Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1026
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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I have today received an example of Kite 8x42 Birdwatcher which by the only swedish dealer is stated to have won an english test for binoculars below 3000 SEK (about 430 USD).
It's in my opinion a quite decent binocular, but have it's disadvantages. I will try the Kite Birdwatcher 8x42 in daylight and at starry sky before decising if I want to keep it, and will give a more serious report later.
Patric
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*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leica Ultravid 8x20 BR
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*No name (Kunming) 15x70
*Scopos ED APO 66
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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Erik D
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 2361
Loc: Central New Jersey, USA
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Patric,
Is it this one?
http://www.kiteoptics.com/products.php?la=en&subbase=1&subsubbase=4
Pretty wide FOV for an 8X.
A $430 8X42 porro bino is near the High End of non-premium class in the USA. I would be expecting excellent performace from such.
Erik D
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1026
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Erik,
Yes, that's the model! The price I have paid is 1800 SEK, + freight (ca 260 USD + freight).
Patric
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*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leica Ultravid 8x20 BR
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*No name (Kunming) 15x70
*Scopos ED APO 66
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10029
Loc: Lancashire UK
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It looks very nice Patric , and the specs appeal to me too .
I look forward to your report .
Don't think that just because it's called a KITE watcher that you are only allowed to look at KITES through it !
I once saw a pigeon through my Swift Kestrel ! :-)
Good luck !
Kenny
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Two eyes and a preference to use both
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1026
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Thanks Kenny!
That pleases me! I was quite doubtful about my chances to make use of this binocular. I have heard that kites are only seen in China...
I will report as soon as possible!
Patric
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*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leica Ultravid 8x20 BR
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*No name (Kunming) 15x70
*Scopos ED APO 66
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10029
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Patric ,
I don't know if the model has been updated since , but the Kite Birdwatcher got a POOR rating in the following report from 6 years ago in Scandinavia .
http://www.suomenluontolehti.fi/artikkeli.php3?a=46
Regards , Kenny
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Two eyes and a preference to use both
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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Mark9473
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/05
Posts: 2614
Loc: 51°N 4°E
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I've been to the source of the KITE brand when I visited a local store here in Belgium. This is the guy that is importing these binoculars and has now set up Kite as a separate business (at the same address).
At the time, I was generally unimpressed with the porro models I looked through, so I didn't pay that much attention to them. Several roof models were quite nice though, and notably the Forster model was decent - the cosmetics have now changed (and who knows what else...) but in their previous incarnation these Forster looked identical to my Vixen Apex Pro.
At the time of my visit, the owner mentioned the new Bonelli model which was due to arrive just a few weeks later, and which he claimed was very close in performance to the Zeiss / Leica / Swarovski which are the core of his business. I see that model on the site now; if I recall correctly price was going to be in the order of magnitude of 1000 euros or so.
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Mark
Leica 8x20; Vixen 8x42; Swift 8.5x44, 10x50 and 20x80; TS 7x50; Orion 15x63
WO Megrez II 80 FD + Baader 90° T2 Amici
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Pelirrojo
journeyman
Reged: 04/27/06
Posts: 8
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Patric,
the specs for the Kite Birdwatcher are essentially the same as for Opticron Countryman MC T: here
The latter has been tested by Kikkertspecialisten: here
You should be aware, that Kikkertspecialisten is an Opticron dealer.
Stein
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Mark9473
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/05
Posts: 2614
Loc: 51°N 4°E
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Quote:
Don't think that just because it's called a KITE watcher that you are only allowed to look at KITES through it !
perhaps the more experienced birdwatchers among us could identify whether the Kite is actually the bird that makes the logo for this brand?
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Mark
Leica 8x20; Vixen 8x42; Swift 8.5x44, 10x50 and 20x80; TS 7x50; Orion 15x63
WO Megrez II 80 FD + Baader 90° T2 Amici
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1026
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Thank you all for your interest and for the links.
According to Wikipedia a Kite is a bird, but according to the swedish-english wordbook at internet I use to use a Kite is just a dragon, and nothing is mentioned about a bird! Therefore I joked to Kenny that "I have heard that kites are only seen in China"...
http://lexin2.nada.kth.se/sve-eng.html
Patric
--------------------
*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leica Ultravid 8x20 BR
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*No name (Kunming) 15x70
*Scopos ED APO 66
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1026
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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I apologize for the long absence from CN and for not publishing the review until now. I have been working and my old computer stopped to work.
Last week I purchased a complete new computer package and will be active again.
Kite Birdwatcher 8x42
It's now about two months ago I tried this model and will reproduce my impression.
The outer performance feels nice and is rubber armoured.
The body is marked with "Japan" or "Made in Japan", I don't remember which. I find it comfortable to hold.
The eyecups are twistable and when fully downfolded I can see the entire FOV with my eye glasses on. The ocular lens diameter is 22mm diameter, the same as Oberwerk 11/15x70 models. The coating has (I I recall right) some grey/light-green tint, not the dark green which is typical for many fully multi coated optics. The Kite Birdwatcher is claimed to be fully multi coated. When looking into the objective I can see a white reflex, however. It seems like an uncoated prism surface.
I measure the exit pupil to at least 5mm but it's very slightly cut-offed at two sides.
The sharpness is good to approximately 70% of the field and then strongly softens off towards the edges. In this respect the "Lidl-Bargain" Bresser 10x50 is far superior. In comparison to the Bresser 10x50 the Birdwatcher is significantly brighter, has better contrast and the image is crispy and white. This is relying to as well better coating and larger exit pupil (Bresser 10x50 has around 4,2mm). I found the on-axis sharpness be quite similar but suspect the Bresser would be superior with better coating. (I think a better coating can improve even the experienced sharpness because of the better contrast, am I wrong here?).
The image has a slight barrel distortion, but this is to a level I wouldn't notice if I didn't tried to find it. I could not see any "rolling ball"-effect when panning.
Looking towards lights sources there is a bit too strong reflections and ghost images for my expectation of a good "fully multi coated" binocular.
Conclusion:
The Kite Birdwatcher 8x42 is a decent binocular in the budget (or isn't it midprice for porro binoculars?).
But in the same price range you can find binoculars as Nikon Action Extreme and the discontinued Konica Minolta Activa serie. According to my several views of both these models my clear impression is that the Kite Birdwatcher does not really reach up to their standard. If the price of the Birdwatcher had been 2/3 of the actual price I had found it worth.
I am at the moment going to upgrade my present binocular selection (recently received one model and waiting for another next week). These models I have tried before and they are "keepers".
Hope my short and somewhat linguistic faulty review was of interest.
Patric
--------------------
*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leica Ultravid 8x20 BR
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*No name (Kunming) 15x70
*Scopos ED APO 66
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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lynntx
sage
Reged: 03/25/04
Posts: 283
Loc: North Texas, USA
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Thanks Patric,
You brief review was enjoyable to read. Sorry the Kite did not meet your expectations. Good luck on your next selection.
Lynn
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Texas, USA
*******************
Orion ST80
127mm F8 Burgess Refractor
8" F6 Dob
8X21, 8X30, 8X42, 7X50, 15X70 Binoculars
(Psalm 19:1)
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edcannon
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/19/03
Posts: 671
Loc: Austin, Texas
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A fairly comparable model to the Kite under discussion here may be the Orion Ultraview 8x42. It's fully multicoated, has the same true field of view, same type of eyecups, and looks a lot like the photo of the Kite. In comparing my Ultraview with my (advertised as) multicoated Skymaster, it's very obvious, without any doubt, that the Ultraview has much better coatings.
There's a small mistake on the Kite webpage. It has the wrong exit pupil diameter for the 8x42. It says "3.5" mm but should say "5.3" (or "5.25").
[Edit: As best as I have been able to determine,] the Nikon Action Extreme ATB is *not* fully multicoated.
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Ed Cannon - Austin, Texas, USA
As of 23 August 2008 - Celestron Skymaster 12x60
Edited by edcannon (04/09/07 01:58 AM)
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Swedpat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/05
Posts: 1026
Loc: Boden, Sweden, Scandinavia
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Thanks for your responses!
I also noticed the mistake about the exit pupil on the Kite site. Before I tried the Birdwatcher I saw it and understood that they had mixed up the numbers from 5,3 to 3,5mm. But it,s a shame that this mistake not yet have been corrected; and it,s stated for the 10x42 model too...
About the comparison to Skymaster it,s also my understanding. The coating of the Kite Birdwatcher (and Ultraview if they are completely similar) is better than the Skymaster, but not as good as Oberwerk.
Patric
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*2,3x40 Constellation View Wide-Bino
*Leica Ultravid 8x20 BR
*Leupold 6x30 Yosemite
*Leupold Katmai 6x32
*Swarovski SLCNew 7x42B
*Bresser (Lidl) 10x50
*Oberwerk 11x70
*No name (Kunming) 15x70
*Scopos ED APO 66
*Meade 5000 26mm Plössl, Vixen LV 10/5mm
Psalm 19:2
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F.Meiresonne
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 2792
Loc: Eeklo,Belgium
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Interesting review i stumbled in...
I have another look alike to the kite and orion ultraview.
It's a Helios 8 x 40.
Looks exactly thesame but has 40 mm lenses not 42(I measured them with a caliper).
The front lenses of my Helios are dark green multicoated. The eyepieces green and amber. I can see still some tiny white reflections , i assume they come from the prism wich are perhaps not coated or at least not multicoated.(it states multi coated)
The exit pupil has also a slight cut off as mention above (So has the ultraview)
Sharpness detoriates also at about 70%, like stated above.
However, the views are great. The center is very sharp and views are very contrasty wich strikes me the most.Coatings are very good because standing before a big window i cannot see the reflection of my face...
The Helios is also less expensive then the Orion. Don't know about the Kite though...
seems all a spitting image...
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Freddy Meiresonne
Obsession 18 inch #1638
Orion Optics 8 inch F/4.5 -1/8 wave optics -Vixen GP-E
20x80 Helios Stellar Binos
10x50 Helios Nature sport plus
8x40 Helios Nature sport plus
Eyepieces in use :Pan 35,24,19, N13T6, Pentax 10 XW, N9T6, Ultrascopic 7.5, TV2, baader ortho 12.5 and 9 mm
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10029
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Hello Freddie ,
In addition to the variations sometimes found between binoculars which LOOK the same , it is at least equally not unusual for several models under different guises to actually BE the same - and this has certainly been the case in the past involving binoculars bearing all the names mentioned above in this thread -- and few more ! :-)
Someone like Bill Cook could probably fill pages with specific examples , if it wasn't against his professional etiquette to do so !
Regards
Kenny
--------------------
Two eyes and a preference to use both
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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F.Meiresonne
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 2792
Loc: Eeklo,Belgium
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Hi Kenny,
Well, so it seems. Many are alike, but what i also found is that prices are certainly NOT.
Of all 3 mentioned above , the Helios is the less expensive one (so far)....The kite seems to me very expensive...
--------------------
Freddy Meiresonne
Obsession 18 inch #1638
Orion Optics 8 inch F/4.5 -1/8 wave optics -Vixen GP-E
20x80 Helios Stellar Binos
10x50 Helios Nature sport plus
8x40 Helios Nature sport plus
Eyepieces in use :Pan 35,24,19, N13T6, Pentax 10 XW, N9T6, Ultrascopic 7.5, TV2, baader ortho 12.5 and 9 mm
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10029
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Prudence is certainly the key here , Freddie .
On example -- for years , the Orion Little Giant 15 x 70 Mk2 was only available in the UK for ALMOST TWICE the price of the Helios 15 x 70 Observer --
-- which is EXACTLY the same item with a different label stuck onto it ! :-)
Kenny
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Two eyes and a preference to use both
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
|
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