I know this has been talked about before but I have a pair of Leica 8x20 BC Trinovids and I like them but the eye relief is a little short. I really have to hold my eyes a little ways back from the eye cups to see the full FOV. I know 8x32's are way easier to use but I like the compacts for their SMALL size. Has anybody found an 8x20 that is not a pain to use? How about the Bushnell 7x26 Custom Elite E2? I know it isn't waterproof and it is a little bigger but does it perform better than the little 8x20's from Swarovski, Zeiss, and Nikon? What is your favorite 8x20?
Dennis
I think all the 20mm class bins are too dim in all but the brightest light. I prefer the brighter ~25mm compacts and my current fav is the Pentax 9x28 DCF LV. Pretty good value now for $170 shipped from Adorama.
cheers,
Rick
[QUOTE=RJM;1619990]I think all the 20mm class bins are too dim in all but the brightest light. I prefer the brighter ~25mm compacts and my current fav is the Pentax 9x28 DCF LV. Pretty good value now for $170 shipped from Adorama.
cheers,
Rick[/QUOTE]
Hmm. They look pretty nice. 13 oz., 18mm ER, phase corrected,waterproof, 1.8 x 4.5 x 4.6 inches (little big for a compact). Funny they went with 9X in a 28mm instead of 8X. FOV is a little small at 294 feet. Your right about the little 20mm class being dim when the light starts falling they really get iffy. I like the 18mm ER relief though not enough ER is a big problem with the 20 mm class. Look pretty good though well they fit in your pocket at all or is that a no go? Let's see my Leica Trinovids BC folded up are 1.5 x 2.6 x 3.8 which are a little smaller and they weigh 8.3 oz which are a little lighter. The Pentax are pretty small though. The Bushnell 7x26 Custom Elites are 3.5 x 4.25 which are a little smaller than the Pentax's and they are 12 oz. so the weight is close. The Custom Elites would probably have a little better image being a reverse porro but they are not waterproof. My Zeiss 8x32 FL's folded up are 3 x 5 x 4 inches so they are a little thicker but really not much bigger in footprint than the Pentax's but at 19.75 oz. quite a bit heavier than any of the compacts.
Dennis