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Message: <blockquote data-quote="David in NC" data-source="post: 3197550" data-attributes="member: 111913">I received the Opticrons today.Sadly, I wont have much time with them until the weekend.  I'm in court tomorrow, working tomorrow night, sleeping Thursday, working Thursday night, and sleeping half a day Friday.FIRST IMPRESSIONS:The bins were (of course) nicely packaged.  I could tell when grasping the box that they were going to heavier than I'd imagined them being.  Once in hand this was confirmed -they are heavier than the photos make you "think" they would be, and to me at least, they feel heavier than the specified 17.5 ounces.  I'm not saying that as a bad thing necessarily-they have a "SOLID" feel that exudes a sense of quality.  I'll try to remember to take them to work and weigh them on a drug scale.  :t:The provided case is totally sufficient for these bins and probably a touch nicer than I'd imagined at this price point.  The eyecups seemed to work well, but initially seemed like they didn't rotate up far enough, but I'm certain they cover the specified 15 mm of eye relief well enough, even if they don't "look" deeper.  The bins are shipped with very nice lens covers already in place.  The ocular lens guard is a one-piece hinged unit.  The objective lens covers are nicely done tethered rubber ones.  I thought I read a review somewhere saying they were the cheesy simple "cap-style" but I may be thinking of another model.  Regardless-NICE lens covers.I took them out and planned on setting them aside to prepare dinner but who was I kidding?  o<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" />  Remove a new binocular from the box and set it aside when I'm 15 feet from my front door, and a porch overlooking four feeders, while we still had good light left???  I took them out for about 30 minutes, and watched some birds (Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Song Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, and a couple of curious Blue Jays) and some squirrels.The close focus is advertized to be 5.9 feet-I can say that seems about right, and my sample MAY be a smidgeon better than that...around 5.0 feet (?)The hinge works well and definitely has sufficient tension.  It too seemed a tad more than I would have guessed it would have had, but this is an oh-so-good positive surprise for me.Center resolution was very good-I was pleasantly surprised when focusing on birds on the feeders, the raised warnings and lettering on vehicle tires in the drive, and bark detail across the street on hardwood trees.I was concerned that the area of sharp resolution in the center was going to be small-VERY SMALL-at first, but quickly decided that they may be more susceptible to glare problems and THAT could be affecting the edges rather than it being a purely optical issue.  More time in actual use in varied conditions is definitely in order to check out this issue.TO BE CONTINUED!</blockquote>

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