Which ones are your dream binoculars? (1 Viewer)

[Ted Y.]

A marine binocular.
True, with CF, therefore good also for birding.

 

[LaKu]

Where I live, I think it is not too uncommon for people to have bins (I live in the mountainous northern part of Switzerland). But, and a big BUT that is, most of them have a pair of compacts or small-ish bins they aren't too specific about when buying. They simply want something to magnify their view. As they usually use it maybe a couple of times on their sunday walk and don't spend hours glassing, they simply don't care for optical perfection and opt for something small and affordable.
This market share is largely covered by smaller companies producing in Asia, so no use for the big companies to put effort in it.
I do see the odd Swaro/Zeiss/Leica compact or small bin in the mix, but same thing here, the big three already offer what these people want in a bino. Everything bigger is of no use to them.

 

[iseegeorgesstar]

Completely non-existent or just another configuration of an existing model.
I have these desires:

Leica Ultravid 6x20
Swarovski NL Pure 5x25*
Swarovski NL Pure 12x60
Swarovski NL Pure 25x100□

The list may be edited.

*But I welcome a WA high grade 5x25 of any brand.
□yes, that one would be pricy! 😎

A bit late to the thread. I would like a high power swarovski habicht -- such as its take on the nikon 18x70 sp or the zeiss/docter 15x60b. So a habicht 15x60 GA or a habicht 18x70 GA.

Conversely I wish they would start selling alpha binoculars in an IS option. Maybe the tech is getting there or has been there for a while. But I imagine they don't want to deal with the upkeep costs of having to fix the machine parts of IS all the time.

 

[Dipperdapper]

Moi?
None.

I already have them.

I think more in terms of dream lighting conditions than dream instruments.

 

[tenex]

As they usually use it maybe a couple of times on their sunday walk and don't spend hours glassing, they simply don't care for optical perfection and opt for something small and affordable.

I have doubts about this, because people always enjoy quality commensurate with their budget.

I really think manufacturers have dropped the marketing ball here somehow. Binoculars aren't just tools for special purposes like birding or hunting. Fifty years ago they were a thing, something cool to own and exciting to use. My own family had several, despite having no pursuit that actually required them, and living in a city we too seldom got out of. Anyone might want to have bins as nice as they can comfortably afford. Why don't they seem to today? Most people would love a high-quality wide-angle 6x24 or 7x35, which don't even exist anymore, and it would get their face out of their smartphone. But instead they'll end up buying some kind of clumsy digital device that allows them to share an experience before they've even had it.

 

[Trinovid]

I have doubts about this, because people always enjoy quality commensurate with their budget.

I really think manufacturers have dropped the marketing ball here somehow. Binoculars aren't just tools for special purposes like birding or hunting. Fifty years ago they were a thing, something cool to own and exciting to use. Anyone might want to have bins as nice as they can comfortably afford. Most people would love a high-quality wide-angle 6x24 or 7x35, which don't even exist anymore…

Very timely and welcome posting and this part here pretty well mirrors my own views. I’d also add that some people will even spend beyond their means to acquire things they enjoy and it is interesting to note how the once ‘cool’ binocular has morphed into a nerdy thing to be seen with, especially when worn around the neck.

 

[Scott98]

I have doubts about this, because people always enjoy quality commensurate with their budget.

I really think manufacturers have dropped the marketing ball here somehow. Binoculars aren't just tools for special purposes like birding or hunting. Fifty years ago they were a thing, something cool to own and exciting to use.

Try astronomy! Nobody ever markets to us The Nikon sport optic catalog from Japan is the only place I've seen astronomy mentioned, it doesn't show up at all on the Leica, Swaro, Zeiss websites. We have to look under the "hunting" or twilight observing section.

You're right about the 70's, my family's 7x35's served everything from sports to birds, when I got interested in astronomy it was the first thing I used. Later I got some cheap 11x80's for astronomy and took them into sports stadiums too, got some interesting looks there. But everyone enjoyed the view through them.

 

[ReinierB]

Most people would love a high-quality wide-angle 6x24 or 7x35

How wide is a wide-angle 7x35 actually?

 

[Swedpat]

How wide is a wide-angle 7x35 actually?

As I understand it WA use to be defined as from 65deg AFOV, so 9,3deg TFOV at 7x.

 

[wllmspd]

You could get >10degree, allegedly upto 12.5degrees, but the edges aren’t exactly good. Make even “wide” modern binos feel a little constrained.

Peter

 

[ReinierB]

So in m it is 170m/1000m or even more? That is huge! It makes me wonder why there not that popular (anymore).

 

[wllmspd]

…. Eye relief… you sometimes need to bond your eyeballs to the eyepieces. So no good for glasses wearers. Also many were “featherlight”… though I’m not sure which bird the feathers came from…. Many are >1kg and thus not as easy to use as modern equivalents.

Peter

 

[tenex]

Those were surely simple Kellner eyepieces. I'm sure modern ones could offer better eye relief while maintaining an impressive FOV, given adequate sized prisms, which aren't used today because a 7x (if made at all) is an afterthought cobbled from components of other models. Finally there are somewhat wider fields again today in SF and NL, but no 6/7x... and it would be too expensive for most people anyway.

 

[Binocollector]

The Kowa BDII 6.5x32 comes pretty close and has decent eye relief even for me (and I need quite a bit). But a vintage 7x35 with 11° is still noticeably wider. Past 11° the edges become quite blurry but there's better ones and worse. I quite like my J-B22 7x35 with 210m/1,000 or 12°. But the edges are not great. As long as I don't look directly at it, it's still pretty awesome.

 

[fazalmajid]

Try astronomy! Nobody ever markets to us The Nikon sport optic catalog from Japan is the only place I've seen astronomy mentioned, it doesn't show up at all on the Leica, Swaro, Zeiss websites. We have to look under the "hunting" or twilight observing section.

The Nikon WX are clearly astronomy-first, and Takahashi used to make fluorite refractor binoculars until about a decade ago. I’ve found IS binoculars particularly helpful, but my Astro binoculars are the Leica Ultravid 10x50 (pre-HD).

 

[LaKu]

I have doubts about this, because people always enjoy quality commensurate with their budget.

I really think manufacturers have dropped the marketing ball here somehow. Binoculars aren't just tools for special purposes like birding or hunting. Fifty years ago they were a thing, something cool to own and exciting to use. My own family had several, despite having no pursuit that actually required them, and living in a city we too seldom got out of. Anyone might want to have bins as nice as they can comfortably afford. Why don't they seem to today? Most people would love a high-quality wide-angle 6x24 or 7x35, which don't even exist anymore, and it would get their face out of their smartphone. But instead they'll end up buying some kind of clumsy digital device that allows them to share an experience before they've even had it.

I think you have a point here, the "problem" might be that even low- to mid-level bins have gotten pretty decent. Simply no need to spend huge amounts of money for a pleasurable experience, especially on a product that kind of lost it's "cool"-status in the digital age.

Your note about sharing experiences before having had them is sadly almost too true...

 

[edwincjones]

Over the past 25 years

1996 Fujinon 10x70
2000 Miyauchi 100mm
2002 Fujinon 25x150 MT
2005 SW EL 8.5x42
2010 Zeiss Dialyt 8x56
2024 --- pending

edj

 

[Scott98]

The Nikon WX are clearly astronomy-first, and Takahashi used to make fluorite refractor binoculars until about a decade ago. I’ve found IS binoculars particularly helpful, but my Astro binoculars are the Leica Ultravid 10x50 (pre-HD).

I had the 10x50 UVHD also, I loved the optics in it. Excellent for astronomy and I preferred the body/hold on it to the EL's. There is little breakdown at the edge of field and very little if any false color. Leica and Swaro don't talk about astronomy much but their binos are excellent for it, pretty much all of them.

 

[Ofthewoods]

An SLC 8x56 in a Carbon Fiber frame that weighs 30 oz.

How much is a like new used regular pair 😅 of 8x56's worth?