"Inexpensive" 8x32 Binocular Comparative Review (1 Viewer)

[black crow]

Could she please be my friend too?

She seems to be fixated on me at the moment. She offered to buy me the $1100 pair but I actually liked the others better. It must be apparent by now that she's rich. And believe it or not I found that out after we became friends. Our dogs actually did the work of connecting us.

It's really been fun playing the "expert" with all the knowledge that I picked up on this site from all you slightly loony and cranky bino addicts.

I still plan on throwing in my two cents on the Zen 8x32 and they should be here any day. Frankly I'm expecting big things from those little guys.

 

[FrankD]

Ah! The "I have a cute dog" trick! I used that one in college when I first picked up my last dog. Nothing cuter than a Golden Retriever as a puppy. Sadly, he passed on a year ago in June. Made it to 16 years. Now I have the significant other's dog and her son's to keep me occupied.

Now, who would have thunk that having bino knowledge would have been effective in looking intelligent for a woman? Mine just shakes her head any time I bring it up and comments about my silly hobbies.

On a serious note, I do look forward to hearing your thoughts on the Zen Ray. In all honesty the Zen Ray does beat the Sightron in a few optical areas. The contrast and apparent brightness are both a bit better in the Zen Ray though I prefer the overall viewing experience in the Sightron. I would be happy to use the Zen Ray as my regular birding binocular if I did not already own the Sightrons.

 

[Sancho]

She seems to be fixated on me at the moment. She offered to buy me the $1100 pair but I actually liked the others better. It must be apparent by now that she's rich. And believe it or not I found that out after we became friends. Our dogs actually did the work of connecting us.

Black Crow, it is very important that you follow carefully this advice: you must never let this lady slip away. A man can find a woman that loves him, he can find a woman that loves dogs, and very, very rarely he can find a woman that loves binoculars. But you may be the first man in existence to find a woman that loves, you, and dogs, and binoculars.

 

[marinemaster]

Wise words

 

[A2GG]

Yes Crow...you need to hang on to your new girlfriend.

Maybe when I go for my binocular purchase in 2014 some random
guy will buy the bin for me LOL...I won't hold my breath on that one.

One time a guy bought me a Samick recurve bow (archery) on our first date ! That was very impulsive of him. I needed a bow for an archery class I just signed up for. We drove by a sporting goods store on our date and I asked if we could just pop in there real quick so that I could look quickly at the bows. Both the bow and him didn't work out though. The bow was too small for my height and I had to return it and the guy only lasted about a month and a half. I also did the archery classes only for a short while, as my shoulders couldn't take the punishment. Then I took up bird watching ! So, it all worked out in the end really.

 

[perterra]

Yes Crow...you need to hang on to your new girlfriend.

Maybe when I go for my binocular purchase in 2014 some random
guy will buy the bin for me LOL...I won't hold my breath on that one.

One time a guy bought me a Samick recurve bow (archery) on our first date ! That was very impulsive of him. I needed a bow for an archery class I just signed up for. We drove by a sporting goods store on our date and I asked if we could just pop in there real quick so that I could look quickly at the bows. Both the bow and him didn't work out though. The bow was too small for my height and I had to return it and the guy only lasted about a month and a half. I also did the archery classes only for a short while, as my shoulders couldn't take the punishment. Then I took up bird watching ! So, it all worked out in the end really.

So thats what happened to the bow, :-O alas, it was fun while it lasted.

 

[A2GG]

So thats what happened to the bow, :-O alas, it was fun while it lasted.

was that you ? lol.

 

[FrankD]

Annabeth,

I could have hooked you up......

....with the bow that is. I once worked in the archery industry.

 

[black crow]

Black Crow, it is very important that you follow carefully this advice: you must never let this lady slip away. A man can find a woman that loves him, he can find a woman that loves dogs, and very, very rarely he can find a woman that loves binoculars. But you may be the first man in existence to find a woman that loves, you, and dogs, and binoculars.

Thanks for the advice brother. I can certainly understand why a woman would love binoculars and would love dogs but loving me makes her very suspect.

On to other matters. I received the Zen Ray 8x32s this after noon and they are already on there way back. While the optics dead center were all I could have hoped for in a $200 bin I had several issues that made it a no go for me. Looking through them gave me the same issue I have with my 7x36 Zens. There is a bright ring of light (mirror like) around the whole edge of the view. It's very distracting to me. I got used to it with the 7x36 but in these it's even more pronounced. It just wreaks my concentration. Also they are really kind of hard to hang on to. Too small for my medium sized hands I'd say. Finally I was getting partial black outs way too often and they were hard to center up to my eye. I had to search too hard for the correct position. Too bad. I did really notice the light weight though and that was very nice.

But the good news is I just ordered a pair of 8x32 Sightron and I know I'll be happy with them. Donna put her pair in the refrigerator for about 40 minutes and it didn't seem to effect the focuser at all. My old pair, bought a couple years ago would have been a really stiff focus at that temp.

That's my story friends and I'm stickin to it.

 

[perterra]

was that you ? lol.

Sorry, I couldnt help myself. :-O

 

[A2GG]

Annabeth,

I could have hooked you up......

....with the bow that is. I once worked in the archery industry.

Oh cool ! I really enjoyed it when I was doing it, but I had joint pain especially in my shoulders beforehand which was exacerbated when drawing the bow and holding it. I tried compound bow once and that was just too heavy. I need to someday get my shoulder pain looked into. I just have the feeling it will involve surgery, so I've been avoiding it. I even have burning pain when holding the bins up after a while...and blow drying my hair, etc.

 

[Chosun Juan]

Frank - thanks for the great review!

Beth - An expert opinion is always worthwhile, especially if scans etc reveal the true situation. You can always say no to anything invasive like surgery. Mine needed it, but I chose not to, and after 4 years there's a little bit of muscle growth again, and a bit more hope for the future - physio (and time) works wonders!



Chosun :gh:

 

[FrankD]

Glad you enjoyed it. I am going to add a review of the Opticron SRGA 8x32 porro shortly too. I will post a separate thread but will do comparisons with a few of the highest performing 8x32 roofs in this review as well.

 

[black crow]

Frank I'm going to suggest you review the Eagle Optics Ranger 8x32 if you can lay hands on one. I've very impressed with this bin and would love your opinion on it.

 

[Sancho]

Glad you enjoyed it. I am going to add a review of the Opticron SRGA 8x32 porro shortly too. I will post a separate thread but will do comparisons with a few of the highest performing 8x32 roofs in this review as well.

I´d like to see your take on the SRGA. I had a pair and found them excellent, except for the very short eyepieces, which meant the bridge was very close to my eyes, or more particularly my nose, which is larger than average, so that the metal of the bridge chafed on my nose-bridge constantly.

 

[FrankD]

Frank I'm going to suggest you review the Eagle Optics Ranger 8x32 if you can lay hands on one. I've very impressed with this bin and would love your opinion on it.

BC,

I can send an email to Ben Lizdas to see if he will send me out one. My finances are extremely limited at this time as I just paid a huge tax bill today. I would look forward to comparing it with some of the other models I didn't have to ship back yet.

Sancho,

In mine brief time using it I was impressed with the SRGA. I haven't had a chance to take it out of the box since but will try to give it a shot over the next few days.