After collecting and using binoculars for over 60 years, and watching the explosion of brands catering to almost any pocketbook and taste, I believe that an important variable that is very difficult to test is the inherent mechanical reliability of the binoculars being produced today.
Optical glass not abused has great durability, more than several lifetimes. The shell, coverings, seals, moving parts such as hinges, seats, lubrications,tolerances, etc., all the things besides lens and prisms, and the design itself, will determine the trouble free longevity of binoculars.
But internal parts may be of plastics of doubtful strength or an unsuitable alloy. As the old cliche goes, one can't tell the book by the cover. Virtually most new brands look good cosmetically, but until a certain period of time passes with reasonable use, whether the instrument is mechanically sound is just an act of faith.
Sixty years ago, Zeiss, Bausch & Lomb, Leitz, etc., were unquestionably reliable. But these were alphas, and the designers were putting together a whole package for a life time of use. Few people could afford more than one alpha.
But then the Japanese got into exporting binoculars by the thousands, and a whole range of binoculars, some shoddy and some very sound began to hit the marketplace. Bushnell is a good example of a company with a wide range of models. Some were hardly robust. Others were OK, but the Custom models were excellent for their time. Even today, they are very acceptable. But their mechanical reliability is outstanding. So are the old B&Ls and the Zeiss models.
I'm skeptical of the latest creations flooding the sporting goods stores. All these different internal mechanical systems have some weaknesses. There are too many stories of binoculars with focusing problems having to be sent back for adjustments, even with the alpha models. Something has been lost, and I believe that something is the old time craftsmanship involved with assembling and what we call fine tuning.
Why should proven designs be abandoned to cater to fickle public tastes?
Anyway, I would enjoy reading the comments of others who sense that something is missing from these latest creations. I must admit a bias against plastic anything. John
Possibly going the same way as everything else we are living in a throwaway world where the products are not made to last like they used to .
Harold
Whole hardily agree.
Here is another example of a different mechanical item of mine that just bit the dust. We built a new house in 2006 and I was the general contractor and made sure that it was built with quality and built to last.
Well, one of the less than 5 year old appliances just went to mechanical heaven or maybe the other place. It was our dishwasher and it was a very good model from a supposedly good brand (Kitchenaid). When my appliance repair man came out just yesterday to take a look at it, he said has soon as he saw it "I bet I know what the problem is before I even dive it to it. I have seen lots of these and other's like it go bad". He said it is the motor -and sure enough it was.
He said that they now put cheaper "tube" type motors in them instead of the old reliable "box" motors. He said they put all the latest and greatest features and outer coverings and stainless steal linings and then go on the cheap for the motors. He advised me that in his opinion it is not even worth paying the cost for a new motor part and then pay him for the labor to put it in because it also probably will not last long. It is cheaper to go buy a new one. He said that dishwashers used to last a long time, but not now the way they make them. He said he would be happy to fix mine if he thought that was in my best interest, but he did not think it was.
So I called the local small dealer that is a great place where I got it and they said the warranty on motors was one year. So I am now looking for one of the types that my repair guy recommended. He said it does no good to buy a fancy machine with all the fancy features and gadgets if the motor is not strong enough to last and have the power to sustain the force necessary to get the dishes clean.
I know that this was a little off topic, but the parallels are there and it was the first thing that popped in my mind when I read John's post since it just happened to me yesterday. There are so many examples of things made now these days that do not last like they use to.