Tasco 7x50 porros made in Japan (1 Viewer)

[Tedster]

anyone have any experiance with these i had a Tasco Rifle scope years ago made in Japan and didn't no what i had it was one of the nicest scopes i ever looked through back in the mid 80's
i was wondering how the 7x50 porros are there the featherweight water proof 578ft of view at 1000yds made in japan

 

[Tedster]

i take it these are JUNK ha

 

[ceasar]

That is the general consensus now but back in the 1980's they might have been a better product perhaps?

Bob

 

[Tedster]

That is the general consensus now but back in the 1980's they might have been a better product perhaps?

Bob

Bob
my buddie has a pair there 2yrs. old and they are worthless,i do remember the rifle scope i had back in the mid 80's that was made japan was great and i know it would never compare with todays optics

Thanks Ted

 

[jaymoynihan]

That is the general consensus now but back in the 1980's they might have been a better product perhaps?

Before the 1980's (Late 1950's - early 70's) Tasco did have some middle level good optical products. They were one a number of American Companies that produced optical products in "Occupied Japan".

Interestingly enough, they are now, along with Celestron, owned by the same company that owns Bushnell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasco

 

[Simon S]

There are some good Tasco's and some poor. Early models are generally good.
Are they anything like these?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/binoculars/4952131644/
or
http://www.flickr.com/photos/binoculars/4310071996/

 

[FrankD]

Ted,

Your question the other day and my recent experiences with the Nikon 7x35 E spurred me to hit the bay and pick up a couple of the Tasco Model 400 7x35 porros. I will let you know how they are when they arrive.

 

[Tedster]

There are some good Tasco's and some poor. Early models are generally good.
Are they anything like these?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/binoculars/4952131644/
or
http://www.flickr.com/photos/binoculars/4310071996/

they are the feather weight in the first photo

 

[Tedster]

Ted,

Your question the other day and my recent experiences with the Nikon 7x35 E spurred me to hit the bay and pick up a couple of the Tasco Model 400 7x35 porros. I will let you know how they are when they arrive.

Frank,
let me know what ya think

 

[Simon S]

I like this binocular. It's bloody heavy but has nice optical performance.

 

[FrankD]

Frank,
let me know what ya think

Ted,

I received both pairs of the Tasco International (model 400) Ultrawide 7x35 in the mail yesterday.

Field of view is listed at 578 feet with fullycoated lenses. They latter I find curious. Reflections on the eyepiece appear to be a single coat but the objectives reflect multiple colors of purple, dark green and light green on one of the units. The other just has single coated reflections (a light blue) on both ends.

Ergonomically these are big 7x35s with oversized prisms. They weigh notably more than my Nikon 7x35 Es but I haven't put them on the scale yet to determine the exact weight. They are built like the proverbial tank though. All metal with some rubber armoring on the body. Everything functions flawlessly though despite them being three decades old.

Optically there are some pluses and minuses...as with any binocular. The negatives are in two areas. One, most likely the result of the coatings, there is a green/yellow bias to the image. It is notable but not excessive. I could certainly live with it. Second, is the eye relief. As with most, if not all, of the older style porros that sport a ultrawide field of view the eye relief is unacceptably short. I would estimate 10-11 mm. Typically that would be a deal breaker for me but not in this case. What I discovered is that the rubber eyecups are attached to the oculars via a separate "collar". You can unscrew the rubber eyecups from the eyepieces without disassembling the entire eyepiece unit. For my eyes and facial dimensions this allows me to see very, very close to the full 11 degree field of view. What an expensive experience it is!

There are more pluses than minuses optically. For one the view is sharp. Porro sharp. I have no problem pulling out very fine details on any object. Two, the size of the sweet spot is generous for a binocular with such a wide field of view. I would estimate somewhere around 70% perceived. Image fall-off after that 70% is very gradual and not distracting in my opinion.

The 3D effect coupled with the wide field of view and large sweet spot makes the viewing experience exceptionally panaromic. This is very much the optical experience I have been searching for over the last 5 or 6 years. Apparent brightness is an area I would call "average". It is not poor but because of the color bias I don't get the "eye shocking" impression I do with other models. Much the same could be said of contrast because of the reasons just mentioned.

Still, for the $40 I paid shipped I am very happy with this binocular.

 

[Simon S]

I'm glad you like them. Without a doubt there will be some haze on the internal parts, removing this will recover more contrast and brightness.
Have fun with your new bins:t:
Simon

 

[jaymoynihan]

I received both pairs of the Tasco International (model 400) Ultrawide 7x35 in the mail yesterday.

A beautiful, classic looking glass.:t:

 

[Tedster]

Ted,

I received both pairs of the Tasco International (model 400) Ultrawide 7x35 in the mail yesterday.

Field of view is listed at 578 feet with fullycoated lenses. They latter I find curious. Reflections on the eyepiece appear to be a single coat but the objectives reflect multiple colors of purple, dark green and light green on one of the units. The other just has single coated reflections (a light blue) on both ends.

Ergonomically these are big 7x35s with oversized prisms. They weigh notably more than my Nikon 7x35 Es but I haven't put them on the scale yet to determine the exact weight. They are built like the proverbial tank though. All metal with some rubber armoring on the body. Everything functions flawlessly though despite them being three decades old.

Optically there are some pluses and minuses...as with any binocular. The negatives are in two areas. One, most likely the result of the coatings, there is a green/yellow bias to the image. It is notable but not excessive. I could certainly live with it. Second, is the eye relief. As with most, if not all, of the older style porros that sport a ultrawide field of view the eye relief is unacceptably short. I would estimate 10-11 mm. Typically that would be a deal breaker for me but not in this case. What I discovered is that the rubber eyecups are attached to the oculars via a separate "collar". You can unscrew the rubber eyecups from the eyepieces without disassembling the entire eyepiece unit. For my eyes and facial dimensions this allows me to see very, very close to the full 11 degree field of view. What an expensive experience it is!

There are more pluses than minuses optically. For one the view is sharp. Porro sharp. I have no problem pulling out very fine details on any object. Two, the size of the sweet spot is generous for a binocular with such a wide field of view. I would estimate somewhere around 70% perceived. Image fall-off after that 70% is very gradual and not distracting in my opinion.

The 3D effect coupled with the wide field of view and large sweet spot makes the viewing experience exceptionally panaromic. This is very much the optical experience I have been searching for over the last 5 or 6 years. Apparent brightness is an area I would call "average". It is not poor but because of the color bias I don't get the "eye shocking" impression I do with other models. Much the same could be said of contrast because of the reasons just mentioned.

Still, for the $40 I paid shipped I am very happy with this binocular.

thanks for the review Frank very detailed.i am gonna see if this guy still has these the last i checked he still had them i will let you know