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My Most Important Binoculars? (1 Viewer)

Troubador

Troubador

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On 16th June 2012 something totally unexpected happened when Troubadoris and I were in Focus Optics with a view to buying her a Leica Ultravid HD 8x32. Personally I had always thought that only 40/42mm binoculars were for serious nature observers and regarded 32mm binoculars more or less as childrens' instruments. Troubadoris didn't share this rather elitist attitude and after looking through the Ultravids that we were about to buy, I astonished myself by picking up a pair of Zeiss FL 8x32 and liking them so much we bought those as well.

Buying those FL8x32s turned out to be a crucial moment in my choice of binoculars and so I consider them to be the most important binos I have ever bought, and today, 32mm is my favourite binocular format, and I have sold all my 42mm models apart from a Meopta MeoStar 7x42 that I kept to enjoy the view that 7x magnification delivers.

I wear spectacles all the time but have never found it a problem to align the exit pupils of the 32mm binos with my eyes, so for me there has been no diminishing of the 'ease of use' factor when moving from 42mm to 32mm.

Lee
 
I agree if you bird mostly in the daytime and in open areas an 8x32 will serve you will and the compact size and light weight are a big advantage especially when you are carrying your binoculars all day. If you find an 8x32 that works well with your eye socket depth, the bigger exit pupil of an 8x42 is not that much of an advantage. The SF and NL 8x32 are probably the best all around birding binoculars for most people.
 
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Funny, I have just bought my first pair of 8x32's.
I too have always favoured either pocket binos or 42' and upwards. I thought 32's were neither here nor there.
But I like the 8x32 format so much I am thinking of going on a '32' journey, and possibly letting my 10x42's go.
But I'm very fond of those, so at the moment they stay!!
Loving 8x32's though.... way more than i expected.
 
Troubador said:
10x32 work well too.

Lee
Click to expand...
There was another thread somewhere about wishes for binoculars improvement... and I think mine would be a 10x32 mm format with excellent clarity (at least 85% edge-to-edge), bright high contrast, minimal CA, while costing around $600 USD. I have no experience with alpha level binoculars, a realm that you and others here indulge in almost exclusively (I wish I could as well)... but I imagine there are models from Zeiss, Swarovski, and Leica that achieve this (but demand $2k USD).
 
cytherian said:
There was another thread somewhere about wishes for binoculars improvement... and I think mine would be a 10x32 mm format with excellent clarity (at least 85% edge-to-edge), bright high contrast, minimal CA, while costing around $600 USD. I have no experience with alpha level binoculars, a realm that you and others here indulge in almost exclusively (I wish I could as well)... but I imagine there are models from Zeiss, Swarovski, and Leica that achieve this (but demand $2k USD).
Click to expand...
Yes, the Zeiss SF 10x32 or Swarovski NL 10x32 and yes they do demand $2K! They are both surprisingly good.
 
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cytherian said:
There was another thread somewhere about wishes for binoculars improvement... and I think mine would be a 10x32 mm format with excellent clarity (at least 85% edge-to-edge), bright high contrast, minimal CA, while costing around $600 USD. I have no experience with alpha level binoculars, a realm that you and others here indulge in almost exclusively (I wish I could as well)... but I imagine there are models from Zeiss, Swarovski, and Leica that achieve this (but demand $2k USD).
Click to expand...
Yeah, but i've got some older Leica BN's and the view is astonishingly good.
Noticeably better than the current Trinovids, and really not far off the Ultras, centre field.
Second hand Meoptas can go for reasonable money, and they push alpha territory.
I can't justify 2k when you can get some seriously good glass for below half that.
And if you want a stellar view, get some 8x30 Habichts. They come with their downsides, but they are sensational optics.
 
Troubador said:
Personally I had always thought that only 40/42mm binoculars were for serious nature observers and regarded 32mm binoculars more or less as childrens' instruments.
Click to expand...
I find myself unexpectedly in quite the opposite position now. I came to consider the large bins I grew up with pointless and used 30 then 32mm for three decades, never considering them to lack anything essential, and have only just switched to 10x42 even as so many have been moving the other way. I struggle to explain why; certainly not low-light performance, as the difference is modest and for that I have even bigger glass. There just seems to be an oddly pleasant feeling of luxury now to something that fills my hands better, may(?) be a bit more stable with a few extra ounces, and has a more generous pupil for windy or other difficult conditions. It may be that I was too pleased with myself at having discovered the small bin that could do it all, and that has somehow finally worn off. I can certainly still enjoy my wife's "new" FL 10x32, which is excellent (even better than your revelatory 8x), but now prefer my SLC HD 42. Looking back on recent years I see that I tried several times to like a larger bin again but they were never quite right (image, close focus, ergonomics etc)... so SLCs have been crucially transitional, for me.
 
My most important binocular is a pair of UV 7x42s. They're the best binoculars that I have tried, and I have tried all of the major 42mm competition. I do a lot of birding in dark, thick woods where the 7s really excel. My eyes are also good enough that I can typically see more with my 7s than my birding partners who carry 8s or 10s.
These UVs have given me an appreciation for 7x magnification and for Leica.
I bought a pair of FL 7x42s a few months ago. They are extremely good, but I do prefer the Leicas.
I also bought a pair of Trinovid BN 8x50s a few months ago. Also exceptionally good, and the most "Leica" binoculars I have found. Love them.
I have owned a pair of Trinovid BN 8x32s for 7 months or so, they arrived broken and Leica has had them for repair ever since. Hopefully one day I will get them back, so that I can really try out a pair of 32s.
Man, I was on a serious shopping spree last spring.
 
Troubador said:
On 16th June 2012 something totally unexpected happened when Troubadoris and I were in Focus Optics with a view to buying her a Leica Ultravid HD 8x32. Personally I had always thought that only 40/42mm binoculars were for serious nature observers and regarded 32mm binoculars more or less as childrens' instruments. Troubadoris didn't share this rather elitist attitude and after looking through the Ultravids that we were about to buy, I astonished myself by picking up a pair of Zeiss FL 8x32 and liking them so much we bought those as well.

Buying those FL8x32s turned out to be a crucial moment in my choice of binoculars and so I consider them to be the most important binos I have ever bought, and today, 32mm is my favourite binocular format, and I have sold all my 42mm models apart from a Meopta MeoStar 7x42 that I kept to enjoy the view that 7x magnification delivers.

I wear spectacles all the time but have never found it a problem to align the exit pupils of the 32mm binos with my eyes, so for me there has been no diminishing of the 'ease of use' factor when moving from 42mm to 32mm.

Lee
Click to expand...
Hello Lee,

I bought my 8x32 FL in 2005 and it instantly became my first choice for bird watching. The bird watching community looked down on its fiberglas reinforced polycarbonate body but it has certainly stood the test of time. Before the FL, I had a Leica 8x32 BN, a Zeiss Dialyt 8x40, Nikkon 8x32Se and 8c30 EII but the FL worked best of all. Only the EII, with its wider field, but less robust build, was close.

Stay safe,
Arthur
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Pinewood said:
Hello Lee,

I bought my 8x32 FL in 2005 and it instantly became my first choice for bird watching. The bird watching community looked down on its fiberglas reinforced polycarbonate body but it has certainly stood the test of time. Before the FL, I had a Leica 8x32 BN, a Zeiss Dialyt 8x0, Nikkon 8x32Se and 8c30 EII but the FL worked best of all. Only the EII, with its wider field, but less robust build, was close.

Stay safe,
Arthur
Click to expand...
I had all those binoculars and the FL 8x32 was easily the best. Curious though, have you tried the SF 8x32?
 
quincy88 said:
My most important binocular is a pair of UV 7x42s. They're the best binoculars that I have tried, and I have tried all of the major 42mm competition. I do a lot of birding in dark, thick woods where the 7s really excel. My eyes are also good enough that I can typically see more with my 7s than my birding partners who carry 8s or 10s.
These UVs have given me an appreciation for 7x magnification and for Leica.
I bought a pair of FL 7x42s a few months ago. They are extremely good, but I do prefer the Leicas.
I also bought a pair of Trinovid BN 8x50s a few months ago. Also exceptionally good, and the most "Leica" binoculars I have found. Love them.
I have owned a pair of Trinovid BN 8x32s for 7 months or so, they arrived broken and Leica has had them for repair ever since. Hopefully one day I will get them back, so that I can really try out a pair of 32s.
Man, I was on a serious shopping spree last spring.
Click to expand...
What do you like about the UV 7x42 over the FL 7x42? More color saturation in the UV?
 
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