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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Pentax Ad 7x32 ED Binocular (1 Viewer)

Interesting bins but the e/ps look quite deep set in the eyecups so I suspect useable eye relief is probably not enough for me.
If they do suit me for e/r they could make a substitute for my retrovid 7s when it's raining heavily/persistently.
 
If I had to, I would look at the SD 7x42. If it is anything like their ZDEDs, it should be good, no nonsense pair.
 
I wanted to try the Pentax 7x32 ED because I think their Papilio is a great binocular for $100, so I ordered one from Amazon.com and got it a few days ago, so I have had time to field test it. It is an impressive binocular at the $300 price point. The FOV is 7.8 degrees, so it is right up there with most of the 7x binoculars, outside of the Zeiss 7x42 FL. It has ED glass, and it is very effective because I saw no CA in the center or on the edge of the FOV. These rank up there with the Zeiss FL for CA control, which are one of the best.
.
What surprised me is the FOV is sharp right to the edge, almost like a Swarovski EL. I didn't expect that! The Pentax is very sharp on-axis, and it is very bright for its aperture. These handle glare very well for their smaller aperture, compared to a 42 mm. They are very compact and light at about 20 oz. so they are easy to carry while hiking. The focuser is very smooth and easy and doesn't have any excessive play or stiction. The diopter setting is on the right eye cup and stays pretty much where you set it. The IPD hinge moves smoothly and has perfect tension to keep it from moving.

These are well armored and the armor appears durable and looks like it will last. The eye cups are comfortable and are big enough, so they don't go too far into your eye sockets and have two click stops and on the 2nd click stop I never had any black-outs at all and the eye placement was very comfortable with the large EP.

They come with a nice case and well padded strap with tethered objective covers and a one piece rain guard that attaches to the strap, so you don't need to go out and buy any accessories. Unlike the Leica Retrovid 7x35, these are totally waterproof and fog proof, being nitrogen filled. If you want a compact 7x, and you don't like the small 6.5 degrees FOV of the Maven C2 7x28, and you don't want to spend $1400 for the Leica Retrovid 7x35, these might fill the bill. I like them a lot.

There is a similar version made by Hawk called the Marine, but it is targeted towards the boating crowd, being blue. The Pentax are also available in a 10x32 ED or 7x42 ED and 10x42 ED if you want a little more light and easier eye placement with a bigger EP. The bigger models are still compact and only weigh 25 oz. which is pretty light for a 42 mm, and they retail for about $380.


FOV of Various 7x Binoculars
1) Zeiss FL 7x42 8.6 degree
2) Leica UVHD+ 7x42 8.0 degree
3) Leica Retrovid 7x42 8.0 degree
4) Pentax UD 7x32 HD 7.8 degree
5) Curio 7x21 7.7 degree
6) Maven C2 7x28 6.5 degree
7) Habicht 7x42 6.4 degree


P7080328.JPG
 
Nice review, they sound very promising.

Do they have dielectric coating? Hard to tell from the specs. I love my Hawke marine 7x32 but they are held back by their basic silver coating, otherwise they are ridiculously good for the price, as sharp as anything going basically.
 
[email protected] said:
I wanted to try the Pentax 7x32 ED because I think their Papilio is a great binocular for $100, so I ordered one from Amazon.com and got it a few days ago, so I have had time to field test it. It is an impressive binocular at the $300 price point. The FOV is 7.8 degrees, so it is right up there with most of the 7x binoculars, outside of the Zeiss 7x42 FL. It has ED glass, and it is very effective because I saw no CA in the center or on the edge of the FOV. These rank up there with the Zeiss FL for CA control, which are one of the best.
.
What surprised me is the FOV is sharp right to the edge, almost like a Swarovski EL. I didn't expect that! The Pentax is very sharp on-axis, and it is very bright for its aperture. These handle glare very well for their smaller aperture, compared to a 42 mm. They are very compact and light at about 20 oz. so they are easy to carry while hiking. The focuser is very smooth and easy and doesn't have any excessive play or stiction. The diopter setting is on the right eye cup and stays pretty much where you set it. The IPD hinge moves smoothly and has perfect tension to keep it from moving.

These are well armored and the armor appears durable and looks like it will last. The eye cups are comfortable and are big enough, so they don't go too far into your eye sockets and have two click stops and on the 2nd click stop I never had any black-outs at all and the eye placement was very comfortable with the large EP.

They come with a nice case and well padded strap with tethered objective covers and a one piece rain guard that attaches to the strap, so you don't need to go out and buy any accessories. Unlike the Leica Retrovid 7x35, these are totally waterproof and fog proof, being nitrogen filled. If you want a compact 7x, and you don't like the small 6.5 degrees FOV of the Maven C2 7x28, and you don't want to spend $1400 for the Leica Retrovid 7x35, these might fill the bill. I like them a lot.

There is a similar version made by Hawk called the Marine, but it is targeted towards the boating crowd, being blue. The Pentax are also available in a 10x32 ED or 7x42 ED and 10x42 ED if you want a little more light and easier eye placement with a bigger EP. The bigger models are still compact and only weigh 25 oz. which is pretty light for a 42 mm, and they retail for about $380.


FOV of Various 7x Binoculars
1) Zeiss FL 7x42 8.6 degree
2) Leica UVHD+ 7x42 8.0 degree
3) Leica Retrovid 7x42 8.0 degree
4) Pentax UD 7x32 HD 7.8 degree
5) Curio 7x21 7.7 degree
6) Maven C2 7x28 6.5 degree
7) Habicht 7x42 6.4 degree


View attachment 1519810
Click to expand...
Looks like the eyecups on the Canon IS.
 

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  • FB2925E7-36C6-4B1A-8975-889EB4B1BAA9.png
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mulligatawny owl said:
Nice review, they sound very promising.

Do they have dielectric coating? Hard to tell from the specs. I love my Hawke marine 7x32 but they are held back by their basic silver coating, otherwise they are ridiculously good for the price, as sharp as anything going basically.
Click to expand...
They don't mention dielectric coatings in the specs, but I would think a new binocular like this would have them. Regardless, they seem very bright to me for the aperture when I compare them to my other binoculars. Silver coatings are 95-98% reflective versus Dielectric coatings which are 99%, so there isn't a huge difference anyway.
 
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I have the Hawke 7x32 and it is extremely good. I have been tempted by the Pentax 7x42, but was waiting to see more reviews. It is likely similar to the 7x32, so it is looking good.
 
Cest said:
I have the Hawke 7x32 and it is extremely good. I have been tempted by the Pentax 7x42, but was waiting to see more reviews. It is likely similar to the 7x32, so it is looking good.
Click to expand...
The 7x42 would be better in low light and the eye placement would be easier than the 7x32. The 7x32 has a bigger FOV and of course is lighter.
 
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has530 said:
Have you tried the bigger canons? I have the 15x50 and the eyecups are utterly useless.
Click to expand...
Yes, I hate them! I tried the Canon 15x50 IS and 18x50 IS, and the eye cups didn't work on either for me. I like the Sig Sauer Zulu 6 16x42 and 10x30. They have much better adjustable eye cups that are very comfortable compared to the torture devices on the Canons. The optics on the Sig Sauers are much better also with less CA, better contrast, the IS works better, the armor won't melt, they are much lighter and smaller, and they are brighter for comparable aperture.
 
[email protected] said:
Yes, I hate them! I tried the Canon 15x50 IS and 18x50 IS, and the eye cups didn't work on either for me. I like the Sig Sauer Zulu 6 16x42 and 10x30. They have much better adjustable eye cups that are very comfortable compared to the torture devices on the Canons. The optics on the Sig Sauers are much better also with less CA, better contrast, the IS works better, the armor won't melt, they are much lighter and smaller, and they are brighter for comparable aperture.
Click to expand...
The optics are better than the cannons, really? I am sensing an IS sale ad in the works.. Anybody want participate in the drawing , when the baby will be born? 😏.
 
I tried this one today. Not bad, CA certainly not a problem. Could it have been brighter and sharper? Will come back in a couple of days.
 

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