Thank you mooreorless, I've read it... But at the end he says that he keeps the 12x for nighttime views... I've read of someone who stated that if you look at a hawk against a bright gray sky with the 12x50, it will be purple fringed even in the center of the field...I don't want this...I mean, I'm going to spend up to 1000$ for a good bino and a necessary condition is that the optical quality is top notch. In my opinion CA strongly reduces the quality of daytime views.
andreax,
That was me. In fact, I was with Steve at the time when we tested the 8x, 10x and 12x SEs against a Nikon 8-16x40 XL Zoom bin. We were using a resolution chart mounted on an easel, but the wind was strong that day and it kept blowing away
A hawk was hovering over head, so I compared the views through the three SEs and the Zooms. As you would expect, the CA increased as I went up in power with the SEs, but the XL Zooms were still "clean" (i.e, no fringing around the hawk) @ 12x. Of course, with the smaller FOV, you couldn't let it drift too far from center like the 12x SE, so that might have been why. The sky was blue, not gray that day.
If you could keep the hawk absolutely centered with the 12x50 SE, the CA was reduced to acceptable, but once the bird flew slightly off center, purple fringing., and with a circling hawk, it's difficult to keep it perfectly centered. The 10x had more latitude in regard to positioning to avoid fringing, and the 8x even more drift before CA showed up. Still amazed at those XL zooms, with all those elements, I would have expected more CA.
One winter Steve and I went back to the same park with a 12x50 SE (not sure if was mine or his, we both owned the same sample with another owner in between), my 8x32 LX (later traded to him), and a Promaster 8x42 ED. We were surprised when two hawks perched in a tree nearby the pavilion. The poles of the pavilion offered some support for my back while using the 12x SE. The sky was a bright gray, and the hawks had "Purple Haze, all around their heads" even while I had the birds centered since being close, they extended beyond the edges of the centerfield and they were against a high contrast background. Ditto for the 8x32 LX, but the Promaster Infinity Elite ED showed them cleanly without fringing and with better contrast. If you are sensitive to CA, in high contrast situations, ED glass is the best way to go.
But if you plan to use the 12x50 SE mostly to look at birds against trees and brush, the CA isn't that as noticeable as against a gray sky, which is the litmus test for any bin.
I haven't tried the Kowa Genesis, but the 8.5x would be easier to hold steady than the 10.5x and would control CA better, without loosing too much resolution.
I'm not sure why you aren't concerned about the shake with the 12x50 SE unless you plan to mount it. I found it hard to hold steady for birding, particularly holding it straight out in front of me. The balance wasn't as good as the 10x42, I needed to move my hands closer to the barrels since the balance point is on the seam between the prism housing and barrels. When I'm stargazing, I lie in a reclining lawn chair, with my elbows propped up with pillows and my back supported by the chair. The weight falls back on my face so it's a more stable position than for birding.
I think even at 12x, you're going to be disappointed at the detail you can see on hawks, vultures, and eagles unless they are fairly close. An ED glass spotting scope would work better for this application. If you are also an amateur astronomer, you mentioned reading CN, the 12x50 SE is among the best hand held instruments for stargazing. So I guess it depends on how much you use it for stargazing and how much for birding.
I'll close with my usual warning about the Kowa bins. They have low distortion, If you are not susceptible to "rolling ball," don't worry about it, but if you are or don't know if you are, make sure to buy them from a store with at least two weeks return period in case you need time to adjust to the RB. Generally, people adjust within that time frame, most a lot sooner, and some don't see it at all.
braque
