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chmcmm
Optics GrassHopper Joined: July/15/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 15 |
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Posted: November/27/2006 at 15:26 |
I'm looking for a good pair of 8x32's to top off my "collection". Used for hunting. I've narrowed it down to the following:
Minox BD or BL's (any appreciable difference?) Zeiss Conquest Pentax DCF SP's or PCF XP's
I've looked through the Zeiss Conquests. Very clear but light gathering wasn't any better than Nikon Monarchs. I have other Pentax binos. Very nice glass for the money. Opinions? |
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lucznik
Optics Master Joined: November/27/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1436 |
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Pretty much all of the binoculars you have on your short-list are high quality units. I would think that the decision is going to have to be made primarily on the basis of their ergonomics and only you can decide which feels better in your hands.
For me it would come down to a choice between the Minox BD and the Pentax SP, with the Minox probably having a slight edge. (I might have gone for the somewhat more expensive Minox BL but, SWFA lists this binocular as having a very narrow 243 ft FOV. I would want to confirm this as it seems like it must be a typo but if true, it would definately knock that binocular out of the running.) |
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What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
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FrankD
Optics Journeyman Joined: November/11/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 686 |
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The Minox series does have a narrower field of view (not sure about that published number you posted) than some other competing models. It was my understanding that it is the result of their use of aspheric lenses in the eyepiece. This does cut down on field of view but creates a sharper image from edge to edge. I have not tried the 8x32 configurations of the BD or BL series (I think field of view was between 390 and 400 feet). However, I did own a 8x32 DCF SP and I was very happy with them. They were actually my favorite sub-$1000 8x32 model. I liked their brightness, sharpness, flatness of field and general handling charactertistics. At the $350 price point I think they are the cat's meow. I have owned the Conquest 8x30 and Pentax XP 8x33 and I would choose the SP over both of them.
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Frank
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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Minox BD 8x32 BR has a FOV of 133m, which should translate to around 436.35'.
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chmcmm
Optics GrassHopper Joined: July/15/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 15 |
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Thanks for the replies. I ended up going with the Minox 8x42 BL - green edition. They're only about a 1/2 inch longer and 4 ounces heavier than the 8x32. Got a fantastic deal that I couldn't pass up.
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Tero
Optics Apprentice Joined: December/04/2006 Status: Offline Points: 135 |
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Sounds good. I have an 8x32 roof prism, and it is kind of a toy, but smaller than my 8x40 Actions. I use both, though.
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FrankD
Optics Journeyman Joined: November/11/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 686 |
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I would like to hear more about your experiences with them after you receive them. I see them priced right around $250 and others have suggested they offer better optical performance than the Monarchs. |
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Frank
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chmcmm
Optics GrassHopper Joined: July/15/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 15 |
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They arrived. Initial impressions are very favorable. For around $250 I'm very impressed. Nice blend of smaller size and weight. I'll have to do more optics testing but so far so good.
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FrankD
Optics Journeyman Joined: November/11/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 686 |
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Thanks chmcmm.
Let us continue to know your experiences with them as Minox is one of the brands trying to break through into the market here more. |
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Frank
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chmcmm
Optics GrassHopper Joined: July/15/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 15 |
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I thought I'd give a little field report. I didn't use the binos until the 2nd archery/muzzleloader season after Christmas. Most of my hunting was done in the deep woods. Overall, I'm very pleased. Even though they're 8x42's the binos are lightweight, compact, and easy to use. I highly recommend the bino buddy straps. Optically they're excellent. Very clear and bright way after legal hours. The thing I liked the most was depth perception they provided trying to pick out deer between the trees. I compared them to Monarch's and Conquests. For the money I don't think you could do better in the $300-500 range. |
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