Telescope Reviews: Brock's Choice

Kenny,

i'm glad you took my post in good humor, as it was intended. with the differences in culture you never know. i'm still trying to figure out that stoppard play. not sure i'm deserving of self-named thread, but since i have at least one person interested, here goes....

what's missing in my collection is a 10X42 for birding and casual stagazing. my nikon 10X35 E2 filled this gap, but i traded it in on the 8X32 SE. i thought about replacing it with a 10X42 SE. however, given the increasing number of rainy/foggy/shirt-soaking humid days in central PA, i would have more opportunities to bird with a WP bin, and the bin would have greater longevity if it were fully sealed. although i prefer porros because they fit my budget better (went from high-paid tech writer to low-paid teacher during this downturn), and for the more comfortable grip (i find most roofs too small for my XL-sized hands), the number of fully sealed weatherproof/fogproof porros, while growing, is still relatively small compared to roofs.

also, the oversized eyecups on some of the new WP porros and roofs are too large for my eyesockets so a Classic with its rubber eyecups would be preferable. the SLC eyecups, though hard, appear small enough to fit (i have tried the 7X42 Swaro, and liked the image quality, but it was the older version with rubber eyecups). and both bins have broad central hinges that would probably fit my hands more comfortably than slim-bodied roofs like the victory or pentax DCF. also, steve ingraham from BVD said that the victories smell like tire rubber (and he works for Zeiss so you know it must be bad), and they are too slim (the original version also had those nasty strap attachments).

while the EL would probably fit my hands nicely because i could wrap them around the barrels, and they also have small eyecups, they are VERY expensive, and i'm not likely to find a used one at an affordable price.i've seen the 10X40 Zeiss sell for $400 used on A-mart. also, ingraham said the EL was not as bright as the SLC, and the 10X42 SLC is the roof alternative to the nikon 10X42SE in the BVD high-power binoculars reference set and is supposed to be as sharp on-axis as the SE. i know that's just one reviewer's opinion, but given the price, i have not researched the EL more thoroughly, and my own tastes seem to match ingraham's for the most part.

although it's perhaps more of a brit trait than american, i like the idea of a traditional design like the Zeiss Classic that has resisted and persevered in a market driven by the latest gimmicks and innovations.

while i still have 15 years before i qualify for a free bus pass, indeed, the smaller exit pupil will suit my eyes better, and it's also better for for stargazing from my moderately light polluted skies.

on the flip side of the traditional Classics, the duovids intrigue me more than any other roof design innovation, because the limiting factor of any bin compared to a spotting scope is its fixed magnification. this is why i bought the nikon XL Zoom, it's like having a low power, handheld spotting scope. however, it has some of the same limitations as all zooms, though less bothersome because of its wider FOV and better image quality. my heart skipped a beat when i saw the 8+12X42 Duovid advertised in the B & H Photo catalog for $399! took me a few seconds to come to my senses and realize that they had accidentally dropped the "1" in front of the first "3". i have not read any detailed reviews on the Duovids (if you've seen any, please email me), but on paper, they look very good, and if money were no object, they might be the "flagship" of my collection.

until (and if) i get my Ph.D. and make a three-fold increase in salary (or hit the lottery), i'm either stuck looking for a bargain-priced Zeiss Classic or settling for a "cheaper, faster, acceptable" non-Aryan 10X42 WP FP bin. maybe now that the Chinese have put a man in orbit, and the US has thrown down the gauntlet for the Second Moon Race, we might be saying in 15 years, if China can send a man to the moon, why can't they make a high quality bin?

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Oscar Zoroaster Diggs
"O.Z."

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"And remember, my sentimental friend....a heart is not judged by how much you love,
but by how much you are loved by others."