Retrovid 7X35 a viable birding binocular? (2 Viewers)

[NDhunter]

The Retrovid's eyecup diameter is 33mm, the thickness about 4mm. I find them sufficiently comfortable in my eye sockets.

Cheers,
Holger

Holger, I logged onto your Binoculars Corner site, I had not for years. I see you are working on an English
translation of your book, good thing as it was asked for from the start. I do not see your review of the Leica
7x35 Classic, did you do a formal review, as you do with many others ?
Thanks, Jerry

 

[Holger Merlitz]

Thanks, Holger. I don't have millimeters on my tape measure, so I used rapid tables to convert the numbers on the eyecup width and thickness on my porros's eyecups since they have thin rubber eyecups. The SE and E2's eyecups are about 10mm wider than RV's. The 6x30 Fuji's are narrower at 34mm.

If I made my measurements correct (hard to see down to 16ths of an inch, let alone 32nds), all three porros' eyecups are thinner than the RV's--no more than half as thick. So, the RV's eyecups' thickness should fit me fine, and the width should also be fine since the SE and E2's eyecups are on the wide side, and the SE in particular, which has longer ER, barely fits into my eye sockets, so I have to dig my face into the eyecups to see the field stop. If I invert the SE's eyecups, so that the rigid bottom of the eyecus is facing up, then I can see the full FOV more easily.

The other factor, the RV's ergonomics, is something I will have to find out with bin in hands. It looks like there's room for my fingers to wrap around each barrel, however, that huge diopter wheel intruding into that space might hit my fingers. The photos they show in the ads are with the RV's bridge closed (maximum IPD), so it's hard to tell if my fingers will fit in the space or get squished up against that protruding diopter, which looks to have sharp edges. Wish that diopter wheel had been flatter.

Here's what Roger from scopeviews.com said about the RV's ergonomics:

One downside of the Trinovid’s small size is that big hands might find them a bit fiddly, gloved hands struggle with the small focuser wheel.

I haven't heard any complaints about the diopter wheel causing hand/finger discomfort, and though my hands are large, my fingers are thin. So, I'm hopeful that will work, too.

The upside the RV's design is that unlike the bulging V-shaped EDG bridge, the RV's wide flat rectangular bridge gives a better platform to rest your fingers. I can't hold binoculars stable with my fingers alone. I also need to grip them with the palms and heels of my hand.

Thanks again.
Brock

Hi Brock,

No worries, the Retrovid feels so nice in the hands that you will forget about all those details. I don't know where my fingers are during observations, I simply enjoy using this binocular

Cheers,
Holger

 

[Holger Merlitz]

Holger, I logged onto your Binoculars Corner site, I had not for years. I see you are working on an English
translation of your book, good thing as it was asked for from the start. I do not see your review of the Leica
7x35 Classic, did you do a formal review, as you do with many others ?
Thanks, Jerry

Hi Jerry,

So far I haven't reviewed the 7x35 on my webpage - I have become lazy in recent years! But as mentioned by Neil, I will contribute such a review to his new book which is going to come out later this year.

My English translation is done and I am in the process of finding a publisher now. Hope that this will be finalized soon ...

Cheers,
Holger

 

[brocknroller]

Hi Brock,

No worries, the Retrovid feels so nice in the hands that you will forget about all those details. I don't know where my fingers are during observations, I simply enjoy using this binocular

Cheers,
Holger

That's how I am with most porros. I just naturally grab them and start using them without thinking about where to place my hands, but that's not always the case with roofs, which are narrow for my large hands and usually require some thought about where my hands and fingers need to go for the most stable grip.

But with ergonomics that are well matched to may hands, I can pick up even with small roofs such as the Cabela 8x32 Guide, which are only 4 3/4" long by 4 1/2" wide (for my IPD), and use them without worry. The Guide's shape is similar to the Swaro CL in that the bridge is narrow and set back toward the EPs, which leaves ample room for my fingers to wrap around the barrels.

Another roof that I could grab without thinking about it was the Swaro 8x32 EL. It's like Swaro used my hands as model to design them. Perfect match. However, the terrible glare problem and too loose/too sticky focuser were deal breakers.

Thanks,
Brock