Kowa BD II XD 8x32 Opinions? (1 Viewer)

[Maives]

I have decided the dark diagonal lines seen in low light conditions is unacceptable. I am sending them back for either replacement or a different binocular such as the Hawke ED-X 8x32. Called Kowa USA headquarters and they indicated they have no staff to answer the phone, so you have to communicate via email. Starting to be concerned about this company although I like the build of the BD II XD.

 

[Brink]

FWIW - I own both the 6.5x32 and the 8x32 and they both have the same blunt roof edge as Henry describes, causing spikes on bright light sources. I like the 6.5x32 much more than the 8x32. Glare is present, especially in low light situations (like indoor viewing toward a light source), but I don't find it to be much of an issue in most outdoor viewing situations. For all their technical inadequacies, I do like these binoculars. There are just tradeoffs. They have a huge FOV, but CA and distortion is a bit much outside of the center. They are small and lightweight while still being very rugged, but they exhibit some glare and have undersized prisms. They are pretty bright, but they don't have as rich of color or contrast as more expensive pairs. There is probably some sample variance as well. The prism orientation is different on my pairs, and the focus is different too. My 6.5x32s (second-hand) have a pretty loose focus with some slop in the wheel while my 8x32s have a stiffer focus with no slop.

 

[Maives]

FWIW - I own both the 6.5x32 and the 8x32 and they both have the same blunt roof edge as Henry describes, causing spikes on bright light sources. I like the 6.5x32 much more than the 8x32. Glare is present, especially in low light situations (like indoor viewing toward a light source), but I don't find it to be much of an issue in most outdoor viewing situations. For all their technical inadequacies, I do like these binoculars. There are just tradeoffs. They have a huge FOV, but CA and distortion is a bit much outside of the center. They are small and lightweight while still being very rugged, but they exhibit some glare and have undersized prisms. They are pretty bright, but they don't have as rich of color or contrast as more expensive pairs. There is probably some sample variance as well. The prism orientation is different on my pairs, and the focus is different too. My 6.5x32s (second-hand) have a pretty loose focus with some slop in the wheel while my 8x32s have a stiffer focus with no slop.

Any dark diagonal lines (edge of the prism?) in low light conditions with a source light on either side of the objectives? KOWA has a non-functioning customer service dept in the U.S. (they don't answer phones and don't return emails), glad I swapped it out for a Hawke Frontier 8x32. The Kowa BII-XD did have some positive features though and felt good in hand IMO.

 

[Brink]

Any dark diagonal lines (edge of the prism?) in low light conditions with a source light on either side of the objectives? KOWA has a non-functioning customer service dept in the U.S. (they don't answer phones and don't return emails), glad I swapped it out for a Hawke Frontier 8x32. The Kowa BII-XD did have some positive features though and felt good in hand IMO.

I can’t see the prism edge looking through the eyepiece in any conditions. I can only see its shadow on the wall when performing a star test like in Henry’s picture

 

[Peregrine Took]

Old thread, but after two days and several hours demo-ing, I have the BD 8x42 shortlisted with the Zeiss Conquest 8x32 (twice the price). IMHO the Kowa is that good - beating the Hawke ED X and APO, the Monarch M7 and the Zeiss Terra, among others. I found absolutely none of the problems with the Kowa's that people have experienced above.
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