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Best Buy for $250

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lucznik View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucznik Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/23/2008 at 11:46
Dolphin,

That's interesting to hear your account of the Olympus Magellan.  I tested one not too long ago and while I thought they were nice for their price range, they definitely were a step behind the Bushnell Elite I was comparing them with.  Here's the link:

http://www.opticstalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=6350

I suppose the question becomes; did I have an unusually poor sample or do you have an unusually good sample? 

Depth of Field, by the way, is almost strictly a function of magnification.  Assuming you are not dealing with total crap optics, which is an entirely different problem altogether, a 10x bino of one maker will have the same DoF as a 10x from any other maker.   The same is true for all other magnifications as well.  That the DoF in your Magellan "seems deeper than other binos" is essentially an optical illusion created by other factors.


Edited by lucznik - February/23/2008 at 11:50
What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
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Dolphin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dolphin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/23/2008 at 13:13
Actually, dof is theoretically defined by the magnification, but is also affected by the lens objective.  In addition, while two binos may be identical in their specs, ie 10x42, that does not mean that their dof will be identical based on the quality of the lenses employed and the fact that while one bino might say 10x, but may be somewhere off of the mark.  Olympus has been making high quality glass in their own factory for quite some time and knows how to do it correctly.  They do not need to source out their glass to certain specs and hope that those specs were meet and quality control is meet with each piece made.  They make high end glass for their digital cameras, which are highly regarded.  I personally own three, in addition to two Nikons.  It may be that you had a bad pair, doubtful I had a good pair.  Everybody makes a dud.  I am not sure when you looked through the pair you did, but may be the quality has changed.  Mine are about 2 years old or slightly less.  They still function well and are as optically as clean as when I bought them.  For the money, I could not be happier.  I try to be as unbiased as possible when evaluating a product, but I do have to admit, I fall into the camp where I will be more biased toward a really good product that is less expensive and be biased against a product that is more expensive, as I expect more out of it and try to find out why it costs so much, especially with the modern manufacturing techniques.  Just to illustrate a point of the mark ups of Euro products, I found an Australian gun shop, Hermans Gun Shop, I believe.  He was selling Merkel O/U model 2000 shotguns for 1995.00 US dollars.  Try to find one over here for less than 5000 dollars.  The Weatherby Athena Grade 5, no longer produced, which I believe is just as good as the Merkel model 2000 variants (not their best), cost more than the Merkel 2000.  I am just trying to be honest about my potential bias, but my review of the Olympus still stands.
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lucznik View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucznik Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/23/2008 at 16:23
Originally posted by Dolphin Dolphin wrote:

Actually, dof is theoretically defined by the magnification, but is also affected by the lens objective.  In addition, while two binos may be identical in their specs, ie 10x42, that does not mean that their dof will be identical based on the quality of the lenses employed and the fact that while one bino might say 10x, but may be somewhere off of the mark. 
Objective lenses will affect FoV which can result in a perception of greater DoF, though it is an optical illusion.  Also, if one bino is mislabeled as to its actual magnification, that doesn't change the reality that DoF is controlled by magnification.  It just means that you are unknowingly comparing things that are not in fact equal.

You should take a few minutes (actually it will likely take hours) and go over to www.birdforum.net and read over some of their lengthy and highly technical discussions about DoF, its causes , what influences it, how we perceive it, and the math that is involved in its calculation.  They are highly instructive.  

Originally posted by Dolphin Dolphin wrote:

I am not sure when you looked through the pair you did, but may be the quality has changed.
I posted my review about the Magellan at the end of March last year.

Originally posted by Dolphin Dolphin wrote:

For the money, I could not be happier.
"For the money" is a very significant disclaimer.

Originally posted by Dolphin Dolphin wrote:

I try to be as unbiased as possible when evaluating a product, but I do have to admit, I fall into the camp where I will be more biased toward a really good product that is less expensive and be biased against a product that is more expensive, as I expect more out of it and try to find out why it costs so much...
This is a reasonable and perhaps even "wise" practice.  It is smart to be aware of our own biases and I relate very well with the one you have described.  I too look to find maximum value in my purchases. It is a fairly objective fact that increases in the cost of optics are rarely if ever proportionately connected with the amount or degree of improvements. However, it is important not to equate an unwillingness to pay a premium price for potentially very small increases in quality to being the same as if those quality increases did not exist.
What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
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Dolphin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dolphin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/23/2008 at 18:54
Well, I guess if it is an optical illusion, that is what I am experiencing, because that is what seems to set the Olympus binos apart from the others.  I appreciate your link to the bird watchers, but when I researched the Olympus binos, alot of the bird watchers criteria for a good pair of binos for their purposes were not the same for my purposes.  In addition, for the money, being a disclaimer, I could not disagree more.  It is merely a statement regarding the fact that the quality, which I consider on par with the best, is an added benefit.  Nothing more.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bang_off Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 05:47
Originally posted by Dolphin Dolphin wrote:

...  Just to illustrate a point of the mark ups of Euro products, I found an Australian gun shop, Hermans Gun Shop, I believe.  He was selling Merkel O/U model 2000 shotguns for 1995.00 US dollars.  Try to find one over here for less than 5000 dollars. ....


Hermans may be an anomoly on that gun but belive me, you guys in the US have a great deal on Euro items when compared to the rest of the world.

Being a small market here in Australia means we get hit from all sides with markups. The only thing we have going in our favour at the moment is the strong Australian dollar versus the greenback. But guess what? no downwards movement in pricing pretty much across the board for all imports from the US.Shocked

The internet has been a boon for buying O/S and importing items, thus side stepping the markup upon markup.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dolphin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 09:03
1478 MERKEL  2000 E UNDER AND OVER 12,20,28 GAUGE SELF-COCKING MODIFIED ANSON& DEELEY BOX LOCK COIL SPRING EJECTORS CONVERTIBLE BY USER TO EXTRACTORS SINGLE AND DOUBLE TRIGGERS ,LOCKING MECHANISM: KERSTEN DOUBLE CROSS-BOLT LOCK WITH RELEASE AND TWO BARREL HOOKS, COLOUR CASE HARDENED OR SILVER- GRAYED RECEIVER WITH ARABESQUE ENGRAVING TRIGGERS DOUBLE OR SINGLE SELECTIVE A$3200 US$1995 NEW
This is the exact ad from Herman's.  The website link for this shotgun is:
 Obviously the main website is minus all of the minutia.
 


Edited by Dolphin - February/24/2008 at 09:04
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote medic52 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/04/2008 at 14:27
MY EXPERIENCE--- I just purchased a new pair of Bino's....Olympus Magellan EXWP-I for under 200.00. Not being familiar with bino's and what makes a good pair vs bad pair( glass) I did alot of reading on this and other web sites concerning anything with bino's. I know you can spend thousands of dollars on binos. With that in mind I decided that I would start out low and go from there. On one of the opinions that I read concerning glass quality a person made a reference between this particular pair and another higher dollar pair. He stated the novice person such as myself would not be able to really pick up on the difference in glass quality. However, with that being said, this is my opinion only. I own 14 scoped rifles. I own Leupold's, Nikon, Bushnell, Trijicon, Zeiss and others. Each gun has a particular purpose and is scoped that way. I know that the OLYMPUS Magellan EXWP-I is not the most expensive binoculars out there and maybe not the best, but for the price I have found that these are exceptional in what I was use to. They are CRISP,CLEAR and have a fast focus. The edge to edge clarity is GOOD. I took these out and watched deer late in the evenings, right up to dark and was amazed at how well I could still see with them. The one thing I will say is that they are the best that I've had the pleasure to use so far. So if you have a limited budget of 200.00 or less I would give these serious consideration. AGAIN this is my personal experience and opinion
"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." G.K. Chesterton
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