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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jaymoynihan" data-source="post: 851438" data-attributes="member: 50493">I could not figure out how to add a new review in the reviews section of the site, so here it is.I recently purchased a pair of Pentax's Papilio 8.5x21 Binoculars. My areas of primary interest include animal behavior, specifically of American Crows, and of ants. I hoped the glasses could do both in a pinch. Well, kind of.Anyway...The Papilio's ($110-139, USD) are marketed primariliy to Butterfly fans. The name is butterfly in latin. The close focus on this model (they also come in a 6.5x version), is 18"-20". Recent discussions on cloudynights.com point out the Papilio's actually go to a higher magnification as you focus closer, since this is achieved by moving the objectives relative to the eyepieces. So in effect, mine hit a little over 10x at close focus. Comparing the view to one with a 10x Hastings Triplet, i would have to agree.Pentax claims the Papilio allows a single, image, even at 20". As you know, that can be hard to achieve with binoculars, at what ever their close focus distance. I found that at or near closest focus, if you have the IPD set just right, and I relaxed my eyes, this is true.Build is ok, apparently all plastic, other than the glass elements. They are porroprism (maybe reverse porroprism, actually). There is a tripod socket on the bottom. The socket is plastic. This is a nice idea, since the best use as i will describe further on, is as a long distance magnifying loupe, so to speak. Durability of the whole afar is a matter of doubt, time will tell. But for the money...Optics.If i was planning on using these at normal binocular distances, i would be returning them. At normal distances, the softness of the image and very noticable chromatic abberation is pronounced. Interestingly, at close focusing distances, the image appears cleaner.I compared ants cleaning out a colony entrance in front of me, and a pair of ducks about 50' away and to my left. Both scenes were in full sun. The ant image was much cleaner. Perhaps the formula for the optical system in these is best for close focus?Note: My close viewing of the ants, was not a novel act for me. I regularily use 10x or 14x Hasting Triplet loupes in the field. I also use a well illuminated stereoscope and a compact field macroscope. The novelty of the Papilio is the ease of watching live ant behavior in their natural environment. The view was similar (except with a wider field in the Papilio) to 10x Coddington (doublet) loupe. That is pretty good for an inexpensive compact binocular.Of course, the fun i guess, is being able to do that comparison for this money, with one pair of compact binos. But I digress.Despite their being marketed as the butterfly binocular, i for one would not recommend them for that particular application. For instance, my Bausch and Lomb (now Bushnell) 7x26 Custom Compacts can focus on my boot tops (I am 5'9"), and are rather clean in view for a compact.I am keeping them. The reason is, I enjoyed sitting comfortably on the ground watching ants working with enough magnification to actually watch behavior such as communication motions, etc.I recommend these for, in my mind, the following uses:1. Anyone interested in insects (other than large flying ones)2. Anyone very keen on plants, fungi, etc.3. Anyone painting or drawing any of the above.4. Natural History museum goers.5. Anyone who collects small things and goes to shows to look at/buy them.I also think that Pentax or someone else would be wise to consider a 30-32mm version of this type of binocular, made to higher standards and quality, for of course, a significantly higher cost. It might be a good seller. While i am keeping my Papilio for its unique feature, I will still be carrying my 30mm or 42mm glasses also.</blockquote>

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