Zoom bins (1 Viewer)

[Chris GB]

Hi to all

I am currently looking into (pardon the pun) purchasing a pair of compact zoom binoculars. I am aware of the optical compromises of zoom optics, but as these are a multipurpose binocular, I will find the zoom range very useful.

Current shortlist is: Pentax 8-20x24UCF, Nikon 8-24x25 Eagleview II and Bausch & Lomb Legacy 8-20x25. Does anybody have any experience of these binoculars? How do the B&L compare to the Pentax or Nikon? Also, does anyone know where I might view a pair of the B&Ls in South East England? I have seen the Pentax and Nikon, currently the Pentax just gets ahead.

Many thanks for any help / advice.

Chris

 

[Chris GB]

Feedback on the zoom question

Hi again

No replies so went for the Pentax UCF 8-20x24 bins. In daylight, images are bright and sharp to the edges across the zoom range. Good crisp images at x20 give plenty of detail on distant birds. As the light has dropped off this evening, the upper end of the zoom range has become less useable (as would be expected), but still good enought to view the fuselage of the police helicopter that was hovering around our area about 10:45pm tonight. The x20 end makes a good job of moon observation also. Have no planets in view from here at the moment, but expect useful results if the moon is anything to go by. I would guess that the image brightness will make the Orion nebula viewable as well, though not as well as with a 10" mirror scope.

Ergonomics and operation are excellent with centre spindle zoom, focus and pop out dioptre correction. Slide out eye cups with 15mm eye relief will allow spectacle wearers to use them with ease also.

Generally very good performance and functionality for the money.

Chris

 

[Mickymouse]

Sorry, but I must have missed this thread somehow, but now you have got them how do you feel about the field of view, I ask because I have a pair of Bushnel 7-15X25 and I love them to bits except for the FOV, I also have a pair of Nikon Sporter 10X36 which people rave about, they are nice and I carry them with me now, but only because of the FOV the Bushnels are much better ergonomically and I miss the twiddle factor of not having the zoom capability even if it is only now and again.
Good luck with your Pentax.

Mick

 

[Chris GB]

Hi Mick

I never considered the FOV to be too important when looking for binoculars for my own use. Years of binocular, telescope and target shooting practice means that I just look at the object I want to see and the bins, scope or whatever automatically points at it.

No problems tracking flying stuff and picking out well hidden wildlife, so I get on OK with them. From the specs, FOV is 5.3 deg at the wide end compared to 6.5 deg for the non zoom equivalent at x8 and 5 deg for the x10 so I lose around 18%. This is easily offset by the closer view I get when I need it.

The only other pair of zooms I can compare them with is the Nikon Eagleview II. The Nikons were also very good, but just a little narrower FOV and a little more CA at higher magnification. Against this, the Nikons had slighly less spherical abberation, but this could be accounted for by the reduced FOV. Also I was not keen on the Nikons controls (nothing wrong with them, just preferred the ergonomics of the Pentax pair). Comparing specs with the Bushnells, I see that the Pentax gives a 93m at 1000m FOV at x8 vs the Bushnells 87m at 1000m FOV at x7, so you may get an improvement there.

So far the Pentax pair are a pleasure to use, not the highest quality image available, but I never saw anything for similar money (paid just under £100) that did any better, zoom or otherwise.

Chris

 

[william j clive]

I have the Nikon Eagleview bought as refurbs on ebay at an excellent price. Very handy pair to have around. I can confirm the lack of FOV, but the zoom compensates for this in a pair I bought just for general use. I am well satisfied with the sharpness of the image, and brightness at 8x is very good.

Clive Jones

 

[Hugh Clayton]

It's a bit late for this thread, but I would back the Olympus 7-15X25 with an ED element in the objective. I bought one recently mainly to see if the ED element would make a difference at such a small aperture. The answer is a definite Yes. Clarity is excellent although a bit of false colour appears at about 12X and above. I believe these Chinese-made binoculars have also been sold as Vixen Aero and possibly labelled Swift as well.

I have the Nikon Eagleview bought as refurbs on ebay at an excellent price. Very handy pair to have around. I can confirm the lack of FOV, but the zoom compensates for this in a pair I bought just for general use. I am well satisfied with the sharpness of the image, and brightness at 8x is very good.

Clive Jones