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Message: <blockquote data-quote="brocknroller" data-source="post: 1584854" data-attributes="member: 665">alpha bins: see pres·tige  (prĕ-stēzh', -stēj')I think Jay was the closest to the correct definition. The term "alpha bin" is about one thing and one thing only: Prestige. The Chinese ED bins have proven that point. So have second caste "betas" such as the Nikon SE and LX.Another piece of evidence is that some people refuse to give the EDG "alpha status" because it's not part of the "Teutonic Trio". It's made in a place that when I grew up was associated with cheap goods - Japan. Times have changed but snobbery never changes. A shockingly honest BF member once wrote that he was shopping for an "alpha bin," and after trying a number of models, it came down a choice between two: Leica Ultravid or Swarovski EL. He wrote that although he felt the EL had better optics, the "red dot" would carry more "cachet" in the field with other birders, so he bought the Lecia. That's the best definition of "alpha bin" I've ever read. To be clear, this is not to say that the FL, Ultravid, or EL are not top notch bins in their own right, but rather that "snob appeal" has more to do with the salivary interest in them than their optics or mechanics. Some of the other bins mentioned in this thread such as the Nikon 8x32 SE are reference standards . They are the bins that the alphas aspire to be like at quadruple the price, and therefore, quadruple the prestige. Porros had ED glass 20 years ago. What's so "innovative" about that? When optics manufacturers switched over to lead-free glass, it increased CA. So like other "innovations" associated with roofs, it was compensatory. That's not progress, that's catching up, my friends!I'd rather be a snail than escargot, yes I would, if I could, I surely wo-o-ould, hm-m hm-m mm mm. Ω (the bin enthusiast formerly known as "The Omega Man")</blockquote>

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