• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

New Sig x50 IS announced/available (1 Viewer)

This leaves me with a first world dilemma.

I have the 16x42. They weigh only 22 oz. They are easy to carry and use.
These 18x50 are hopefully a nice optical upgrade, and the 18x has essentially the same FOV as my 16x.
The mew x50, on paper, have a noticeable AFOV improvement from 59 on the x42 to 66.6 on the x50.
But there appears to be a big size and weight penalty. They grew by an inch in length, are noticeably wider, and they are a substantially heavier at 34oz - its 12oz

What would be a better sll around large glass - these or the NL x52?
I have held the new NL a few times and thought they were surprisingly ergonomic and a joy to hold.
I was shocked at how easy it was to hold and use. I like the 10x a lot more than the 14x.

Which would be the better upgrade? The NL or the Sig?
Or just stick with the relatively svelte 16x and spend more time in the field?
 
Last edited:
Looking at what little information there is on the SIG website . . .

Besides the optical claims (!?), it seems that if there has been significant progress it may be with the software.

See the paragraph in Details starting with 'OmniScan . . . '
Details & Features.jpg

And in the Features list OmniScan takes precedence,
as it does in the image showing the features:
Features Image.jpg


John
 
After some digging around on the SIG site . . .

In relation to OmniScan:

a) On the previous version of the binocular, the Scan mode was the default on startup. But for improved image stability when viewing a stationary object,
the user had to manually select the Target mode. That was done by turning the power switch off and on within 2 seconds (see the attached instruction sheet).

b) With the OmniScan update the adjustment is done automatically, based on the degree of movement detected by the accelerometer.

- - - -
And some images:
Zulu6 HDX Pro x50.jpg
 

Attachments

  • SIG ZULU6 HDX Quick Reference Guide.pdf
    418.2 KB · Views: 3
Last edited:
tx2ad said:
What would be a better sll around large glass - these or the NL x52?
I have held the new NL a few times and thought they were surprisingly ergonomic and a joy to hold.
I was shocked at how easy it was to hold and use. I like the 10x a lot more than the 14x.

Which would be the better upgrade? The NL or the Sig?
Or just stick with the relatively svelte 16x and spend more time in the field?
Click to expand...
Upgraditis is a highly infectious disease that is very common on this forum. If you catch it, there are two likely outcomes:
  1. You start collecting more and more binoculars. In the end you'll spend so much time comparing them that you don't have any time left to go out at all. If you decide to go out birding, you don't, simply because you can't decide which binoculars to take.
  2. You enter a buying-selling circle that keeps accelerating. In the end you'll change binoculars faster than some people change their underwear.
In other words: Keep what you've got. Don't buy anything for the time being. Wait at least until the next generation of stabilized binoculars is on the market. I firmly believe there will be some significant improvements in the future.

Hermann
 
Last edited:
Firstly, the Sig 18x50 is probably 18x47 with the cut off objectives.

Secondly, I'll stick with my 24 year old Canon 18x50 IS that works just fine and has superb glare suppression.
It also has a measured field of 3.85 degrees.

Thirdly, I haven't bought a binocular for four years and that feels great.

Regards,
B.
 
Regarding the new OmniScan…

As an owner and regular user of the 16x42:
  • Switching modes is very easy, no trouble at all
  • Choosing modes, at least on my sample, allows me to control the image quality
So, unless the new x50 does not suffer any visible loss of IQ when switching between modes by itself - great.
Otherwise, I would likely wish they let me choose instead of doing it for me.

I am very curious to see these.

I think moving the battery and doubling it was also a bad choice.
The previous position was actually secretly great - it provided a finger stop and reference for where to grab the unit.
The extra weight and width - seem like a step back in ergonomics.
In roughly 8 months of ownership and use I still have not needed to swap batteries.
Is this a sign that the new gyro iand software are battery hogs?
 

Similar threads

I
SIG SAUER Zulu10 HDX binoculars?
Replies
14
Views
4K
Binocollector
B
G
Sig Sauer Binocular Deals
Replies
0
Views
760
gr8fuldoug
G
M
Sig Sauer image stabized binoculars with HDX glass
Replies
4
Views
3K
Sancho
S
ShengTu Optics
A complete disassembly and analysis of the ridge structure binoculars
Replies
7
Views
735
Maljunulo
M
T
Newly announced Fuji stabilized bins
Replies
1
Views
806
tx2ad
T

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top