the focus speed? If so, what do you prefer? Does it depend on magnification? For example, does a pair of low magnification binoculars with a long depth of field need a different focus speed than a pair high magnification binoculars with a shallow depth of field? Have you noticed the trend towards faster focus levelling out? It kind of seems like each successive generation isn't necessarily faster than the previous one at this point, but I'm not sure.

 

[james holdsworth]

Sounds like you don’t use your bins for birding, especially passerine birding, where fast (but precise) focus is essential.

 

[etc]

I would say birding falls under 10% of my usage. A good 40-50% is astronomy and the rest is misc. nature.

Swaro EL is too fast for me. The last of the 1st gen. I think the original 1999 EL would have been just right for me.
Zeiss SF is too fast and so is Zeiss HT. I can't remember how fast or slow Leica was. Fast focus is especially aggravating in a device with a relatively shallow depth of field. I would slow them down but not significantly, maybe by 20%. I did learn to use fast focus with desired results.

You can still operate a slow focus in a fast mode if you turn it fast. You cannot slow down a fast focus but you can operate a smooth 'slow' focus with sufficient speed.

 

[Nethero]

I've had several alphas in the last decade from Leica, Swarovski and Zeiss and IMO I don't like the trend towards faster focus. Why? Because it harder to zoom to a specific setting. I tend to overshoot a bit and then go back. When the focus is slow or slower, it's easier to dial in precisely to the value you want.

I do understand the rationale for fast focus, you are watching moving objects and need to rapidly adjust the focus. However in my experience that has rarely happened. Almost never in fact. Even with moving objects, once you dial in to a setting, they tend to stay in that range with very little need for adjustment.

The other stupid, IMO, trend is close focus. I don't care to see fleas on a butterfly 10 feet away. I do want higher values for diopter value at infinity being severely myopic.

Going from memory here, but I believe the EDG II has/had a dual speed focuser, which is/was simply perfect. Slower when focusing on something within 10 yards, but faster when focusing on items beyond that. Combined with how smooth it was, it was the best focuser I have ever experienced.

Otherwise it often seems that focus speed might be set based off of the determined use of the binos by the manufacturer.

SLC- slower focus. EL- faster focus. HT- slower-ish. SF- faster. Historically faster focus speed is in birding oriented binos and slower focusing speeds are in hunting oriented ones.

I really do miss the EDG, if nothing more than for its focus.

 

[etc]

I think I like the HT focus comparing it with EL, SF and Leica BA/BN.

I need the slower focus especially on distant items. With EL, I kept going back and forth. It didn't help any with moving objects either, like birds. I just could not instantly dial it in to where I wanted it. Moving objects made it more frustrating. Because using the EL focus meant adjusting it back and forth.
There is a reason why focus speed was what it was for decades. There is nothing revolutionary or positive in speeding it up.

I need to run more tests on my Zeiss HT 10x54 but it appears to be nicer than the other models I had access to. Not perfect but it does not appear to aggravate me like EL.
It's not just the speed, it's the granularity of it.

 

[etudiant]

Think the Canon 10x42ISL is the slow focus champ, the near to far focuser range is almost three full turns.
That can be frustrating if a bird if flying away from a nearby spot.
Against that, it is exceptionally effective for peering through the brush, the slow and narrow focus just pulls through the obstacles as if it were a slide show.

 

[james holdsworth]

I’m not sure of the numbers but I would venture that a very tiny fraction of low power bins are sold to astronomers, thus very slow focus is never going to suit the vast majority of buyers and manufacturers know this.

 

[Patudo]

I have to admit a slower focus really suits the birding I do. When following distant raptors I have to be extremely careful with the focus wheel with some binoculars like the 8x32 FL in order not to overshoot (and instantly lose the bird). I also prefer the weight of the focus wheel to be heavier/stiffer than most binoculars are.

That said, for close-in birding at say 10 to say 50 yards, observing birds that are rapidly moving here and there, the 8x32 FL and similar fast focusing modern roofs are superb. It's a brilliant birding weapon, for that kind of birding.

quincy88 raises a good point re: the correlation between magnification and focus speed. My instinct is that 7x binoculars should have fairly fast focus travel whereas higher mag should have slower focus to enable greater precision. But everyone will probably (and validly) have their own preference...

 

[chill6x6]

I think I like the HT focus comparing it with EL, SF and Leica BA/BN.

I need the slower focus especially on distant items. With EL, I kept going back and forth. It didn't help any with moving objects either, like birds. I just could not instantly dial it in to where I wanted it. Moving objects made it more frustrating. Because using the EL focus meant adjusting it back and forth.
There is a reason why focus speed was what it was for decades. There is nothing revolutionary or positive in speeding it up.

I need to run more tests on my Zeiss HT 10x54 but it appears to be nicer than the other models I had access to. Not perfect but it does not appear to aggravate me like EL.
It's not just the speed, it's the granularity of it.

So I take it you bought the HT 10X54? What do you think about it?

 

[paddy7]

With focus speed i think there is the argument for the 'only one binocular' approach; repeated use of one set develops a muscle-memory and an almost instinctive finger-speed.
The fastest i have is a Vanguard Endeavor EDII - incredibly rapid, and very difficult to control until i've spent a day or two back with it. Moving back to a Zeiss FL creates problems in that direction too!
Of course, some are just slow, no matter how used to them you get. I always find the Nikon EII 8x30 (although a delight to take out on a dry day) a bit too off-the-pace when it comes to unpredictable birding.
How Chuck copes with his multitude of bins i don't know! Perhaps multi-tasking muscle-memory?

 

[GeorgeL]

Not that I would want one but why don’t binoculars have dual speed focus knobs, like some telescopes and spotting scopes?

 

[Maljunulo]

Not that I would want one but why don’t binoculars have dual speed focus knobs, like some telescopes and spotting scopes?

How much extra are you willing to pay for that "feature"?

 

[GeorgeL]

Not that I would want one but why don’t binoculars have dual speed focus knobs, like some telescopes and spotting scopes?

Well, at least with telescopes most EP’s are not parfocal to one another, especially between brands, so the rough focus is practical, and somewhat necessary depending on the scope. But on spotting scopes I don’t know if they’re all that necessary.

 

[YuShan]

The other stupid, IMO, trend is close focus.

Funny how we are all different. I use close focus a lot. For insects, lizards and even birds sometimes (skulking birds are sometimes right in front of your feet, hidden in a bush). And a few months ago I had a nice stand-off with a weasel that was right in front of my feet. We kept staring at each other. It was wonderful to view it using my close focus.

I'm not sure if lack of close focus would be a total deal breaker for me, but I would really really miss it if I had to do without.

 

[etc]

So I take it you bought the HT 10X54? What do you think about it?

will post a review shortly

 

[etc]

How do you define "close"? To me close is 10m.

 

[PYRTLE]

How do you define "close"? To me close is 10m.

Under 5 metres for me......useful for looking into dense undergrowth trying to follow a moving skulker.