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="Patudo" data-source="post: 3808770" data-attributes="member: 139299">Had to go back a few pages to find an appropriate thread.  Last month I too was able to use the 10x42 model (owned by a fellow birder) for about 15 minutes or so.  The following commentary is largely based on notes I took the same day.  It was about 10.30 local time, conditions very bright sunlight with a light breeze.  I had an 8x32 FL (green) on hand - my regular birding binocular which I am very familiar with.  Optically - very, very sharp, especially center field.  Superb resolution showing exceptional detail both close (spotted-necked doves at about 20m - the spots provided a good test of detail - and foliage of trees about 150m away) and far (details of buildings over 900m away). Strong saturated colours, but I like that, as distance all too often leaches out colour.  I like the colour rendition.  Well baffled, as other commentators have noted.  I tried it over an area particularly prone to creating veiling glare (angle of the sun contacting morning haze).  In that situation it seemed to control stray light better than the 8x32 FL (obviously not quite an apples to apples comparison) - not by a huge amount, but noticeable.  Image strikes me as having similar brightness, clarity and cleanness to the FL and EL SV.  I'll specifically check for CA if I get to use one again, but suspect one would need to go looking for it, unless CA is something one is sensitive to.  The 8x42 I tried at Birdfair 2017 gave me the impression of being a little like the image offered by larger exit pupil binoculars (I realize this sounds a bit kooky and would like to try one again).  I didn't see this with the 10x42, although of course with this binocular you have the same objective size with 2x more magnification. The ultimate test for the birding I do - tracking tiny distant targets in the sky - I wasn't able to do this time round, as the birds we were watching didn't take to the air.  I think it'd do very well, but probably not better at this particular job than other alphas.  Field of view - appears to have a bit more than the 10x40 Dialyt I am very familiar with, although actual FOV is only slightly more (112m vs 110m).  Not as much as the SF, but certainly enough for field use.  Tons of eye relief. I had no trouble getting and maintaining perfect eye placement from the start.  Definitely not as finicky as the 8x32 FL.  Ergonomics/Handling -  Focus speed quick but still precise. Focus feel: smooth, precise, weighted very well.  It didn't feel all that much bigger than the 10x40 Dialyt in hand - heavier, yes, and bigger, but not by all that much.  More compact than the SF definitely, and the 10x42 SV too I think.  I could still get my fingers around the barrels.  (I specifically checked for this.)  So the open bridge is still of utility, at least to this particular user.  Not acres of room, so if you have hands like Tyson Fury, you won't be able to use it.  But for me, fine. The barrels aren't perfectly round in cross-section but are contoured, with the idea I suppose of fitting your hand grip more naturally.  This sounds a bit gimmicky - I can't say it made a material difference to its feel in hand to me. Rubber armouring seems a bit stickier than the 8.5 Swaro (albeit this was in 30+ degree Celsius and tropical humidity) but not an issue.  I personally prefer slicker surfaces like how the Dialyt rubber armour gets after long use. It does feel a fair bit heavier coming from the plastic 8x32FL, but gives the impression of being very solid.  Very confidence-inspiring in terms of build quality.  Quite similar to an EL in that respect.  About the only niggle I found was that the focus wheel was a bit too close to my face.  I think the SF does handle better.  But ergonomically the NV is still very good.  I'd say it is in the same league as the 8.5 handling wise. Overall - very good package for a 10x42 that delivers a superb image (although when I went back to the 8x32 FL I had to note that although the differences between the two could be noticed by the critical eye they were objectively very small). Top class build quality.  I can't offer an opinion on value as they are out of my price range and everyone will likely have his/her opinion on that anyway.  But the product itself is very impressive.</blockquote>

Verification