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Minox HG Binos? And Other Thoughts |
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koshkin
MODERATOR Dark Lord of Optics Joined: June/15/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 13182 |
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Generally speaking, under $1000, I think Meopta Meostar is the best binocular available (at least of the stuff I have seen). If you are willing to pay a little more, take a good look at Kowa Genesi. If you would rather pay a little less look at Vortex Razor. If you want to staty closer to a $500 mark, look at Vortex Viper.
Personally, for my "big" binoculars, I went with Vortex Razor 8.5x50 (I do not like 10x glass since my hands are not very steady). For my alround binoculars I prefer 7x42 configuration. I have used Swarovski SLC 7x42 for quite a while, but I sold them and will probably go to a different 7x42. For the time being Meopta 7x42 is the most likely candidate. ILya |
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FrankD
Optics Journeyman Joined: November/11/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 686 |
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ILya,
Very interesting comments. I have always wondered what the 8.5x50 Razor was like. Would you care to comment further? I was always impressed by the 8x42 Razor and was considering trying one of the 50 mm models. Is it really everything I would expect from a larger aperture glass?
...and let me know about the 7x42 Meostar. I have the 8x and briefly tried the 7x several years ago but would like to hear your opinion on it.
Thank you.
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Frank
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koshkin
MODERATOR Dark Lord of Optics Joined: June/15/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 13182 |
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I have reviewed 7x42 Meostar a while back (it should be somewhere on this website). I was incredibly impressed with it optically, but did not like the eyecups. There were not intermediate stops at the time. Eyecups were redesigned since then, I think, so it may be worth another look.
ILya |
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koshkin
MODERATOR Dark Lord of Optics Joined: June/15/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 13182 |
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Oh, and 8.5x50 Razor is, in my opinion, a better binocular than the 8x42 from the standpoint of seeing details. Field of view is not as wide, but sweetspot is larger.
ILya |
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koshkin
MODERATOR Dark Lord of Optics Joined: June/15/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 13182 |
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http://opticstalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=6641 Edited by koshkin - October/16/2008 at 21:59 |
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seabird1st
Optics GrassHopper Joined: October/22/2008 Location: Panama Status: Offline Points: 2 |
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Hello, jumping in here to this discussion because I'm looking at the Minox HG 10x43 BR - Rangefinding Binocular. I saw the reviews of the Minox HGs in general, but what about the Rangefinder?? Is that just a marketing extra add on to get us to spend more bucks, or is it worth it?
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anweis
Optics Master Joined: January/29/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1148 |
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I looked at those binoculars briefly more than one year ago. They don't have a true rangefinding capability. Rather, you focus you binoculars and then you look at the markings on the focusing knob and read what the approximate distance is. It may work as a "guesstimate", but each person has different eyes, affecting the estimate within 200 yards, and as the distance to objects increases, the accuracy of the estimate decreases. Past 250 or 300 yards, pretty much everything is in focus, and you can't use the rangefinder.
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anweis
Optics Master Joined: January/29/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1148 |
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But is is a fine binocular optically, just don't expect too much from the rangefinder, just look at it as a bonus estimator.
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cats9
Optics GrassHopper Joined: September/23/2008 Status: Offline Points: 18 |
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alright, so I ain't no optics guru (or English major), but I finally had a chance to stack up the following binos against each other side by side (or actually on top of each other) at dusk:
- Zeiss Conquest ABK 8x40
- Vortex Razors 8x42
- Minox HG 8.5x43
- Swarovski EL 8.5x42
- Promaster Infinity ELX 8x42 ED
In my heart, I wanted the Minox's to win (mainly b/c the guys at competitorny are running a great deal on them that brings 'em down into my price range), but the favorite for my eyes, hands and wallet were the Promasters, outdone only by the ELs.
The EL's were a shade better in terms of brightness and apparent clarity, but not at almost 4x the price.
For my eyes, the Promasters beat the Conquests, Razors and HGs hands down. Don't get me wrong, the HGs are a great glass, but the smaller FOV, smaller design that is just an uncomfortable "fit" for me and not-quite-as-good lens clarity threw them out of the running. I would still, however, say that the HG is a cleaner and more crips glass than the Razors (again just by small varying degrees and for my eyes). For some reason or another the Conquests were just left in the dust by the others.
Honestly, the only thing holding me back right now is the "too good to be true" thought. I still can't believe that a glass retailing for $500 (not on sale, no discounts, etc.) is better than its $800-$1000 competitors and almost, and I mean da*n close almost, as good as the $2K EL.
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seabird1st
Optics GrassHopper Joined: October/22/2008 Location: Panama Status: Offline Points: 2 |
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One question then, is the reliability of the company. I just read up on those binocs, and saw their "no fault" lifetime warranty. That is only as good as long as the company is there in 10 or 20 or 50 years. And what about repair services? Anyone have any experience about service from Promaster?
Thanks! |
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lucznik
Optics Master Joined: November/27/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1436 |
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Sorry this wasn't addressed earlier. I missed your post with the original questions:
Edited by lucznik - October/28/2008 at 20:01 |
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What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
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koshkin
MODERATOR Dark Lord of Optics Joined: June/15/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 13182 |
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Spot ont, but it is not just about skill and accepting aberrations, etc.
Design purpose is also important since depth of focus plays a role here as well. ILya |
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Klamath
Optics Master Joined: May/20/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1308 |
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cats9
Well you've read about them and now you have had the chance to compare the Promaster for yourself. Prettywell follows what FrankD and I have reported. They are a scary good glass for what they cost. I have bought some for myself and have taken them through deer season and have no complaint with them. I also have no reason to change my opinion of them either. So the choice is yours I guess. I know what you mean about the "too good to be true". Decision time huh? I decided that for that kind of optics at that price, I'd take them for a spin. No regrets so far. Maybe the objective lens will fall out the next time I use them, but I don't think so.
Steve Edited by Klamath - October/28/2008 at 22:37 |
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Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron |
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cats9
Optics GrassHopper Joined: September/23/2008 Status: Offline Points: 18 |
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Steve, you're last sentence kinda also goes back to what Seabird was asking in an earlier post.
Even though Promaster's website looks like it was put together by a dude that just wrapped up his first semester of Web Page Design 101, I'm almost sure I heard from a pretty reputable dealer that the company has been around for a while. Can the guys much more informed than me confirm? To a big extent (probably the biggest), this company "history" as well as their lifetime no fault warranty (http://www.promaster.com/support/warrantylifetimeBINOCS.asp) pretty much takes the cake for me over the supposedly comparable Hawkes (I haven't had the chance to look through them so I can't say for sure) that everyone is also talking about. |
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Klamath
Optics Master Joined: May/20/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1308 |
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cats9
I was referring to Seabirds post. I really do not think there is a build quality issue. Promaster has been around awhile. Check your pm.
Steve
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Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron |
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