Bino Purchase (Temporary?)

  • Thread starter Family Man (Guest)
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Family Man (Guest)

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For those of you who have been helping me along with this decision I thought I would provide an update. I ordered the Zeiss 10X40 ClassiC from Cabela?s so that I could have it in hand to compare against the others I am still considering. If I decide on something else I will return the ClassiCs to Cabela?s. Delivery from Cabela?s took forever ? over a week ? but they finally got here yesterday. Took them out last night after sunset to glass deer in a nearby field.

WOW!!!!

Unbelievable brightness in low light conditions. Comfortable in the hands, but a little bit hard on the eyebrow. Nicely balanced and lightweight. The one thing that really bothered me about the ClassiC was that it does not have a constant distance focus. By that I mean that if you are in focus at 100 yards then shift to looking at something at 500 yards you have to adjust the focus and you have to adjust it again if you go to 800 yards, then again when you come back to 100 yards. Binos I have used in the past (cheaper) have been in focus for the entire range of about 20 yards to infinity. The way the Zeiss works seems very strange.

Anyway, the nearest sporting goods store is only open during the low-light portion of the day on Fridays so I will go then and compare the Zeiss ClassiC against the Swarovski 10X42 SLC and 10X42 EL, which are the only other two binos that I am considering at this point. I have ruled out the Zeiss Victory because it is essentially the same price as the SLC but has a much less durable feel about it. (See previous posts for reasons I have ruled out other binos if you are interested.)

Looking forward to Friday and hope to make a decision this weekend.

Thanks to all for your feedback this far and please keep it coming.

Mark
 
No matter what you choose you have atleast done your homework!!. Good job....You will make the right choice for you and that's all that matters. To many people buy things based on what other people have told them and then are unhappy with the chosen product. It will be very interesting what you choose and why. Keep us posted.
 
Kingfish

If I recall correctly, you use the Zeiss ClassiCs. If that is correct, have you had the same experience with the focus being different at different ranges. Perhaps Foreman4x4 can respond to this as well.

Thanks
Mark
 
Yes I do have the classics and I haven't had any problems with the focus...I do think they are the best buy for the money..I know they made me a better game spotter when glassing. I was spotting deer that my buddies were having trouble finding even after I pinpointed them for them...I suppose there are better glasses out there but not for 699.00. Just my opinion..Keith.46
 
I guess I've never used a bino that didn't require me to refocus at different distances. I've used everything from cheap Simmons to Zeiss ClassiC's, and most recently leica's, and they all require me to refocus when changing distance. My cousin has some Steiners that are supposedly "perma" focused, but they give me a headache beyond belief.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I still think Leica's and Swarovski's are way overpriced. They won't do anything that the ClassiC's won't. On a side note, I read a review earlier today that compared the new Pentax DCF SP's to the new Leica Ultravid's, and the author said there was no perceptible difference in optical quality. He actually rated the previous Pentax DCF WP's better than the Zeiss ClassiC's, so the SP's outta be just that much better. This is from a guy who tests optics for a living and who wrote the book "Optics for the Hunter". Might not hurt to give the SP's some serious consideration. They can be found online for between $410.00 and $500.00 depending on what power you prefer.

Not sure if you already own a spotting scope or not, but if I had a $1000.00 or so to spend on optics and I didn't have a quality pair of binos and a decent spotting scope, I'd give serious consideration to the Pentax 10x43 SP's at $459.99, and then look into getting a Nikon Spotter XL or something similar.
 
Thanks Foreman4x4.

I do already have a spoting scope. A Cabela's brand with variable power from 20 to 60. I am very happy with it. Its clarity is, I think, supurb under normal light conditions - better than all others I have looked through (I have never looked through the high end models. Mine cost $300 about 10 years ago).

Thanks for the feedback.

Mark
 

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