Minolta 7x35 Activa or Pentax 8X40 PCF ? (1 Viewer)

[die Schwalbe]

Hello!

I have problem to choose a binocular, maybe I can get some response here.
I am going to use the binocular for nature viewing(mostly dense forest), some birding, and aircraft spotting. Max price around 200 Euro.
I have looked at Minolta 7x35 Activa WP/FP and Pentax 8X40 PCF WP II.
The Minoltas are interesting with very large FOV but how many degrees of it are useful? They are light.
The Pentax seems to be more robust and with better mechanics. The FOV is small, but Ive heard that PCF series usually have very sharp edge, right?

The exitpupils are same on both binoculars but are they equal regarding brightness?

Which one would you recommend? Unfortunately I cant test in store before purchase.

 

[Otto McDiesel]

Interesting enough, i had the same dillema when looking for a pair of binoculars for my mother in law in Europe. I do love her, you know, so i bought the better one for her, the Pentax. They also seem to have better contrast and resolution and seem sharper. Make sure that you try the sample before you buy.

 

[Swedpat]

Eye relief

Interesting enough, i had the same dillema when looking for a pair of binoculars for my mother in law in Europe. I do love her, you know, so i bought the better one for her, the Pentax. They also seem to have better contrast and resolution and seem sharper. Make sure that you try the sample before you buy.

Hi Otto!

I am interested in the Pentax PCF WP model (recently updated to PCF WP II), my dilemma is if I shall choose the 8x40 or 10x50 model. The 10x50 model is praised all over the world by amateur astronomers for its great performance for the price. I am just wondering about the eye relief. It is stated as 20mm but at one picture I saw of the 8x40 the ocular lenses seemed to be "sinken down" (I don't know if that is a correct word for it) a bit (5-6mm?) in the oculars, which means that the effective eye relief should be considerable shorter. Do you know if you completely see the entire FOV with glasses on? That is the demand I have of binoculars.

Regards, Patric

 

[bstr]

HI die schwalbe

I would go for 7x35 activa myself it is what i use thay can focus down to 6ft and
very easy to use in the field, i only paid £35 don't know what that is in euro's but
you wont be disappointed with them regards IAN.

 

[Swedpat]

Ian!

I have looked through all of Minolta Activa binoculars, and they have all great optics. One disadvantage in comparison to the Pentax PCF WP (II) is the outer focusing system. The Pentax seems to be more durable. But I'm still consider to get a Minolta because of the better FOV. Especially if you compare the Minolta 7x35 to the Pentax 8x40. The same brightness index, 7x is moderately lower power than 8x, but nearly 50% wider FOV. (9,3/6,3 degrees) That means you get more than twice of the visible real area in the 7x35 than the 8x40. Maybe I get a Minolta 7x35 for the FOV, and the Pentax 10x50 for the optical performance...

Patric

 

[Peter_Perfect]

I have both pairs, the minolta 7x35 activa, the pentax 8x40 PCF.
Minolta, easy to handle, edge definition not so good, limited eye width (i.e my wife has a small face and finds the eyepieces do not get close enough together), rubber eye pieces, cheap. (Not sure they are being made any more.

Chunkier, heavier, optics good edge definition, pull out eyepieces,( i.e I wear glasses this make it easy to adapt). medium price. Optically better than the Minolta, minolta fits in the hand better. Eyepieces close to each other wife can use it better.

Pay your money and take your choice!

 

[KDGast]

I had the Pentax and have the Minota. Although the Pentax seemed to be more ruggedly built, I could never get a good clear image. I returned the Pentax to the store where they were purchased. The Minota, however, is bright and sharp with good contrast and the built quality is great. It nearly compares with my Nikon EII's

 

[Robert Ellis]

As I noted in my review of the Minoltas, check the binocular in person becuase Minolta may not have the best quality control on this model. The 7x35s I had very briefly were a great buy for the optics but had some problems in the optical path.

 

[marcus]

I sure wish that I had bought a 7x35 Minolta. I just got a 10x42 one, and to be nice, I'll just say that it isn't the greatest, except that they are pretty good when it's getting dark out.

 

[Swedpat]

I have recently got the Pentax 10x50 PCF WPII. They are a big disappointment and hold not up to the high standard the PCF-serie are known of. I have not been able to compare them to Minolta Activa WP FP side by side. My impression and thought is that the Minoltas are superior to the Pentax with better sharpness, however. Minolta have also better ER in practice, despite larger AFOV and that the technical specification shows the opposite.

Read my personal review at Cloudy nights forum:

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthre...6616/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1