Product Review: The Sky Rover Banner Cloud 8 x 42 Binocular (2 Viewers)

[gcole]

To say that this statement is a WOW moment, would be an understatement imho.

I have read many of Canip’s reviews and generally agreed with everyone of his opinions of the same binoculars that I have owned. Why is it so hard for many here to believe that a much more inexpensive binocular can come so close or even be equal optically to a so called Alpha costing three to four times more ? I think the topic should be … why are these Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss Alpha binoculars so over priced now compared to some amazing products coming out of China ? Is it over advertising or optically being brain washed to believe that a $500 MIC binocular could never perform like a top end $3500 binocular ?

 

[MiddleRiver]

I have read many of Canip’s reviews and generally agreed with everyone of his opinions of the same binoculars that I have owned. Why is it so hard for many here to believe that a much more inexpensive binocular can come so close or even be equal optically to a so called Alpha costing three to four times more ? I think the topic should be … why are these Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss Alpha binoculars so over priced now compared to some amazing products coming out of China ? Is it over advertising or optically being brain washed to believe that a $500 MIC binocular could never perform like a top end $3500 binocular ?

China Will Continue to Dominate World Production

Some may think the ubiquity of Chinese products is due to the abundance of cheap labor that reduces production costs, but there is much more to it.

www.investopedia.com

 

[Ignatius]

I have read many of Canip’s revirews and generally agreed with everyone of his opinions of the same binoculars that I have owned. Why is it so hard for many here to believe that a much more inexpensive binocular can come so close or even be equal optically to a so called Alpha costing three to four times more. I think the topic should be … why are these Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss Alpha binoculars so over priced now compared to some amazing products coming out of China. Is it over advertising or optically being brain washed to believe that a $500 MIC binocular could never perform like a top end $3500 binocular ?

Because things cannot be that must not be.
All their prized 'alpha' binos would suddenly not be so alpha anymore. They would no longer be so exclusive. The immense amounts of money they spent on them would suddenly be wasted because now some common oik who doesn't give a fig about the perceived cachet of a Swaro NL could enjoy the same good view which they believed to be their private and precious domain. Never mind the fact, that even if the quality of those Chinese bins isn't quite up to snuff, one can buy nearly seven SRBCs for the price of one NL which almost makes sending them for repairs moot. Let us also not forget that for many this attitude is a matter of clownish politics and crude propaganda.

And the so-called alphas cost what they do for a number of reasons: cachet, marketing, quality, r&d, and because people will pay the asking price. Especially now that even those companies are beginning to move production to cheap labour countries like China, Phillipines, etc. in order to drop the price a little bit while still increasing profit margins. If they kept production here they would go out of business because even most of the 'alphisti' will eventually find that their pockets are not deep enough to afford alphas actually MADE in western Europe. Except maybe one or two that even flaunt their wealth to make themselves feel better than the rest of us here. (I do not mean folks like @chill6x6 who just love sharing pix of their nice collection)
I also trust Canip's and Mssrs. Merlitz and English's appraisal of those bins. Will I now rush out to buy one and have it sent over from China? No, because I am happy with what I have and do not suffer from envy and resentment.

 

[gcole]

Well Said !!!

 

[Binocollector]

Not really. The thing is. The banner cloud is already at a pretty high price. If they added decent quality control (which obviously they didn't) it would raise the price to a level where it would directly compete with other brands like Meopta. And if the BC was made in Europe, with 30 year warranty, with a self-developed optical train (which still nobody knows), with decent service and available in stores, I'm pretty certain it wouldn't be much cheaper than an alpha.
Some people seem to think that Swarovski or Zeiss make tons of margin on their binos. As long as we don't have any actual numbers on that, nobody knows. So it's all pure speculation. The only thing the banner cloud proves (and BTW, I don't own an alpha) is that they seem to have made a good copy and sell it for prices for which you can get a ton of other binos.
This is not gonna be the revolution everyone thinks.

 

[Binocollector]

Ho il Fuji, se 7,7 gradi contro 9,3 sono pochi..Oltre che più corretti..

I know the specs. And I own a ton of super wide angle binos. But thanks

 

[Canip]

My own experience with the Sky Rover, for what it‘s worth:

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/911776-sky-rover-8x42-apo-banner-cloud-91°-fov/?p=13425881

Canip

I measured the specifications of the Sky Rover for those interested, see here:

Sky Rover 8×42 “APO” – Binoculars Today

Impressive specs, despite some differences from the "official" specs of KUO.
Canip

 

[Ignatius]

I measured the specifications of the Sky Rover for those interested, see here:

Sky Rover 8×42 “APO” – Binoculars Today

Impressive specs, despite some differences from the "official" specs of KUO.
Canip

What is the tripod adapter/binocular support you are using there?

 

[Canip]

Currently Berlebach.

 

[Ignatius]

Hmmm ... looks remarkably like the Swaro UTA, but I wasn't sure on those small pix. And I have two of those wooden Berlebachs myself. Maybe the newish foldable one then?

 

[Canip]

Sorry !
I erroneously mentioned the adapter (Berlebach) which USUALLY use, this time I used, as you suspected , the adapter from Swaro on tripod Manfrotto (I seem to have overlooked your word „there“)

 

[Ignatius]

Sorry !
I erroneously mentioned the adapter (Berlebach) which USUALLY use, this time I used, as you suspected , the adapter from Swaro on tripod Manfrotto (I seem to have overlooked your word „there“)

If I may stray from the original thread one more time: are you pleased with the Swaro UTA, and is it worth the hefty price difference to the Berlebach wooden one?

 

[agus_m]

I measured the specifications of the Sky Rover for those interested, see here:

Sky Rover 8×42 “APO” – Binoculars Today

Impressive specs, despite some differences from the "official" specs of KUO.
Canip

Nice review, I am always looking forward to your impressions and own measurements of these instruments. May I ask how you measure the apparent FOV? I thought of a couple of methods to do this at home, but I feel like it is harder to measure than the TFOV, I wonder if there is a simpler approach.

 

[Canip]

Ignatius (post #32),
I usually only use it for binos with a body shape that doesn’t t fit well on the Berlebach (e.g., Swaro Visio or EL Range ). I clearly prefer the Berlebach, or then the usual adapters which screw into the hole at the front of the hinge.

 

[Canip]

May I ask how you measure the apparent FOV?

I use a tripod with precision degree scale, then mount the bino horizontally, focus at infinity, look through the objectives, rotate the binos so that I can see a narrow, distinct and well defined object at no less than 100m distance wander across the entire field of view, keeping the object at the horizontal center of the field as precisely as possible, note the digits on the scale where the object disappears at the right resp. the left edge of the field, repeat three times
This has proven to be an amazingly precise procedure over time.

 

[SuperDuty]

I just did a little viewing in some really good conditions with my NL12X42, if the Chinese have figured out how to duplicate that view for under $1000 with the Sky Rover Banner Cloud 12X50, they’ve pulled off quite a miraculous feat.

 

[Westley]

nel frattempo arriva volevo aggiornare che la spedizione in Italia è assurda facendo pagare 35 euro con quasi un mese di viaggio. Se il buongiorno si vede dal mattino... arriva prima una stupidaggine su Wish o Temu..

 

[Patudo]

I just did a little viewing in some really good conditions with my NL12X42, if the Chinese have figured out how to duplicate that view for under $1000 with the Sky Rover Banner Cloud 12X50, they’ve pulled off quite a miraculous feat.

They don't really need to do that though, do they. They just need to beat out the rest of the $600 (or whatever the SRBC price now is) category.

I have always felt that good optics ought to have good mechanicals to go along with them, but in all fairness, good optics in a functional body isn't a bad business proposition either. Lots of folks go birding perfectly happily with Opticrons, Hawkes, Vanguards etc. - just look at the recent post from delia todd who has seen lots more species than most of the optics aficionados here with binoculars she could see out of only one barrel. If you had to bird with a $500/$600 binocular (yes, I know that idea is hard to imagine for some of us...) I suppose many/most folks would choose the best possible optics in that price range over the best possible mechanicals one could get in that price range.

I imagine it won't be too long before Kunming, or maybe a rebrander, specifies a production run with build quality similar to eg. Maven though.

 

[SuperDuty]

In my mind they don’t need to do that, but the general opinion seems to be that they are either equal to, or nearly equal to the top alpha models, or at least that’s what I think I’m reading.

 

[dries1]

In my mind they don’t need to do that, but the general opinion seems to be that they are either equal to, or nearly equal to the top alpha models, or at least that’s what I think I’m reading.

Be careful with the hype, seems like some over on CN have an investment? in BC from Sky Rover. Also make sure to check for oil droplets on the internal glass and "rainbow spikes".