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Let’s start with a prediction. When you look at these binoculars you will not be tempted to buy them. They are – well – plain looking. They need to go on a diet. But -- and here’s the “but” -- when you look through these binoculars you will want them. Don’t trust me on this. Go look through them! |
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I began my birding career with a pair of WWII Navy binoculars that I bought in a surplus store in downtown Manhattan. They had independently focusing eyepieces and must have weighed 3 or 4 pounds. The focus was so slow that I was forced to concentrate on things that didn’t move much, so I really learned to identify waterfowl and wading birds. I never really believed that anyone could reliably identify anything that moved as fast as a warbler. |
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When Nikon introduced the Venturer LX in 1998, they set a new standard for brightness and resolution in birding binoculars. At that time it had been several years since the introduction a significant new birding binocular, and the Venturer was named as a“reference standard” by my colleague, Steve Ingraham, at Better View Desired. The Venturer should have captured a huge portion of the high end binocular market. |
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Every so often there is a rumor in the industry that a company has produced a new line of binoculars that is supposed to redifine the state-of the art in sports optics. To be state-of-the art, a binocular must have exceptional image clarity and resolution; superior brightness; a wide field of view, and true color accuracy, free of aberrations. |
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Anyone who has spent hours trudging around the bush carrying an 80mm spotting scope and heavy-duty tripod on their shoulder knows how tiring the experience can be and how sore their shoulders can get after awhile. Yet, given the prevailing wisdom, many naturalists still choose to endure the extra weight in favor of the superior optics that 80mm scopes are supposed to provide over the smaller 60-65mm scopes. |
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The HHS is the latest incarnation of a series of binoculars which have carried the "Audubon" designation. The Audubon line has always been well received by birders and critics, with each new version offering significant improvements over its predecessors. (As with the UltraLite, Swift offers an Audubon poro prism model which was reviewed by my colleague, Steve Ingraham, a few years ago.) |
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It takes a certain healthy humility on the part of an optics company to accept the fact that their most recent design, often the sum of the efforts of hundreds of people over years of time, is still, in some essential way, imperfect. Of course it happens all the time. No manufacturer has yet gotten birding binoculars exactly right. If they had it would simplify choices for all of us: we’d all own those binoculars. |
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The limiting factor for close focusing binoculars is parallax. Binoculars produce two distinct images – one for each barrel. At normal distances the images overlap and our brain has little trouble merging them into a single image. At less than normal distances the two images don’t overlap and our brain cannot merge them so we see double. Most binocular designers mechanically limit the close focus to the closest distance at which the two images overlap. |
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The Epochs are a direct attack on the high end of the market. Brunton set out to design a glass to compete head to head with Leica, Zeiss, Swarovski, Bausch and Lomb, and Nikon. Honestly, there is only so much of a market there, just so many birders who are willing or able to spend that kind of money on binoculars. Still, without a competitive model at the high end, no one is going to take a company seriously. |
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Not so long ago I announced, right here in the BVD pages, perhaps in a fit of euphoric hyperbole, the death of the 80 mm Spotting Scope. The new 65 mm scopes from Swarovski and Zeiss (and who knows what to follow) are simply so good— so bright, so compact, so field-worthy—that in most real-world birding situations I can see no reason to carry a larger scope. |
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I have always wondered what would happen if an optical company designed a spotting scope from the eyepieces forward, rather than the objective back. Many birders are surprised to discover the limiting factor in a spotting scope’s performance is, most often, not the big chunk of glass out front, but the little lenses in the eyepiece. All the objective lens has to to is to form a tiny image of the bird, an image that floats in the air within the tube of the scope. |
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The new Swarovski 8.5x42 ELs depart from tradition in several ways. The physical design is unique, with the two extra long barrels (lens tubes, see photo) separated by enough space so that you can wrap your fingers all the way around—no central hinge—just a bridge top and bottom with the focus knob floating on the upper bridge. Swarovski’s stated goal was to make the binoculars easy enough to grip so that they could be held up and focused with one hand (apparently a common birding stance in Europe). |
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Over the past year I have made several attempts to get a pair of the new 8x30 Diafun roof prism binoculars for testing from Zeiss. One has to wonder just what under-$500 waterproof roofs from a company like Zeiss would look like, and, even more, if the optics could possibly live up to the Zeiss reputation. The Diafuns are, I am told, always out of stock. I was beginning to suspect that Zeiss was reluctant to have the new glass tested. A dealer finally let me take a pair, and really, Zeiss had little to worry about (unless they would have only been satisfied with the kind of rave review which I rarely give any product). |
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For many years, the Nikon E Series binoculars: a 7x35, a 8x30, and a 10x35, have represented one of the best values in high quality birding optics. Whenever I saw someone in the field with the 8x30s Es (in particular) I knew I was looking at a birder who valued function above fashion. The 8x30 Es are certainly among the ugliest binoculars ever made, and, as porro prism glasses they don't, just by wearing them, automatically evivate you to the status of "serious birder" (as almost any roof prism glass will in the eyes of most of the birding community), but if your primary concern is seeing birds and seeing them well, the Nikon 8x30 Es have always done the job amazingly well. |
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Until the introduction of the Swarovski 8.5x42 EL last year, Swift had the only 8.5x binocular on the market: the excellent 8.5x44 Audubon. There is much to be said for 8.5 power. It gives you just that bit of extra reach you sometimes need, a slightly larger image of the bird to add you your enjoyment, and without adding so much extra magnification (optical leverage) that the image becomes hard to hold still enough to see (go much over 9x and the image bounces around with every breath and muscle tremor). |
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The only improvement that Leica actually claims for this revision of what have become classics among serious birders, is closer focus ability. In today's market, with every new glass pushing the inner limits of focus, the Leicas were loosing their edge. The new model focuses to 10 feet—not spectacular, but probably as close as anyone but a "butterflyer" needs. Focus is smooth and crisp—much more rapid than the Swarovskis and just as precise as the Nikons, or, in other words, about as good as it gets. |
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If you have been reading the reviews here at BVD for any length of time, you know that I am a strong advocate for mid-sized binoculars, 8x30-32s, as a primary birding glass. In all most all real-life field birding situations, an exceptional 8x32 will provide all the detail and brightness the human eye can use, and without the burden of weight and the bulk of full-sized glasses. My own birding glass of choice, for several years now, has been the extraordinary 8x32 Nikon Superior E. |
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Wouldn't it be wonderful to own binoculars which weighed less than 12 ounces, fit in your pocket, and yet still provided a satisfying enough view of the bird to substitute for your full sized (or even mid-sized) binoculars, day-in-and-day-out? |
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Wouldn't it be wonderful to own binoculars which weighed less than 12 ounces, fit in your pocket, and yet still provided a satisfying enough view of the bird to substitute for your full sized (or even mid-sized) binoculars, day-in-and-day-out? |
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The most obvious reason for owning and using compacts is portability. There is simply nothing like having binoculars with you all the time, and compacts make that possible. No more decisions about whether to pack the binoculars or an extra change of underwear. For those already loaded down with other equipment, either traveling, or in the field (cameras, tape recorders, video gear), compacts are the obvious solution. |
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You may recall the mini review of the new Leica Ultra 8X32s in the August 1993 issue, and you may also recall my initial enthusiasm. Since that time I have done more extensive testing and added untold hours of field experience with the glasses, and I am coming to the somewhat reluctant conclusion that the 8X32s may just be the best all-around birding binoculars currently on the market. |
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As regular readers of BVD know, I am fascinated by the possibilities of the mid-sized binoculars class. I believe it should be possible to produce an 8X30-35 binoculars that would provide all the performance a birder needs and do it in a relatively light weight, compact package that would be a joy to carry in the field. |
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The conventional wisdom among birders goes something like this: the best all around binoculars for birding is the full sized 8X40. The combination of good image size (8X magnification), excellent brightness and resolution (40mm objectives), and a reasonably wide field of view (350-425 feet depending on the eyepiece design), makes for binoculars that seldom let you down in the field. The image size and optical resolution give you the detail you need to make most identifications, and to enjoy all the amazing variety of design and execution inherent in birds. |
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The Bausch and Lomb Elites have always been among the two or three finest 7 to 8 power full sized birding binoculars. After phase coating was added, their only major short-coming was the lack of any kind of weatherproofing. (In fact, in my initial review of the phase coated model, I just assumed that any binoculars that obviously well designed and made would be waterproof, and listed it as a feature in the review. The people at B&L were quick to point out my mistake, and I had to print a retraction.) |
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The designers went back to the drawing board (or their computers) and started from scratch. The result is the Venturer LX line, so far an 8x42 and a 10x42. These are waterproof, nitrogen purged, phase coated, rubber armored, high-zoot (silver coated prisms), high-priced roofs, obviously intended to compete with the Leicas, Swarovskis, Elites, and Zeisses. |
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Until the Pentaxs, phase coating was the one thing (well, that and nitrogen purging) that separated the $1000 roof prism glasses from the new crop of fully-multicoated waterproof roofs from Bausch and Lomb, Canon, Celestron, Fujinon, Nikon, and Swift. Phase coating makes a difference. Phase coated roofs are slightly brighter and the image appears slightly sharper. |
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For years, Swift made the only 8.5 power binoculars: the Swift Audubons, arguably, in their day, the best optical value on the birding market. They offered optical performance equal to the best roof prism glasses at a fraction of the cost. One might even argue that they were the first binoculars ever designed specifically with birding in mind. They were big. They were bulky. |
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Right up front, from an optical standpoint...resolution, contrast, color fidelity, brightness, and overall image quality...the new Superior Es are the simply the finest binoculars I have yet tested. Their measured resolution equals the best I have seen (center field resolution in my cherry Swift Audubon 8.5x44s) at just over 3.5 arc seconds. |
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I don't like 10X binoculars. I find them too difficult, too uncomfortable to use for extended periods in the field. I am convinced that you see more, over time, through excellent 8X glasses than you ever will through 10X glasses. I say all that so that you will appreciate the impact of this next: I like the Swarovski 10X42s, and, what is more, I would certainly use them for my primary, day in and day out, birding binoculars. |
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These glasses offer excellent optics and, due to their very light-weight and well designed body, exceptional handling in the field. They place no strain on the neck and should fit even quite small hands. |
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These glasses offer excellent optics and, due to their very light-weight and well designed body, exceptional handling in the field. They place no strain on the neck and should fit even quite small hands. |
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I have argued for years that an 80mm scope is overkill in most birding situations, and simply too large to be a comfortable carry in the field, especially when you add the weight of a tripod heavy enough to adequately support the monster for the kind of views it is supposed to yield. |
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The Tele Vue 85 goes beyond need. The 85 shows, at any distance and any power, right out to the limits of daylight viewing, all the detail, I am convinced, that there is to see. In direct comparison with the finest scopes on the market, the Tele Vue 85 consistently shows a brighter, more subtly detailed, image of the bird. You can see things in the Tele Vue's image that just aren't there in the Pentax 80 mm or the Nikon Fieldscope. |
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It is long past time for a review of the "new" Nikon Fieldscope III ED. I have had one for a year or more now and we still have the Fieldscope II listed as the Reference Standard for 60 mm class scopes. |
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A good scope gives you the brightest, clearest, upcloseandpersonal view possible ‹ sometimes giving you an even better than birdinthehand view. To see the same amount of detail that one of the scopes in this test provided at 10 yards, I had to use a 4X magnifier at less than an inch! Now, put a bird at the feeder in front of that scope and I think you can imagine the possibilities. |
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The main reason that more people don't regularly carry a scope into the field with them has to be the extra weight and bulk. A scope is simply a hassle, no matter how you carry it, and for the few times you really need it , it is easy to convince yourself you don't really need it. |
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I don't think I have ever gotten as many calls or requests for information as I have on the new Leica Televid 77 spotting scopes. Everybody wants to know. What is it? Is it good? How does it compare? What everybody is hoping for, obviously, is the final killer scope‹the one from Leica‹the one that is going to blow everything currently on the market away. |
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Let's say it right up front here: the Swarovski 20-60mm zoom eyepiece sets the standard against which all other zooms must be measured. I like a zoom for its obvious convenience, but until I saw the Swarovski (and the Nikon, see below), I religiously avoided them because of their uniformly poor (unacceptable!) optical performance at anything over their lowest power setting. |
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The new Kowa is an obvious sibling to the current TSN series. It shares the same contrasting light and dark olive, rubberized exterior, with a built in lens shade...one of the more attractive scope finishes once you warm up to the color...and certainly one of the nicer ones to handle. The slightly tacky rubber gives a very positive grip and seems quite durable. The body itself departs from traditional scope design by mounting the prisms horizontally instead of vertically. |
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The two Swarovski draw tubes are typical of the design. The fully collapsed CT75, with the 3 inch zoom eyepiece attached, still measures under 16 inches, and weighs just 2.5 pounds. The CT85, which uses two draw tubes instead of the 75's one, collapses to 13 inches with the zoom attached, and weighs 3 pounds. Fixed power eyepieces subtract about another 2 inches, and some weight. |
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Optolyth is not as well known in the US as it should be. Their older style Alpin series porroprism binoculars were always some of my favorites...the 8x30s held the Mid-sized Reference Standard for several years until the introduction of the Leica Ultras...and I am anxious to test the redesigned Alpins. |
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For those of you who were interested in the optical performance of the Tele Vue 85 reviewed in the last issue of BVD, but were put off by the size and weight, what if I were to tell you that you could get 99% of the daylight optical performance of the 85 in a package that is significantly smaller and lighter. |
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Most of us, at one time or another, have seen birders in the field with one of those funny looking mirror spotting scopes. Short, fat, with eyepieces at strange angles, they stand out in a group of refractors like a Snipe in a flock of Yellowlegs. If you have shopped around at all, you know that some of those mirror scopes cost upwards of $2000 on the street, two to three times the price of the best of the refractors. |
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So admit it. You have really always wanted a Questar. Ever since that day on Attu when the whole group cued up behind one to see the Siberian Rubythroat, and the better than bird-in-the-hand view left you speechless with envy; ever since the overcast day at Cape May when a fellow birder picked up a Long-tailed Jaegar way out beyond the limits of conjecture where your scope showed only a slight moving condensation, a hazy nothing, haunting the horizon. |
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I have resisted testing the new crop of big binoculars. By "big" I mean binoculars with large objective lenses...50mm and larger...as opposed to the more normal 40-42mm birding glass (though clearly, increasing the size of the objective lens increases both the size and weight of the whole instrument). |
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Not so long ago, back in 1992 when I started seriously testing birding binoculars, there were only a handful of glasses that I could honestly recommend. Usable eye relief, acceptable close focus, decent field-of-view, general optical quality, and field-worthy handling and durability were all hard to find at anything under $1000, and there were any number of $1000 binoculars on the market that I could not recommend. |
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The Ranger is the Pronto optics in a pared down, lighter, more compact, package. Optically it is every bit the Pronto's equal. In side by side comparisons (using the dollar bill test outlined in previous BVDs) the Ranger outperformed the Nikon 78ED by four feet at ‰25X (that is, the Ranger showed the same detail on the dollar bill at 59 feet as the Nikon did at 55 feet...which, for my eyes, is the same amount of detail I can see with corrected vision at ‰12 to 18 inches). |
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The Ranger is the Pronto optics in a pared down, lighter, more compact, package. Optically it is every bit the Pronto's equal. In side by side comparisons (using the dollar bill test outlined in previous BVDs) the Ranger outperformed the Nikon 78ED by four feet at ‰25X (that is, the Ranger showed the same detail on the dollar bill at 59 feet as the Nikon did at 55 feet...which, for my eyes, is the same amount of detail I can see with corrected vision at ‰12 to 18 inches). |
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Celestron continues to develop its relationship with the Korean optics industry. They sent along three new models which have been added to their Mini Series. The 8X25 and the 10X25 (models 71542 and 71543) should be of definite interest to birders. |
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Nikon has introduced a new series of relatively inexpensive porroprism binoculars, specifically targeted at the birding and watchable wildlife crowd‹or any outdoor enthusiasts with a genuine need for binoculars but a limited ability or willingness to spend a lot of money on them. |
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In many ways I prefer porroprism binoculars. The design is a simpler, less exacting, solution to the optical problem, and simplicity has much to recommend it. In theory, you should be able to produce an exceptional quality porroprism glass for considerably less than an exceptional quality roof prism glass. The main drawback has always been that porros are more difficult to weather and waterproof than roof prism designs. |
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The 7X42 and 8X42 Discoverers are yet another example of a well designed housing wrapped around so-so optics. The body of the binoculars is heavily rubber armored with a particularly comfortable and relatively attractive coating, well contoured to fit average hands. B&L;has borrowed the pop-up eyecup idea from some of the premium European lines, and implemented it well. |
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The WindRiver 8X42s are, I am almost certain, another incarnation of the Swift Ultralite and Celestron Ultima (WildBirds Unlimited) 8X42 glasses, two of my all time favorite birding binoculars. What Leupold has done is to spec an already exceptional design with slightly closer focus and '"'o'"' ring seals for at least some weatherproofing. As you might imagine, the result is a very nice binoculars indeed. |
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One of the great mysteries of the past year, for me, has been the new Swarovski roof prism binoculars. Within weeks of the introduction of the 7 and 10X42s I began to hear very positive comments. Some birders were actually excited about these binoculars. Yet when I finally managed to get the 7X42s to test for the August 1993 issue, I was less than impressed. Optically, they simply were not up to the rest of the best. |
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One of the great mysteries of the past year, for me, has been the new Swarovski roof prism binoculars. Within weeks of the introduction of the 7 and 10X42s I began to hear very positive comments. Some birders were actually excited about these binoculars. Yet when I finally managed to get the 7X42s to test for the August 1993 issue, I was less than impressed. Optically, they simply were not up to the rest of the best. |
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There is a small, select group of binoculars out there that fall into what we might call the "never-fail" class. They are the binoculars you carry when you need to be sure that you are going to see everything that it is possible to see. They are glasses for those times when you need to be sure that if you miss an identification, or even a moment of enjoyment, it is not because your optics let you down. |
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If anyone should be able to produce a moderately priced, high quality, scope, it should be Swift. After all, their Ultralite and Audubon series binoculars pretty much set the standard for value in birding glasses (with two Best Buys and two Product of Special Merit awards in the Reference Set). Therefore I was particularly eager to get my hands on their new Nighthawk scopes--both the 65mm and the 80mm. |
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Some of us have fond memories of the old Leica (then Leitz) 7x35 Trinivid. For several decades they were the binoculars many a birder aspired to. They were small, had a wide field and good eye relief, and, with some effort and expense, could be adjusted to focus closely. |
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With all the emphasis these days on big scopes, it takes courage to introduce a new 60mm. The Premiere from Bausch and Lomb, is designed to be a cut above their venerable Bushnell Spacemaster. It is a compact, attractive, partially rubber armored scope, with nice curves...obviously in the same physical family as the Elite. |
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he Regals are available in three full-sized models: 8x42, 10x42, and 10x50. They are, if I am not mistaken, close relatives of some of the Leupold Wind River glasses, and some of the Swift models, and very likely, given the realities of the market these days, any number of other makes, but, as usual, Celestron has given them their own character, and perhaps tweaked the specifications a bit. |