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Glare on Steiner Bino's?

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eas View Drop Down
Optics Apprentice
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    Posted: January/06/2012 at 10:15
I am new to the forum and I have a question regarding a pair of Steiner 8x30 Military/Marine Bino's I just purchased.  Yesterday evening I took them out after sunset to see how they worked and I noticed a bad glare or haze over my entire view when using them in the brightest area.  The sky was very bright near dark and when I looked through a farm field with the bright sky light in the background I got a bad glare/haze across the viewing area?  I tried two other pairs of bino's to compare and neither had the same glare/haze.  The glare mad it impossible to see anything clear in the field.  What causes this and is it an individual binocular problem or would all of the Steiner 8x30 models have this issue? 
 
They are new and I could easily take them back to exchange or return.  My budget was $250 max and I compared them to Nitrex, Leupold, Nikon, Bushnell, Vortex and Redfield.  I felt the Steiner glass looked the best and I like the rugged construction. 
 
Any suggestions?  Thanks for the help!!Big Grin
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Bird Watcher View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/06/2012 at 12:53
It may be due to inferior optical coatings on the lenses and the prisms.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bitterroot Bulls Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/06/2012 at 20:29
Sounds like veiling glare to me.  It may be cause by the physical design of the optic.
-Matt
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eas View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote eas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/06/2012 at 20:48
Thank you for the suggestions. I am going to give them another try tomorrow evening. It sounds like from what I'm hearing that is more than likely the design or coating of the Steiner's rather than just a "bad apple". My next step was to purchase a pair of Nitrex or Leupold if that is the case. I prefer the Nitrex since they are made by light optic works in Japan. The Leupold Acadia's are made in the Phillipines and I am not a fan of that.

Would you suggest trying a different pair of Steiner's or jumping ship to a totally different brand? I always thought Steiner made superior optics in this price range but maybe that is not the case anymore.

Any additional thoughts or opinions? They will be used primarily for hunting, so toughness and weather resistance is key for me. I'm not ready to go past the $300 mark at this point.

Thanks!
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supertool73 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/06/2012 at 21:25
What is your budget for new ones and your type of use?  I am sure a couple of our bino gurus can point you in the direction of hte best binos you can get for your budget and uses.
Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

"A Liberal is a person who will give away everything they don't own."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bitterroot Bulls Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/06/2012 at 21:26


Country of origin is a common topic when it comes to optics selection, although you don't hear disdain about the Phillippines as much as China. If you don't want to buy an optic produced in a certain country that is fine by me, and there are often good reasons, but it has little to do with the quality of the optic itself. LOW and other Japanese manufacturers can, and do, make optics at multiple performance levels, from junk to class leaders. I haven't seen the Nitrex binos myself, but there are lots of pretty good performing binoculars in the $200 to $400 range, with most of the best coming out of major Chinese OEM manufacturers.

I am curious how you determined LOW made Nitrex bins?
-Matt
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eas View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote eas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/06/2012 at 23:14
My budget is $300 is less. I assumed the Nitrex binoculars are made by LOW (I have good number of Nitrex & Weaver scopes and I do know the ones I own are from LOW) but I see your point. They may very well not be made by LOW or they may be cheap made. I don't really have anything against the location I guess but I just prefer Japanese an US made scopes. Everybody is different but I have always had great experience with these type of scopes (Burris, Weaver, Old Redfields and Nitrex have Never let me down). That being said I have a lot to learn as always and I appreciate any help offered! I have researched this site for years and finally joined.....

My problem is usually spending top dollar on life long scopes but choosing mid grade binoculars. Thanks again for all the great info and help!!

So, should I stick with the Steiner's in my $300 budget or go another route? I have tried the Bushnell Legends, Vortex Viper, Nikon's and Leupold Acadia/ Cascades. I only liked the Leupold's out of that list but would certainly be open for any better suggestions. I admit I have never been a Nikon fan of scopes (I doubt that will change) but no very little about their binoculars.

Let me know what else I should consider if anything.
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eas View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote eas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/06/2012 at 23:18
Sorry for the typo's. Typing a little fast on the phone I guess.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bitterroot Bulls Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/07/2012 at 08:51
You can get some good glass for under $300.
 
I don't know if the Legends you saw were the standard Legend of the Legend Ultra HD.
 
The Ultra HD is a nice binocular that has a better, much wider image than the Acadias, IMO:
 
 
Some people have had positive customer service from Bushnell, some have horror stories.
 
These are the ones I would get:
 
 
I have seen both of these bins, but can't remember exactly how good they are at controlling veiling glare, but don't remember seeing it much either.
 
If you can barely stretch your budget, these are very well corrected, and have an amazing image:
 
 
Unfortunately, all of these come from Chinese OEM manufacturers.
 
I have had excellent customer service from Zen Ray.
-Matt
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote eas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/07/2012 at 09:09
Thanks! I can't remember I'd the Legends were HD but my friend bought them and loves them. This is what initially made me look into them. I spent some time with them and I agree the image is very clear and bright. However, I do not like the feel of the eye cups (for me) I tried to warm up to them but I don't like the flat surface against my eye. I guess I am a little weird. As for Bushnell customer service....I have not been impressed. I have a couple of their top scopes and one is still sitting in my safe with a broken screw on the focus. I have called about 10 times over the past 6 months I have waited on hold for over 20 minutes each time and just gave up. No matter what time or day they always experience a delay for "high call volume". So I have since Moved on to other priorities. Maybe I am picky but a company this big should have better support.

I will check out the Zen Rays and consider adding some money to my budget. Thanks for the suggestion!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dwig Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/01/2012 at 13:02
If you want to stay with the steiner brand you should look into the predator extreme for what your  wanting out of bino's.  I got 8x42 off ebay for 280 and love them for deer hunting you may find a similar deal but if your willing to throw in another benjamin you can get the same power for 399 all day.
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