On 12/24/2014 2:27 PM, Mike Gordon via olympus wrote:
On 12/24/2014 8:14 AM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
My own Pentax thingies are these, the 8x version
<http://www.amazon.com/Pentax-25-DCF-SW-Binoculars/dp/B0014PTIDK/ref=sr_1
_sc_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1419435842&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=Pentax+8
x+25mm+Dcf+Sw+Binoculrs>
So are these good B'fly binocs?
I don't even know just what good Flutterby binoculars are.
The three things these give up for their other outstanding qualities are close focus, angle of view and range of diopter
correction. I doubt if AOV is a big consideration, but 3 m close focus may be. Diopter correction is only rated at +/-
2, although I'd swear the minus goes a little further on mine.
There was a link to a close focusing variant but not clear if the optics are as good or Nitrogen purged.
Papilio is Latin for butterfly, and the Pentaxes of that name have a flutterby logo on them. From B&H "The close
focusing capacity of a binocular is in some measure quite limited by the position of the objective lenses themselves,
but this particular Pentax has a unique *Convergent Lens Optical System* which brings the objective lenses closer as the
focusing dial is adjusted to shorter distances. Thus the left and right fields of view are once again aligned, and the
end result of all this is that you can have razor-sharp observing at just 1.6' (/0.5 m/)".
The unique focusing design is pretty well protected behind a flat piece of glass. I'd guess they are fairly
weatherproof, but not waterproof, nor perhaps fogging proof. They have +/- 4 diopter correction.
Optically, the close focus is really amazing. At greater distances they are quite good, but not as good as the DCFs. And
we have the 6.5x, so not as much reach as the 8x DCFs. There's also an 8.5x Papilio, but the same objective diameter, so
a smaller exit pupil.
I am usually just interested in opportunities for compelling images
for compelling images so have a long prime on extension, but perhaps binocs would be a fun useful adjunct and at least
aid in ID's. A superficial analysis would argue that zooms would be nice with spotting critters at lower mag then
zoom in, but it seems the performance of zoom binocs seem quite poor with collimation/zoom sync issues. Perhaps this
is changing /has changed but I doubt it as I bet it they would have been mentioned in this thread.
I doubt there is a decent zoom yet, at least not at any size/price point of
interest to me.
Fluttering By Moose
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What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
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