I have a pair of old, but very good, porro prism 7 X 50 Nikon binoculars. They are rubber coated, orange color. They are really designed for boaters I think as they weigh far too much to be used for hunting, but great glass. Once you focus the individual eye pieces everything from about 5 yards to infinity is in focus.

My question is, why can't hunting binoculars be made with the same depth of field as these? Just set the focus for your eyes one time and everything you see is in focus. I don't know how this depth of field is accomplished technically, but it makes using them easy.

Many of the Steiner binoculars have this individual eye focus and depth of field. They are an excellent value with a lot of bang for the buck. I don't know why the prices don't come up but it seems to me the 9x40's were about $275.00.

The Night Hunters are heavier and more expensive but also have the "auto focus" (which they are not, really should be called Indivual Eye Focus).

I had a pair of 9x40 Bighorns and my brother like them so much he talked me out of them.

The Minox 6.5x32 binox are set up that way with the individual focus, and are user friendly. My Son and I have these for hunting.
Doug at Camera Land sells these for $200, a Best Buy. They are very well made, with good glass.

Don

What model do you use Don? I am thinking about trying the Minox after the reports I've read on the different optic sites. Are you happy with them using them at short distance like you encounter in the swamps? I hunt the same terrain and want something that will work in tight quarters and thru thick undercover. Thanks

woods

I also have an older pair of Nikon binoculars that focus for each individual eye and have incredibly good depth of view.

While they seem to be very useful at first they don't get really super good at any range and I find that a good pair of binoculars that have a precise focus wheel can give me better detail.

The Nikon's are very useful for glassing all over and at rapidly varying ranges to spot game though.

$bob$

As you've discovered, Wink, centerfocus binoculars suck as compared with quality individual focus models for most hunting usages. Leupold's original models were IF with detent notches on the eyepieces to keep them where you set them. Check out the premium prices those are bring on ebay these days and you'll see what knowledgable users understand about IF binos.

Of course, IF binos are most useful when the viewing is at ranges of about 40 yards or more. This is virtually all big game hunting, with the exception of heavily wooded areas where you may need a binocular to pick an animal out of the thick cover. Birders don't like the IF because they are typically using relatively high power glasses at relatively short and variable distances. Such use requires constant refocusing, as opposed to hunting on the plains where you almost always need your focus set to infinity.

In addition to being much more user-friendly than CF's for most hunting applications, the IF's also have several mechanical advantages: They are simpler and less expensive to build; they can be waterproofed more dependably because there is no common mechanism to seal between the barrels; they are lighter in weight for a given magnification and objective; their more rigid frame helps maintain proper collimation between the barrels (both pointing the same place), which few people realize is the most common and difficult to resolve mechanical/optical problem encountered with binoculars.

Your choices are, to my knowledge, currently limited to some of the Steiner models, and two models from Minox in 6.5 and 9.5 magnification. Or, you can prowl ebay for some of those great original Leupolds.

quote:

Originally posted by woodseye:
What model do you use Don? I am thinking about trying the Minox after the reports I've read on the different optic sites. Are you happy with them using them at short distance like you encounter in the swamps? I hunt the same terrain and want something that will work in tight quarters and thru thick undercover. Thanks

woods

Woods,

The model is BD6.5x32IF, and they are a Sage Green Rubber covered. The important specs are FOV=420ft at 1000 yards, 19mm eye relief (Great for glasses weares like me), and they weigh 20 oz, just perfect for field use.
For our swamp hunting, you can not buy a better pair of binox. My Son got his fingers wrapped around the first pair I bought, and they were HIS!!! Grin So, I bought a second pair, for me. His long time hunting buddy got his hands on them, and my son had to pry them out of the guy's hands, they are that good. They are so well made, and so easy to use in our swamps, that I leave my Zeiss 8x32's at camp. The tight quarters you mention are the forte of these binox, none are better.
A call to Doug can answer any other tech questions on them. But, I guarantee you that you won't be disappointed if you buy a pair.
I also bought a pair of them for my neighbor, a hunter, and he loves them too. He said he has never looked through a pair equal to them, for our northern Michigan hunting.
Off season, like now, I have them sitting on my dining room table to look at birds and game animals that troll by my back yard; I live out of town.
All three pairs I bought from Doug were at my door three days after ordering them, delivered by DHL. And, I live out in the boonies.

Don

Thank you Don, they sound like my next investment. I know in the stuff I hunt that most deer will be close and yet sometimes very hard to pick out of the cedar and spruce. Also picking holes to shoot thru can be a challenge and requires good depth of vision. Sounds like we hunt the same kind of areas and have similiar optical needs.....good high LaCrosse alpha boots are pretty good equipment also

woods

quote:

Originally posted by woodseye:
good high LaCrosse alpha boots are pretty good equipment also woods

My son and I wear those same boots , for the same reason you do..Swamps..

Don

I decided to order the Minox 6.5 power IF binoculars. Now I'll get to decide myself, but at $200 they are a bargain if they are as good as some of the previous posters say.