How important is mechanical quality, as compared to optical quality,
when considering a binocular purchase?
Poll:
Very important
Somewhat important
Not so much
___
Please keep this friendly
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How important is mechanical quality, as compared to optical quality,
when considering a binocular purchase?
Poll:
Very important
Somewhat important
Not so much
___
Please keep this friendly
Do you mean like how the focus knob work etc? Then very important.
Somewhat important.
Difficult question, though. I'm in the middle of a decision swamp what pair of owling bins to buy. Optical quality is what I'm after for the demanding circumstances I'll be using them in, but somehow the mechanical question comes down to how waterproof/fogproof they are.
I'm not one of those who likes to go birding guerilla-style, creeping through bushes and undergrowth in camo outfit. The shockproof aspect of good bins is important, but I take care not to get them banged into trees, rocks, ground or other solid objects.
I think that I never ever knocked a bin out of collimation when out in the field.
Of course there has been the odd occasion I knocked one off the table onto the stone floor, but fortunately these were Zeiss FL's. Apart from a small dent in the left objective tube they were unharmed, so good build quality may come in handy.
I've had bins that were built like a tank ( Leica 10x32 BN ) and many others that were of doubtful shock resistance, but I never found that aspect too important, with regards to the reasonably careful way I use them.
Strangely enough, many a good optical quality bin has fogged in my hands, whether in rain or cold weather, so there's nothing to say about how good bins are in this aspect.
I've read of nitrogen filled, fully waterproof bins fogging up.
I've read of externally focusing bins being fine after many years of use in tropical humid conditions.
So the optical quality is the only thing that is readily conceivable when looking through bins, the other aspects are a lottery.
Best regards,
Ronald