Review of Kowa BD II 6.5x32 XD (1 Viewer)

[Troubador]

Nice proximity to the GE - but I'm fascinated to hear more about you doing the washing up Lee ! :eek!: :-O

Chosun :gh:

Me and Troubadoris share washing up chores CJ.
And BTW, I do the cooking.....

The GE was stunning but more charming were the Brown Hares that visited almost every evening. See the pic.

Lee

 

[Troubador]

Thanks Lee for the great review! And the pics!

That’s one of the few binocular’s I AM tempted by. Especially me being a 7Xish fan. I’m also intrigued by the new/old Trinovid. I haven’t bought a binocular in SEVERAL months!!

Thanks Chuck, its an interesting bit of kit.

Lee

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

Until now I did not have time for a short impression of the 6,5x32 Kowa described here in a lot of detail, however this afternoon I had a short time to use it and the first thing that struck me were the strap attachment rings on the binocular body. They were for me very annoying in my hands and it would be one of the reasons not to buy it despite its good performance for its price.
Gijs van Ginkel

 

[Brink]

Until now I did not have time for a short impression of the 6,5x32 Kowa described here in a lot of detail, however this afternoon I had a short time to use it and the first thing that struck me were the strap attachment rings on the binocular body. They were for me very annoying in my hands and it would be one of the reasons not to buy it despite its good performance for its price.
Gijs van Ginkel

They don't bother me at all in the hand, but they are located more toward the back/bottom of the tubes than I would like. I would prefer them to be more on the sides of the tubes, and their location makes it so they don't ride flat on my chest.

 

[Troubador]

Until now I did not have time for a short impression of the 6,5x32 Kowa described here in a lot of detail, however this afternoon I had a short time to use it and the first thing that struck me were the strap attachment rings on the binocular body. They were for me very annoying in my hands and it would be one of the reasons not to buy it despite its good performance for its price.
Gijs van Ginkel

They don't bother me at all in the hand, but they are located more toward the back/bottom of the tubes than I would like. I would prefer them to be more on the sides of the tubes, and their location makes it so they don't ride flat on my chest.

I have a narrow IPD so the attachment lugs are as described by Brink, that is they are underneath when I have lifted the binos to my eyes. I did not notice them at all when using the binos in the field, apart from the way they hang from the neck with the oculars leaning away from my body, unlike most binos which hand flat against my chest. This pretty much echoes what Brink has described.

Lee

 

[A2GG]

They don't bother me at all in the hand, but they are located more toward the back/bottom of the tubes than I would like. I would prefer them to be more on the sides of the tubes, and their location makes it so they don't ride flat on my chest.

This sounds just like Zeiss FL 32. I noticed the similar positioning right away and it doesn't lay flat. I'm used to it and don't really think about it.

 

[jremmons]

Thanks for the review, Lee. I've been using the 6.5x as my work binocular for close to a couple of months now and it has definitely proved its merits.
I do notice some flare/glare, which is common for me to find in 32mm binoculars, but otherwise they are very good optically. The rainguard is also a pain, and I find the binoculars hang at an angle instead of flat against my chest, but these are rather minor inconveniences.
I use mine in conjunction with a Nikon ED50 for my survey work, a combination that is portable and effective in multiple scenarios.

 

[Troubador]

Thanks for the review, Lee. I've been using the 6.5x as my work binocular for close to a couple of months now and it has definitely proved its merits.
I do notice some flare/glare, which is common for me to find in 32mm binoculars, but otherwise they are very good optically. The rainguard is also a pain, and I find the binoculars hang at an angle instead of flat against my chest, but these are rather minor inconveniences.
I use mine in conjunction with a Nikon ED50 for my survey work, a combination that is portable and effective in multiple scenarios.

You are welcome. I can imagine it being a complementary companion to an ED50.

Lee

 

[fotbg]

I have the 6.5. The CA isn't that bad, to my eyes anyway. In fact I really have to look for it. One thing I did notice is excessive flares when looking at a bright light ie a lamp post at night. When looking through the objective lens I noticed two flat edges protruding into the barrels (very slight and small). This seems to cause the light reflecting and flares that I noticed as the seem to line up with these flat edges. I haven't seen this in other binoculars that I have. I'm wondering if this is a manufacturing defect in my sample or is it in all of them? Has anyone else seen this in theirs?
I posted a pic. I turned the binocular on an angle to make it easier to see but you can notice this when looking straight on into the barrels as well.

 

[galazie1]

I have the 6.5. The CA isn't that bad, to my eyes anyway. In fact I really have to look for it. One thing I did notice is excessive flares when looking at a bright light ie a lamp post at night. When looking through the objective lens I noticed two flat edges protruding into the barrels (very slight and small). This seems to cause the light reflecting and flares that I noticed as the seem to line up with these flat edges. I haven't seen this in other binoculars that I have. I'm wondering if this is a manufacturing defect in my sample or is it in all of them? Has anyone else seen this in theirs?
I posted a pic. I turned the binocular on an angle to make it easier to see but you can notice this when looking straight on into the barrels as well.

yes for my pair also. but very slight.

 

[henry link]

I have the 6.5. The CA isn't that bad, to my eyes anyway. In fact I really have to look for it. One thing I did notice is excessive flares when looking at a bright light ie a lamp post at night. When looking through the objective lens I noticed two flat edges protruding into the barrels (very slight and small). This seems to cause the light reflecting and flares that I noticed as the seem to line up with these flat edges. I haven't seen this in other binoculars that I have. I'm wondering if this is a manufacturing defect in my sample or is it in all of them? Has anyone else seen this in theirs?
I posted a pic. I turned the binocular on an angle to make it easier to see but you can notice this when looking straight on into the barrels as well.

I've seen this in binoculars with undersized prisms. It can vary a little from unit to unit if the prisms are mounted a bit off center. However, viewing through the front doesn't accurately predict whether these prism edges impinge on the exit pupil. Try using a magnifier to examine the interior from the eyepiece end and try to photograph the interior from that end under conditions that cause the glare. That will show whether there are reflections from the prism edges cutting into the exit pupil or something else like a lens retaining ring is reflecting at or near the exit pupil edge.

 

[fotbg]

Thanks for this. I tried something different - focused a bright flashlight through the eye piece and observed the circular disk of light that come out through the objective against a wall. It was not 100% circular but had very slight straight edges on two sides which cut into the circle. So I guess you can say its not perfect. Not sure if this slight reduction in exit pupil is actually noticeable to the human eye or not. I'm it isn't.

 

[henry link]

Your method is just fine to show that the prism edges extend into the exit pupil. Since the prism edges are glass we can reasonably assume that they create a bright reflection visible to the eye if light coming from the objective strikes them at just the right angle and is reflected back toward the eyepiece. This is exactly the sort of thing that looks like a foggy area of glare in the FOV from the eyepiece end.

There could be other sources of glare that won't be revealed by your projection method, but will show up in an examination of the interior through the eyepiece. Here's a link to a thread on the subject of glare in the Swarovski 8x32 ELSV. The first post shows examples of glare causing internal reflections photographed through the eyepiece. You cam see the prism edge reflections just outside the exit pupil. Naturally the problem is worse when the prisms are so undersized that their reflections are seen inside the exit pupil.

https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=308250

 

[fotbg]

Thanks for sharing this post - very interesting read!

 

[mwhogue]

After market rainguard for Kowa 6.5

I have been using an old Zeiss Dialyt rain guard and while it is not perfect I found it worked reasonably well on Islay.

Here is a pic of the one I mean. It is old-fashioned and clunky-looking but it is very effective and versatile.

Lee

The Opticron 45.5mm BGA rainguard is an excellent fit.

Mike

 

[Troubador]

The Opticron 45.5mm BGA rainguard is an excellent fit.

Mike

Thanks for posting Mike.

Lee

 

[simpleman19]

Just recieved my set of 6.5x32 bd I’d. Going to give them a good go tomorrow and hopefully the next. Right away with use inside the house, I notice that there is a small amount of slop in the focus wheel and a touch of a gritty sensation while focusing (I expect that it will get smoother with use and I don’t know how to explain it). I did get to play with the focus and check it out under different lighting conditions and glare. It focuses well extremely close (very impressed). They feel solid in hand and very well built. Just from observing in the house, I can use the whole field of view to read size 16 or so font from edge to edge at 15 feet away without an issue and I hardly notice the drop in resolution (maybe starting to become noticeable at about 70% from the centre, I do not find it an issue with it though as it is useable right to the edge). So far I’m impressed, I will get to try them out further tomorrow and the next day in a variety of light conditions and even snow.

 

[simpleman19]

Further to yesterday’s first impressions:

When inside and directly underneath artificial light I do notice a touch of glare. When outside it is not noticable.

Looking from the objective back through, it is a perfect circle, but when you look closely you can see the diagonal line of the prism.

Measured close focus is 1 meter. I can easily and clearly read writing and see high resolution detail at this distance. Very impressive to me.

When focusing, if I focus on something at 70 meters away, the resolution/focus is still great on an island that’s 1.2km away. I love this, exactly what I was looking for out of them.

The sweet spot as stated in yesterday’s first impressions still holds true... the beauty is I really have to look hard to find the area of diminishing resolution (if I look out then naturally, it is not noticeable). Very impressed with the sweet spot.

The focused grittiness has become smoother, and focus slop is slight.

I am loving the feel, ergonomics and size of these binoculars.

Field of view is phenomenal as expected, and I did not notice any rolling ball effect when panning.

So far, exactly what I was looking for.

When compared side by side to some old bell and howell 8x40 porro’s that I have kicking around the house, there is a noticeable difference in clarity and contrast (to the favour of the Kowa’s). Looking forward to comparing these to my meopta MeoStar b1.1 8x56’s when I get them. I feel the Kowa’s and Meopta’s will give me all I need in binoculars. I will also be comparing these to fujinon FMT SXR 7x50s and my bosses Bausch & Lomb’s in January.

I do not have the experienced eye with optics when it comes to finding the small details to review them, but what I do know is they work incredibly very well for me. They are very relaxing on the eyes and so far a joy to use.

 

[simpleman19]

Another follow up:

After a full day of use, I did notice some glare as I stated before at the bottom of my field of view. It was manageable though and still allowed ease of use for what I chose them for. The sweet spot is around 60% from centre (as stated by troubador, a slight move of the focus wheel brings the outer 40% into focus). I realized in my earlier post when I mentioned I could read font 16 from 15 feet, I was adjusting the focus wheel slightly. I would say I can read the aforementioned font to about 85% from centre.

I still haven’t found the opportunity to really look for CA. Not enough contrast where I was today.

It might sound weird, but while using them today I didn’t notice any slop in the focuser, the gritty sensation was also gone... nice and smooth.

The feel of these binoculars in the hand is great, and the build quality seems exceptional for chinese made binoculars. The eye cups have great tension when twisting them out and hold the chosen setting well.

Still enjoying them. Serving the purpose I had for them well!
- low profile
- great field of view
- Easy on the eyes
- easy to use (doesn’t require much focusing)
- just the right amount of magnification to keep this smaller binocular perfectly useable in low light
- great depth of field and focus
- great for scanning a big area quickly
- exceptional close focus distance
- at the sale price of 340 USD a great price for what it is

Downsides for me so far:
- glare shown on the bottom of the field of view under certain conditions

 

[Swedpat]

Thank you Simpleman19 for sharing your careful experience of this interesting binocular! The impression I got based on what I read so far is that I will get this model if I find the eye relief to be satisfying for me.