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Is there a CL 7x21 Curio in my future? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter mfunnell
- Start date
Joe H
Well-known member
Just to nudge the thread back to birds and the little Curio, I'll attach two pictures I took with pocket bins of local birds. The first was taken through my Leica 8x20 Ulravids of an unusual owl in Anchorage last year. The second was taken yesterday through my Curios of a couple of Bald Eagles, very common up here. Both were taken using my bottom-of-the-line Samsung smart phone. The two pictures are rather different, so direct comparisons are not too meaningful, but the Curio seems to me to be easier to use as a cell phone digi-bin set up.
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John M Robinson
Well-known member
To me, comparing binoculars in a like class, the almost opera glass size tiny Trinovid, Ultravid and Swarovski, these 7x21 Curios are actual usable binoculars. The others seem more like a novelty, though there are many that love theirs.
Not a novelty at all, but they do take more input from the user to maximize their utilitarianism. I immediately put my Ultravid on a two week vacation when the Curio first showed up, but one day when doing some side-by-side usage, it was the Ultravid that found its way back into my pocket.
For a while out on the water I was wearing both and despite the greater ease of alignment with the Curio, still found both to be excellent options.
I'll readily rate the Curio higher for most people, but the Ultravid is still my favorite for its handling, focusing and color.
For taking pictures I've only had good luck with my larger binoculars, finding the Ultravid worthless for me and I can't believe what an excellent shot you got using it. Seeing how much better it is through the Curio doesn't surprise me at all, but it does make me regret not having given it a chance. Next time I think of it I'll have to try taking a few shots with the Curio, and it'll give me a nice excuse to pull it out of the display case.
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Joe H
Well-known member
Towards dusk today I took this picture of a Common Goldeneye on a bit of open water on an in-town lake using the Curio and my old Samsung smart phone. To reduce the vignetting I zoomed the phone to 3x (the max zoom on my phone is 4x). I held the bins vertically and centered the phone camera on the top barrel. The phone body was steadied on the bottom barrel. The Curio eyepiece rubber does a good job of holding the phone’s plastic in place. There was a lot of hand-shake, and a bunch of pictures were blurred, but the results on this picture are certainly ID-worthy.
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mfunnell
Registered Confuser
I received my Curios this afternoon. I’ve had time to attach the strap and do a quick functional check, set the diopter (easier that I’d guessed), test its fit in pockets and check it for views. I have not made any kind of full assessment, but my preliminary thoughts are:
…Mike
P.S. Mine are the black ones (well, to my eye, more black and dark grey, still: attractive-looking enough). That was Hobson’s choice: I couldn’t find anyone with stock locally and the only in-country online merchant I found with stock (in Adelaide) only had ‘black’ ones. I’m not sure which I’d have chosen if I had a real choice. But I’m fine with the ones I have.
- They’re a full one step down in in size from my Terra ED 8x25s (sure, my Carson 7x18s are two further steps down - but they’re only somewhat better than toys)
- The Curios are at least a full step up in quality of view from my Terra ED 8x25s
- The fit, finish and feel (including focus wheel) of the Curios is excellent
- These Curios are a good match to the main purpose I’ve bought them for (take-everywhere travel bins)
…Mike
P.S. Mine are the black ones (well, to my eye, more black and dark grey, still: attractive-looking enough). That was Hobson’s choice: I couldn’t find anyone with stock locally and the only in-country online merchant I found with stock (in Adelaide) only had ‘black’ ones. I’m not sure which I’d have chosen if I had a real choice. But I’m fine with the ones I have.
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mfunnell
Registered Confuser
Checking my Curios: past dusk, quite cloudy, and through medium-heavy rain - they still impress me.
I have to keep a temptation to over-praise in check. They are constrained by the limits of their 7x21 format. Yet they seem to do so well within those limits that they “punch well above their weight”. Very clean and sharp views, despite the dull and dim light.
I did check against larger-aperture bins and, of course, those did better (esp. my 10x56s
). But: the Curios weren’t embarrassed so much as legitimately outpaced on a course best suited to others.
…Mike
I have to keep a temptation to over-praise in check. They are constrained by the limits of their 7x21 format. Yet they seem to do so well within those limits that they “punch well above their weight”. Very clean and sharp views, despite the dull and dim light.
I did check against larger-aperture bins and, of course, those did better (esp. my 10x56s
). But: the Curios weren’t embarrassed so much as legitimately outpaced on a course best suited to others.…Mike
Checking my Curios: past dusk, quite cloudy, and through medium-heavy rain - they still impress me.
I have to keep a temptation to over-praise in check. They are constrained by the limits of their 7x21 format. Yet they seem to do so well within those limits that they “punch well above their weight”. Very clean and sharp views, despite the dull and dim light.
I did check against larger-aperture bins and, of course, those did better (esp. my 10x56s
…Mike
Let them have a second go in a chromatic aberration primed bright environment. Little Durio might be able to headbutted your 10x Goliath right in the nut (focus wheel)...
Aic
mfunnell
Registered Confuser
Well .. I’m not sure about that. The Curios have good CA control, and preliminary checks (it was brighter, earlier, Sydney summer and all) suggest CA is close-to absent at the centre of their view. But it does creep in, further out (not intrusively, but it’s there).
Meanwhile, I’d rate my 10x56 FLs as close to exemplary for CA control (though it’s not entirely absent, it’s really near-minimal). Credit where it’s due, and all, but I do need to check more carefully before crediting.
…Mike
If your 10x56 is an FL then never mind...
When I’ve checked, on axis the Curio was almost CA free while off axis you could see some minimal CA. Overall it was better, CA wise, than an older model EL (2001) and a UV+ I’ve compared it against (both ~8x).
Aic
Joe H
Well-known member
Congrats to Mike on the new acquisition. Given the small format, I find the optics are outstanding. I carry mine pretty much everywhere.
My one gripe is the strap mounting system. Besides the shiny wire mounts looking out of place on my black Curios, they are in the wrong place to allow the binoculars to hang nicely against the chest. If they were located further outboard, and slightly closer to the eye pieces, the bins would hang more unobtrusively. I think the Curio's balance, combined with the grippy rubber armor material, combined with poorly located strap mounts all contribute to the one thing that really bugs me about these otherwise great bins.
But I have a plan. I use mine with glasses and the eye pieces turned out about 1/8 of an inch. If I can fabricate a spacer with a small protrusion to rout the straps through, they'll hang just fine. I'll post an update if my plan works.
My one gripe is the strap mounting system. Besides the shiny wire mounts looking out of place on my black Curios, they are in the wrong place to allow the binoculars to hang nicely against the chest. If they were located further outboard, and slightly closer to the eye pieces, the bins would hang more unobtrusively. I think the Curio's balance, combined with the grippy rubber armor material, combined with poorly located strap mounts all contribute to the one thing that really bugs me about these otherwise great bins.
But I have a plan. I use mine with glasses and the eye pieces turned out about 1/8 of an inch. If I can fabricate a spacer with a small protrusion to rout the straps through, they'll hang just fine. I'll post an update if my plan works.
Robert Moore
Well-known member
Looks like Dennis is selling his 7x21.
I wasn't using the pocket that much. I wanted a 10x42 instead, so I bought an NL 10x42. Holy smoke, is that thing good! I think it is the best binocular I ever looked through.
Indeed because for some reason, he did not know that a 7x21 is not really the same thing as a 10x42.
But he found his new "best binoculars ever" till he sells them and replace them.
My guess would be by a pair of sunglasses or a 50" telescope maybe
For all your fussing about size, it is quite funny you bought the 10x42 Nl. Will it fit into your shirt pocket or any pocket, for that matter? Obviously, you missed the magnification, not to mention the AFOV that the Curio couldn't give you in both regards. You must have been blown away by the difference with the Nl.
I just curious (pun intended), why you didn't go for the 12x42 Nl?
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Too much shake. But the NL 12x42 might be tolerable with the head rest. The head rest really helps. I have heard nothing but good things about the 12x42.
I had some glare in the bottom of the NL 8x42, but the NL 8x32 is better on the fifth click stop. I really think the NL series are the best binoculars you can buy, especially if you like a huge FOV that is sharp to the edge. For me, they are the best binoculars I have ever looked through, and I have looked through a LOT of them. What is amazing about the NL is it must have a complex eyepiece with a lot of glass in it to have such sharp edges and such a corrected field, yet it still has remarkably high transmission of 91%. It must have very good coatings.Indeed because for some reason, he did not know that a 7x21 is not really the same thing as a 10x42.
But he found his new "best binoculars ever" till he sells them and replace them.
My guess would be by a pair of sunglasses or a 50" telescope maybe
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Robert Moore
Well-known member
The 12x42 has pretty much spoiled me.
The colors are perfect and the blacks are pure black with no smearing like on woodpecker where black meets white. Zero CA and perfect color rendition is something special in this bino and you really notice it when going back and forth between other binoculars.
The colors are perfect and the blacks are pure black with no smearing like on woodpecker where black meets white. Zero CA and perfect color rendition is something special in this bino and you really notice it when going back and forth between other binoculars.
Robert Moore
Well-known member
Other binoculars for me now in high contrast situations where black is involved the blacks always look a little blue to me. This is very subtle, but I still notice it.
