I'm looking for a good low-light binocular for use way past sunset. Weight does not matter. Field of view does, resolution, brightness and contrast as well of course.
I once owned a zeiss 7x50bgat , but I was disappointed with it's performance. Not that it was bad, far from it, but I felt that for it's price it should have been much better than my minox 8x42 bl. It was better for sure, but not by that much.
I want an if-binocular. This does not leave my with a big choice. The main contenders now are fujinon 7x50 sx2 and a used navy 7x50 fero d17 with laser filters and reticle removed.
Is there anyone who can say something about how these alternatives compare? Maybe I'm wishing for too much here, and if I'm not happy with the zeiss no binocular will satisfy me and I might as well stick to what I've got.
[QUOTE=gusbo;2178537]I'm looking for a good low-light binocular for use way past sunset. Weight does not matter. Field of view does, resolution, brightness and contrast as well of course.
I once owned a zeiss 7x50bgat , but I was disappointed with it's performance. Not that it was bad, far from it, but I felt that for it's price it should have been much better than my minox 8x42 bl. It was better for sure, but not by that much.
I want an if-binocular. This does not leave my with a big choice. The main contenders now are fujinon 7x50 sx2 and a used navy 7x50 fero d17 with laser filters and reticle removed.
Is there anyone who can say something about how these alternatives compare? Maybe I'm wishing for too much here, and if I'm not happy with the zeiss no binocular will satisfy me and I might as well stick to what I've got.[/QUOTE]
Welcome to BF!
The Zeiss were probably the bong in their day and some stores still sell them, but I don't know if they have the "latest and greatest" coatings like the FLs. Plus, they don't have ED glass like the FLs, which increases contrast about 5-10%.
If FOV matters, then most 7x50s will not satisfy you regardless of price point. The Fuji is only .1* wider than the Zeiss. It also exhibits some "rolling ball" while panning.
The Nikon Prostar beats both of them in terms of edge to edge sharpness but at the sacrifice of even smaller FOV. It comes with a red label - WARNING: The Prostar may cause tunnel vision. :-)
For a truly wide field 7x50 IF bin with bright, sharp views and good contrast, you would need to find Miyauchi 7x50 Binon, but they have been discontinued and not many were made.
Read Holger's review of this bin and see if it sounds like it might be what you're looking for, and if so, put out an alert for one on as many classified Websites as you can. I recommend posting a "WANTED" ad on Cloudy Nights classifieds. About eight guys from the CN bin forum bought the 7x50 Binons.
http://www.holgermerlitz.de/miyauchi7x50.html
Alternatively, I would suggest a top 7x42 roof with dielectric coatings and a gazillion layers of AR coatings. Unless you can truly open your pupils to 7mm, you're probably not going to notice much difference in brightness.
According to the allbino boyz, the 10x42 Zeiss FL's go head to head with the 10x42 SE in terms of light transmission (95.5% vs. 96%). I think it's safe to assume that the 7x42s are in the same range since they use the same coatings and glass, and you get 2mm bigger exit pupils for low light observing.
Since weight doesn't matter, you might want to jump up to 56mm and buy an 8x56 FL. Amazon might still have the pair Dennis sent back. :-)
Brock