BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="RJM" data-source="post: 1702774" data-attributes="member: 66340">Silly me. I had been following the wrong USPS tracking# all week and had thought my package fell off the postal truck. So I was suprised when my spanky new Legends Ultra HDs were delivered this morning. This is one impressive package deal. Excellent clamshell hardcase. Probably the best harness I have seen even though wearing it will make me a true bino geek! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> Very nice padded strap too. The flip down mongramed lens covers were an unexpected surprise. Mechanical construction and optics...well let me say I am somewhat giddy. If they field test today as good as they appear so far I will be dancing the jig.  Excellent ergonomics with cushy soft rubber thumb indents. Easy one-hand operation. Fast focus taking less than 1/4 turn from infinity to ~10m. Going from ~10m to 1.5m takes another 3/4. Tactile smooth turning knob. Firm twist lock eyecups and locking diopter adjustement. Weight 745g including rainguard, lens covers and strap attachements. So about ~100g more than the bare spec 635g. Optics: Clear aperture is 42mm from infinity to close focus.Nice objective lens AR coatings.WIDE FoV! Almost as wide as the Nikon 8x32 EII and wider than the Swift 820 that is spec'd at 430ft/1000ft!Eyerelief good enough to see most of the field even with sunglasses.Very large sweet spot blending into mild field curvature that I find easy to focus adapt. The last bit near the edge has some astigmatism. Pincushion distortion about equal to the Swift but seems more than the EII. The ED glass does its job, eliminating all lateral color and improving saturation. Seems also to have the same warm tint as the Swift ED while both the EII and Kowa BD seem whiter (or maybe brighter?). Frankly, if I did not have these side-by-side to compare I probably would not notice tint. All for now. Heading out soon to the park for some field work. I plan on taking these to Hokkaido the first week of Feb. to see Stellar's Sea and White Tailed Eagles so I can report about sub-zero temp performance afterwards. cheers,Rick</blockquote>

Verification