If anyone has tried or owns these, please tell me your favorite one, and why. Or if you have compared these to other brands in their price range, please tell me how they compare. Specifically, how severe and where is the chromatic aberration within the FOV, and how well do they resolve detail toward the edges?
I realize the 44mm is more for daytime (and has a much wider claimed FOV...perhaps the widest of all brands in the 42-44mm size)...and the 52 is for low light and dark. However, do any of you feel the 52 might resolve more detail than the 44, simply because of the larger objective size...even in daylight? (This should make the larger exit pupil almost irrelevent, since our pupils get smallest during brighter daylight viewing).
I'm personally considering either of these, because most of the wildlife is on the move at the beginning and end of the day, and occasionally I do astronomy...but not more than 10% of the time.
I also like to watch some sports and do some birding in mid-day on occasion, so I'm also torn between trying the 42mm size and the 32mm size.
The specs and reviews of the Vanguard Endeavor series look like they might be better optically for less money (than the Minox BL), but the Vanguards have a much narrower field of view. The Alpen Wings ED look interesting also, as do the Vortex Talon HD...but the Talons cost as much or more as the Minox BL.
So I guess the main question is, do either of these Minox BL's make adequate use of their wider FOV to justify paying more?
Personally, I rank hand-holding comfort and ergonomics as secondary, to optical performance.
Oh, and do any of you have a favorite binocular measurement website? The only one I have found which outlines a lot of parameters, is allbinos.com, located in Poland. I especially like their measurement of light transmission, and also the photos of the internal reflections of the barrels.
Carl
I realize the 44mm is more for daytime (and has a much wider claimed FOV...perhaps the widest of all brands in the 42-44mm size)...and the 52 is for low light and dark. However, do any of you feel the 52 might resolve more detail than the 44, simply because of the larger objective size...even in daylight? (This should make the larger exit pupil almost irrelevent, since our pupils get smallest during brighter daylight viewing).
I'm personally considering either of these, because most of the wildlife is on the move at the beginning and end of the day, and occasionally I do astronomy...but not more than 10% of the time.
I also like to watch some sports and do some birding in mid-day on occasion, so I'm also torn between trying the 42mm size and the 32mm size.
The specs and reviews of the Vanguard Endeavor series look like they might be better optically for less money (than the Minox BL), but the Vanguards have a much narrower field of view. The Alpen Wings ED look interesting also, as do the Vortex Talon HD...but the Talons cost as much or more as the Minox BL.
So I guess the main question is, do either of these Minox BL's make adequate use of their wider FOV to justify paying more?
Personally, I rank hand-holding comfort and ergonomics as secondary, to optical performance.
Oh, and do any of you have a favorite binocular measurement website? The only one I have found which outlines a lot of parameters, is allbinos.com, located in Poland. I especially like their measurement of light transmission, and also the photos of the internal reflections of the barrels.
Carl