YF II 8x30 - made in China or Philippines now? (3 Viewers)

[4th_point]

I was under the impression that the YF II were first made in China, then production switched to the Philippines. Does anyone here know if production went back to China?

I received one unit, presumably recent manufacture, that is made in China. I am not too concerned about the actual origin per se, but more about the production run.

 

[4th_point]

I'm returning these. I was expecting some glare/flare/whiteouts but I get some interesting reflections and what I think are called ghost images. I don't recall the similar Leupold Yosemite 6x30 having this, but maybe I didn't notice it.

 

[4th_point]

There were some interesting reflections with this unit. I was looking at a resolution chart across the room , and could see a reflection of the glass on my patio door off to my left. The door is at ~10 o'clock when looking straight ahead, and not in the image, but I could clearly see what was reflected in the glass. I have never seen anything like it before.

I also saw some strong reflections from light sources entering through the ocular. Like a lightbulb from inside my house, while standing on the porch and facing the other direction. And some severe flare/glare outdoors.

Very annoying, but also interesting to think how well so many other designs mitigate or suppress this. Makes me appreciate optics that don't have these quirks!

 

[Binocollector]

That's actually an interesting question. I always wanted one of these but somehow never bought one so far despite the low price. But if they switched production (back) to China, I'm passing on that one.

 

[NDhunter]

The "made in" part is hard to determine. It is probably 90% made in China no
matter what the mfr. states.
Jerry

 

[Binocollector]

The "made in" part is hard to determine. It is probably 90% made in China no
matter what the mfr. states.
Jerry

I doubt that. Unless you have any reliable sources that explain in detail how "Made in Philippines" is legally defined. Differences between countries can be huge.
I know for a fact (because there exists an official statement on the matter from the mfr.), that most cheaper Seiko watches with "Made in Japan" on the dial are made in China, while in the case of Casio watches, a simple "Japan" on the bottom of the watch means that it is actually made in Japan because Casio has 3 different plants that have to be able to make the same models to the same specifications (China, Japan, Thailand). Such things one finds when reading official publications in PDF-form on manufacturers' websites.
A simple "probably" is not enough.

 

[NDhunter]

I doubt that. Unless you have any reliable sources that explain in detail how "Made in Philippines" is legally defined. Differences between countries can be huge.
I know for a fact (because there exists an official statement on the matter from the mfr.), that most cheaper Seiko watches with "Made in Japan" on the dial are made in China, while in the case of Casio watches, a simple "Japan" on the bottom of the watch means that it is actually made in Japan because Casio has 3 different plants that have to be able to make the same models to the same specifications (China, Japan, Thailand). Such things one finds when reading official publications in PDF-form on manufacturers' websites.
A simple "probably" is not enough.

So then, since you think you are an expert on the subject. Facts please.
This is not about watches..............................
Jerry

 

[PatR]

That's actually an interesting question. I always wanted one of these but somehow never bought one so far despite the low price. But if they switched production (back) to China, I'm passing on that one.

I received a pair of new Kowa YF II 8x30's this morning based on the glowing recommendation of the ever excellent Russell at SWOptics. He said they were unbelievably good, irrespective of the low price and would I like to try a pair?

They are marked 'Assembled in the Phillipines', (not that I could give a monkey's where they are made/assembled) and I am afraid that he was wrong.....they are fantastically good. In fact they are amazing.

The centre is very very sharp, the extreme edges fall off a bit but the overall view is really excellent. Bright too.

No CA, no glare either. They will receive the customary 10 minute dunking in the River Vyrnwy tomorrow to check out the waterproof claims.

But so far, a delightful little pair of binoculars that are very well made, have a lovely tactile feel to them and the eye-relief is perfect for me.

If Kowa can make and sell such fantastic bino's like these for the pittance they ask then I wonder just how good their premium bino's are.

I think I might just order the 6x30's.

 

[Ignatius]

I had the 6x30s once and I agree with @PatR about them being well made. The image was also good. However, I could not get along with the ER/eyecups/Einblickverhalten, so I gave them away.

 

[Patudo]

I personally find 6x magnification underpowered for my own birding, so have never been tempted to buy one. But image quality of the Kowa 6x30 YF definitely surprised me when I tried it some years back. Excellent colours, brightness and clarity also seemed very good indeed, noticeably better than the 8x30; field of view didn't jump out at me as being wide, but I see it's 140m, nothing to sneeze at at all. It's a cheap inexpensive, plastic, almost certainly PRC made porro, and I suppose you have to account for the fact that it's easier to get a low magnification binocular "right", but it still delivers what I thought was a really good image. Like the Nikon 7x35 Action EX, it really underlines just how good a well executed porro can be. It's got enough eye relief that I can use both it and the 8x30 with glasses too.

 

[MiddleRiver]

I personally find 6x magnification underpowered for my own birding, so have never been tempted to buy one. But image quality of the Kowa 6x30 YF definitely surprised me when I tried it some years back. Excellent colours, brightness and clarity also seemed very good indeed, noticeably better than the 8x30; field of view didn't jump out at me as being wide, but I see it's 140m, nothing to sneeze at at all. It's a cheap inexpensive, plastic, almost certainly PRC made porro, and I suppose you have to account for the fact that it's easier to get a low magnification binocular "right", but it still delivers what I thought was a really good image. Like the Nikon 7x35 Action EX, it really underlines just how good a well executed porro can be. It's got enough eye relief that I can use both it and the 8x30 with glasses too.

We own one and this is spot on ;-) Purchased for grandkids, the thinking being that with 6x you can almost preset focus and get it right. One child was using them succesfully at age 3!

But yes I've been tempted to try the 8x, just to keep as a 'truck bino' or as a loaner.