Hi,
I was wondering if any members of this forum use Viking ED binoculars and, if so, how do they feel about them, especially with regard to durability.
The reason I ask is that I wish to buy a new pair of binoculars to replace my existing pair that recently suffered a damaged eye-piece. After looking at various specifications etc on the web I drew up a short-list of three:
RSPB HD 10x42
Minox HG 10x43 BR
Hawke Frontier ED 10x43
Last Saturday I tried all three and was not totally happy with any of them! Optically all three were very good, but all had drawbacks that I was not happy about.
In brief, I found the RSPB awkward to hold and the eyecups were rather uncomfortable. Also, when I panned from side to side I experienced a curious momentary blacking out of the trailing edge of the field of view and no matter how much I altered the separation of the eye pieces I could not make it go away. With regard to the Minox, the field of view was a little narrow and I did not like the metal focus control with its differential mechanism - my finger slipped on the metal and I found it too sensitive for objects at about 30m to 50m distance. Finally, the Hawke had the worst focus control I have ever used; it was stiff, unresponsive and required a huge amount of turning to go from close focus to infinity (at least two full revolutions, probably more). Also, I find the Hawke aesthetically unattractive (too fussy), although I appreciate that this is a minor consideration.
Anyhow, I then briefly tried a pair of Viking ED 10x42, which were very impressive. Nice smooth focus control, very comfortable to hold, good close focus, excellent field of view and, most importantly, optically they seemed every bit as good as the other three pairs. However, what stopped me buying them was a nagging doubt at the back of my mind that I had read some negative comments about them in the past, which was why they had not made it onto my original short list.
When I returned home I did a search on the web and found that the negative comments concerned the Viking's durability, particularly the stiffness of the central hinge - there were reports of the hinge being loose, hence my original request to any owners of Viking EDs for their experiences. Also, I am interested in opinions about the central dioptre control, which is a little different from what I have used in the past.
Many thanks for any help that is forthcoming - next weekend I plan to have another go at finding a pair of binoculars I like!
Terry.
I was wondering if any members of this forum use Viking ED binoculars and, if so, how do they feel about them, especially with regard to durability.
The reason I ask is that I wish to buy a new pair of binoculars to replace my existing pair that recently suffered a damaged eye-piece. After looking at various specifications etc on the web I drew up a short-list of three:
RSPB HD 10x42
Minox HG 10x43 BR
Hawke Frontier ED 10x43
Last Saturday I tried all three and was not totally happy with any of them! Optically all three were very good, but all had drawbacks that I was not happy about.
In brief, I found the RSPB awkward to hold and the eyecups were rather uncomfortable. Also, when I panned from side to side I experienced a curious momentary blacking out of the trailing edge of the field of view and no matter how much I altered the separation of the eye pieces I could not make it go away. With regard to the Minox, the field of view was a little narrow and I did not like the metal focus control with its differential mechanism - my finger slipped on the metal and I found it too sensitive for objects at about 30m to 50m distance. Finally, the Hawke had the worst focus control I have ever used; it was stiff, unresponsive and required a huge amount of turning to go from close focus to infinity (at least two full revolutions, probably more). Also, I find the Hawke aesthetically unattractive (too fussy), although I appreciate that this is a minor consideration.
Anyhow, I then briefly tried a pair of Viking ED 10x42, which were very impressive. Nice smooth focus control, very comfortable to hold, good close focus, excellent field of view and, most importantly, optically they seemed every bit as good as the other three pairs. However, what stopped me buying them was a nagging doubt at the back of my mind that I had read some negative comments about them in the past, which was why they had not made it onto my original short list.
When I returned home I did a search on the web and found that the negative comments concerned the Viking's durability, particularly the stiffness of the central hinge - there were reports of the hinge being loose, hence my original request to any owners of Viking EDs for their experiences. Also, I am interested in opinions about the central dioptre control, which is a little different from what I have used in the past.
Many thanks for any help that is forthcoming - next weekend I plan to have another go at finding a pair of binoculars I like!
Terry.
