Telescope Reviews: Re: William Optics 7x50 ED binocular minireview

Hi Ed,

Just read your mini-review of the WO 7x50 binoculars and saw a couple of things that didn't ring true in my pair--and some things that were kind of unique that you didn't mention.

#1, mine came in an unusual semi-hard black zippered case with a pocket that folds out and special molding to fit the contours of the binocular

#2 my binoculars came with one of the nicest, sturdiest L-brackets I've ever seen with a rough enamel finish reminscent of the finish they put on old film projectors. There's no one in my family with narrow spaced eyes but my wife is a demure person and she can adjust them to fit her spacing just fine.

#3 My captive caps fit pretty snugly and have not had any problems with them falling out--mine work almost like Tupperware, just push the middle down a little and walk the little lip around and they kinda suction seal.

#4 In the writeup on the WO site, it says the binos show a 7.3 degree FOV "sharp to the corners," as you mentioned in your mini-review that's not quite accurate. Like you, I found the view sharp out to about 90 percent beyond which the stars started to turn to comets. Unlike you, the view was the same in both barrels so there appears to be some production inconsistency. I guess I was lucky to get a good pair as the views seem the same in both barrels and collimation appears to be pretty tight (and I'm one of those persons that are hypersensitive to miscollimation for some reason). In light poluted skies, you can see where the sharpness cutoff is as there is a noticable shadow in the outer 10 percent of the FOV.

Having owned, used and sold a host of binoculars, the WOs are definitely one of my favorites to use especially for wide field viewing. Some of other binos in my constantly changing collection are the Apogee RA88s, Meade 9x63, Pentaxes (several pairs), Vixen (16x80 Giants), Fujinon (16x70 FMT-SX), Celestrons (10x50 Ultima DX, Japanese old-style Ultima DX 10 x 50s, Regal LX 10x42s ) Nikon ( Pro Staff 10x25s and Action Extreme 7x50 and 10x50s) Canon 15x50IS's and the Zhummel Tachyon 25x100s. I've kept all the ones highlighted in red in additon to my newest WO acquisition.

My most favorite so far have been the Canon 15x50IS's and the Celestron 10x50 old-style Ultimas. The Canons truly are "sharp to the corners, see a lot of stars, and you can get the stars to hold still without a tripod. The Celestron old-style DXs are ultra-light, tack sharp in the middle 80 percent of the field, and the star color is just amazing.

Cheers,

Tom

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