16x and steady views. Sig Zulu6 16x42 (5 Viewers)

[Dennis Mau]

The explanation is quite simple. When you properly hold a binocular, you have 3 points of contact - your hands and your face. When you have a smartphone attached to it, you simply cannot hold it as steady. The IS will still reduce the skaking but the view through the bino without IS is simply not realistic in any YouTube videos.
Not even considering the fact that our brain runs a powerful software to automatically reduce shaking. Otherwise our normal view of the world when moving would look like the infamous "shaky camera" in horror movies. Does your world hobble up and down when you're walking?

That is about the difference I see when I use a 10x binocular without the IS on and when I engage the IS, and I don't have Parkinson's. It is much worse at 12x and above. We probably differ in how steady we can hold binoculars. That is why some people can handhold 10x and above and some can't. Mr. Tripod above said he has no trouble holding 20x steady. I say good luck with that! Here is a video of a Canon 15x50 IS,12x36 IS III, Farvision 20x50 IS, and Canon IS with IS off and on. It looks similar to the first clip to me, although they are keeping the smartphone centered over the ocular better in these clips.

 

[Dennis Mau]

With the Sig Sauer Zulu 6 16x42, one AA alkaline battery lasts a year! How long do the batteries last in the Canon's!

 

[Binocollector]

We probably differ in how steady we can hold binoculars.

Probably. I still don't think any of these videos are even close to what we see with our eyes when actually using a binocular. I also have my doubts about holding a 20x steady but I have read before by other people that they do it and seem to have no problem. The most I would use hand-held is 12x. So for 15x, 16x and beyond -- IS is definitely useful.
BTW -- the batteries in the Canons last a long time. But I don't use mine every day so it would not be very representative. I haven't changed batteries yet after 2 yrs of owning them. I used them more often at first. Until the brick-like shape and heavy weight got annoying. The Sigs and also Kites and other binos in that style (Vixen, Kenko, etc) certainly look much more ergonomic and are not as heavy.
So should I ever get another IS-bino, the Sigs are high up on my list.

 

[CharleyBird]

 

[CharleyBird]

 

[CharleyBird]

 

[CharleyBird]

Denco, I use this hold with all roofs (it's not my discovery). Hope it helps if you still have any none-stabilised binoculars.

 

[4th_point]

I went to a local store to see if they had the new HDX but they only have the older non-HDX.

My non-HDX 10x30 and 16x42 were fine for the money that I paid for them last year which was discounted. And the weight and stabilization were impressive. And in general use I liked both.

However, I think that my Canon 15x50 is better overall.

The 16x42 had very noticable color fringing. And both the 10x30 and 16x42 did really poorly with heat haze.

For example, I was trying to check out osprey nests last year along a local river and both SIG were basically useless. The air looked like a full boil.

I ended up using non-stabilized binocs that showed almost no heat haze.

I had a similar experience watching airplanes at the local airport. I couldn't watch them taxi due to the boil. The mirage was intense at every focus distance so I had to switch to different binoculars that again showed little to no mirage.

Samples of one though, and I am super interested in the new HDX.

 

[Dennis Mau]

Denco, I use this hold with all roofs (it's not my discovery). Hope it helps if you still have any none-stabilised binoculars.

I have two porros the Nikon SE 8x32 and the Swarovski Habicht 7x42. I have tried all kinds of different ways to hold my regular binoculars to stabilize them, but nothing really works for me except a tripod. If I stay with 8x and 7x, I am ok, but they are still not near as good as IS. No matter how you hold the binoculars, your hands are still connected to your arms and your arms and body are still shaking. We are just not as steady as a tripod.

 

[Dennis Mau]

I went to a local store to see if they had the new HDX but they only have the older non-HDX.

My non-HDX 10x30 and 16x42 were fine for the money that I paid for them last year which was discounted. And the weight and stabilization were impressive. And in general use I liked both.

However, I think that my Canon 15x50 is better overall.

The 16x42 had very noticable color fringing. And both the 10x30 and 16x42 did really poorly with heat haze.

For example, I was trying to check out osprey nests last year along a local river and both SIG were basically useless. The air looked like a full boil.

I ended up using non-stabilized binocs that showed almost no heat haze.

I had a similar experience watching airplanes at the local airport. I couldn't watch them taxi due to the boil. The mirage was intense at every focus distance so I had to switch to different binoculars that again showed little to no mirage.

Samples of one though, and I am super interested in the new HDX.

I guess we all see CA differently, but I test every binocular I get by looking a black pipe on my neighbor's roof against a white sky, and I found both the 10x30 and 16x42 Sig Sauer to be excellent for CA on-axis and on the edges. I have had all the Canon's including the 15x50 IS and 18x50 IS and none of them except the 10x42 IS were close to the Sig's for CA control.

Any binocular above 12x is going to show heat haze on a hot day, which I assume you mean is the turbulent air you get from rising heat currents, especially on a hot day over blacktop and concrete at an airport runway with a jet taxiing. What magnification were the non-stabilized binoculars you used that showed no heat haze? I will bet they were lower magnification than the Sig's.

If you do get an HDX, let us know how they compare with the regular Zulu 6's. They are supposed to have slightly better HD glass, so I would be curious if the CA control is better. What do you like better about your Canon 15x50 IS? I had a lot of issues with the eye cups on those and blackouts.

 

[Elkhornsun]

My comments about using 16x binos without a tripod is based on my own personal experience and not some youtube video that cannot duplicate real world usage. So long as I can rest the eyecups against my face it is easy to have a steady view when standing on dry land.

I use lenses with IS but that is a very different matter as the IS allows for much slower shutter speed which can be important. I try to avoid any device that needs a battery to function if there are alternatives. If nothing else, batteries do leak and create corrosion in devices and I have tossed out many hundreds of dollars worth of gear over the year as a result of batteries leaking.

 

[Dennis Mau]

Probably. I still don't think any of these videos are even close to what we see with our eyes when actually using a binocular. I also have my doubts about holding a 20x steady but I have read before by other people that they do it and seem to have no problem. The most I would use hand-held is 12x. So for 15x, 16x and beyond -- IS is definitely useful.
BTW -- the batteries in the Canons last a long time. But I don't use mine every day so it would not be very representative. I haven't changed batteries yet after 2 yrs of owning them. I used them more often at first. Until the brick-like shape and heavy weight got annoying. The Sigs and also Kites and other binos in that style (Vixen, Kenko, etc) certainly look much more ergonomic and are not as heavy.
So should I ever get another IS-bino, the Sigs are high up on my list.

"I used them more often at first. Until the brick-like shape and heavy weight got annoying"

That sounds like the Canon 10x42 IS-L.

 

[Dennis Mau]

My comments about using 16x binos without a tripod is based on my own personal experience and not some youtube video that cannot duplicate real world usage. So long as I can rest the eyecups against my face it is easy to have a steady view when standing on dry land.

I use lenses with IS but that is a very different matter as the IS allows for much slower shutter speed which can be important. I try to avoid any device that needs a battery to function if there are alternatives. If nothing else, batteries do leak and create corrosion in devices and I have tossed out many hundreds of dollars worth of gear over the year as a result of batteries leaking.

If you can hold 16x steady, you are definitely in the minority. Try Lithium batteries, they don't leak.

 

[rdnzl]

I see zero CA with my golden eyes, and heat wave distortion increases with magnification. My 20 spotting scope shows quite a bit.

 

[4th_point]

If the SIG work for you, that is great. Enjoy!

 

[tenex]

And both the 10x30 and 16x42 did really poorly with heat haze.

For example, I was trying to check out osprey nests last year along a local river and both SIG were basically useless. The air looked like a full boil.

I ended up using non-stabilized binocs that showed almost no heat haze.

Not sure what you're saying here. Does IS fail due to air turbulence? Were the last bins lower magnification? What else reduces the effect of turbulence?

 

[4th_point]

I would assume that the low optical quality and subsequent aberrations compound the atmospheric aberrations.

 

[Dennis Mau]

Not sure what you're saying here. Does IS fail due to air turbulence? Were the last bins lower magnification? What else reduces the effect of turbulence?

IS doesn't fail due to air turbulence. As you move up in magnification, you see more air turbulence or thermals caused from rising heat. Lower magnification will show fewer thermals. Thermals are worse if you are trying to observe over something that retains heat, like blacktop or an airport runway.

That is why astronomers always set their telescopes up on grass because it stays cool and there are fewer thermals to spoil their view. I start seeing thermals when I go above 12x in magnification. If you compared a 16x IS binocular like the SIG Sauer Zulu 6 16x42 to any regular 16x binocular, you will see more thermals with the IS binocular because at 16x you have at least 50 % better resolution probably more, so it is easier to see the thermals.

The Sig is almost like using a spotting scope on a tripod. When you use a spotting scope on a tripod above 20x, you will see a lot of thermals, unless you are observing over grass or everything has cooled down to the point that you are not getting any rising heat turbulence.

 

[4th_point]

Now yer just talkin shit. These are not low optical quality. You just trolling now?

Yeah, "low optical quality" is perhaps a bit too harsh. Maybe "mediocre" or "decent" would have been more appropriate?

Either way, how would you explain the SIG 10x30 showing strong heat haze when other 10x didn't? Do you have any theories, other than optical quality?

I suppose that it's possible that the latest units with grey armor have the new HDX glass elements? My non-HDX were purchased last year. Or simply sample variation?

Anyway, I didn't expect such an emotional response. If the IS units from SIG work for you, that is great. Enjoy!

Jason

PS - I spent many hours with the SIG binocs last year, over several months, under various conditions.

Any experience with Sig Sauer ZULU6 10x30mm IS?

 

[tenex]

Either way, how would you explain the SIG 10x30 showing strong heat haze when other 10x didn't? Do you have any theories, other than optical quality?

I'll ask again: are you sure that the degradation you're seeing in the SIG is a more pronounced turbulence effect (which really seems unlikely at the same magnification) rather than a malfunction of the IS system in those conditions? What happens if you switch IS off?