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Message: <blockquote data-quote="brocknroller" data-source="post: 1626080" data-attributes="member: 665">The difference is 1/2 turn. The full sized LX goes from close focus to infinity in about one turn, the mid-sized only takes 1/2 turn. I'm assuming the same difference with the 8x42 Monarch and the 8x32 LX. I haven't tried the 8x42 Monarch, only the 8x36, which as I recall, took a little over a turn from min to max. Doesn't sound like a lot of difference when you write it out, but in the field that translates to moving through the intervening distance between close focus and infinity at twice the speed with the 8x32 model. Imagine driving your car at 40 mph on a two-lane road and then letting her rip at 80 mph on the Interstate. Big difference? You betcha, especially when the state trooper pulls you over for going over the speed limit (except in Texas and Utah). Which is why with a faster focusing bin that there is no room for slack in the focuser. The focuser on my first sample 8x32 LX had backlash, and I was always overshooting my targets. From reading the reviews of this bin in the BF review section, it seemed like a common complaint, so I figured they were all this way and sold the LX. Then I read elsewhere on BF that sample variation runs rampart with focusers (even at the alpha level with the first-run Ultravids). So I figured I'd give the 8x32 LX another try, and lo and behold, I hit the jackpot the second time, with a focuser that is not only silky smooth but also precise. The new sample still took some getting used to after using my slow Nikon porro focusers for a year or two in between the two samples, but once I did, I appreciated not missing an ID like I used to because I simply couldn't get there quick enough with my porros. It could be an internal defect in the bins, as Kimmo mentioned, however, my experience with the LX series (5 samples - 1 8x42, 2 10x42s, and 2 8x32s) showed them to be very consistent except for the focuser speed, which varied from sample to sample. Given this common experience and the differences in atmospheric pressure, there are "human factors" that could account for the focus accommodation issue. I would try to rule those out (if possible) before sending the bin back to Nikon. Yes, I hope Horu is okay too. He said he was going on a birding trip this weekend. According to the news wire report, the most dangerous areas were in the cities where large buildings collapsed. These quakes in the Indian Ocean have been a recurring nightmare over the past few years. Some of these islands formed from volcanic cones, and the whole chain of islands closely follows the tectonic plate boundary:<a href="http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/graphics/earthquake_concen.gif" target="_blank">http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/graphics/earthquake_concen.gif</a>So this is something that Indian Ocean islanders have had to cope with for generations. Godspeed Horu!</blockquote>

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