Posted sometime in April 2009
http://www.holgermerlitz.de/chinese8x40.html
Interesting review of a set of Chinese bins
Opening teaser paragraph
quote:
Recently, United Optics (UO) have announced the introduction of the new BW8 roof prism series and also added a new model, the 8x40, to their BW5 series. Since I have got another China made 8x45 by LOAVA, which is also available at United Optics as part of the BW7 series, a performance test of these 8x40 binoculars currently made in Kunming appears interesting. This review will also offer the opportunity to evaluate the overall performance level reached by Chinese binoculars, when compared with the competition found elsewhere on the planet. Do Chinese binoculars have by now reached a level which could threaten the upper middle class of binoculars made in Japan or Europe? If not, how far apart are they right now, in terms of performance and built quality, and what has to be done for their improvement? These questions shall be addressed in the conclusion of this report.
For me I see a lot of subjectivity in the review. Is the author comparing apples with pears? Is it realistic to compare these against the upper class binoculars he is referring to (performance/value wise). When he refers to 'Chinese' manufacturers this is rather a broad brush statement. Put a selection from different Chinese manufacturers up against the high end stuff and then call it. I did and chose the Hawke's.