My new Canon 18x50 IS binos arrived a couple days ago. These are my second pair of image stabilized binoculars. I already have the Canon 10x42 IS and like them very much. I bought long lens hood, a hard case and filters for those binos. Now I'm looking for long lens hood and a hard case for the 18x50's.
Of course, the skies have been cloudy since the 18x50's arrived, and yesterday we had the first snow of the year.
The eyepiece caps are single units, not the silly dual eye cap that came with the 10x42's. So I don't have to look for single caps for the eyepieces. (I never did find ones to fit the 10x42's.) However, the 18x50's did not come with any caps at all for the objectives. Silliness.
There should be dew/glare shields for the objectives. I definitely want some kind of attachment to shield the objectives from dew and glare, and for general protection. The threading at the objectives is 58mm. I should look for long lens hoods with 58mm threading.
I'm full up with DSO filters for the objectives. When I bought the 10x42's, I purchased some extra DSO filters so I could have pairs of filters (I didn't get UV or clear filters. They seem useless to me if you have good caps for the objectives or long lens hoods.)
The aperture of the 10x42's was too small for the DSO filters. Not enough light to show the DSO very well. I don't use filters on the 10x42's any more.
But maybe I should get a pair of step-down rings to try the DSO filters on the 18x50's? For the sake of convenience, I'd probably attach the step down rings and filters on the end of the lens hoods. The threading on the lens hoods would be 58mm. So I need 58-48mm step-downs.
The padded case is not bad. But it does not include a strap! I have a box full of bino straps. Maybe one of those will let me hang the case comfortably at my side. On the other hand, the point is moot, because when I put long lens hoods on the objectives, the 18x50's will be too long to fit in the padded case. I'll want to buy a hard case to fit them instead.
Any ideas on these accessories for the Canon 10x42 IS?
Mike