10 October 2006, 06:58
GarByNew Minox Binos
I just received my new Minox binos today. They are the new 10x43's and I got them from Doug who posts here regularly...very nice gent. I took them outside and started comparing them to my older 10x42 Nikon 10x42 ATB's and my 2 year old Swarovski 7x42 SLC's. First at full light; the Minox's were much clearer than the Nikons...and virtually comparable to the Swaro's...and this allowing for the wider field on the Swaro's due to the lower power. At 200 yards, the Minox's were much nicer than the ATB's...by that I mean clearer and "crisper".
Then I took them out at dusk...they were every bit as bright as the Swarovskis, again allowing for the fact that the Swaros had a bigger FOV due to the lower power. When focused at 180 yds..I know the distance to my neighbor's house..the Minox's were as clear as the Swaro's...at least any difference was undetectable by me. They are also rather light...a lot lighter than my Nikons or Swaros. This is a lot of glass for the money.
Thought I'd pass it along.
Gary
10 October 2006, 13:27
cheaptrickAppreciate your review.
It will be interesting to see how Minox does now that they are out from under Leica.
10 October 2006, 16:08
GarBySORRY....the model might help. They are the new HG series 10x43. If I recall correctly Doug has them for $669. Well worth the price IMO.
Gary
10 October 2006, 20:14
WinkI saw a description of the HG series calling them the "rangefinder" model. It seems you can read the distance to the subject off the focusing knob. Does this work as advertised? Have you tried it at varying distances? I am skeptical about its utility. Not that this would dissuade me from buying a good set of field glasses at the price mentioned, I am just wondering if it really would let you know if the target is at 238 yards or 315 yards, etc.
10 October 2006, 23:15
GarByWink:
It won't work up to that distance. When you focus in, you can then read the range based upon being in-focus...but...anything beyond about 100 yds or so is "infinity"....at least that's the way I read it. I wouldn't buy these for their range-finding ability...but for their clarity and price.