I just spent a couple minutes with the Leica Geovid perger-porro 10x42, swaro 10x42 el range and 10x42 nl pure. it was inside a scheels but the nl's were unreal. Huge fov and perfect edge to edge. $3000 and they might be worth it. how much are kidneys going for?

GPO Optics is better than Swarovski and worst company ever Leica

Hello from Serbia! Sir, i admire your knowledge about binoculars, i am interested in yor opinion about Svbony Sv202 and Sa205!? I was reading some very nice reviews and some not soo good. In meentime i vas buy Sv202 8x32, its beter than Hawke Avid but not beter than BPC 8x40 Porro. Thank you sir for great content you share 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

I can confirm that these 6x30 are outstanding. I immediately ordered the 8x30 as well. However, there is another 6x30 under a different brand name that looks darn near identical and is literally 1/3 the price. I am waiting for it to arrive. I am hopping that it’s exactly the same bino rebranded… Can’t wait to get them and compare…

another 70% sweetspot? this is mid range territory at this point why not try a fujinon FMTR-SX or its chinese clone the APM MS ED 10x50

Dear sir im about to buy zeiss 10 x 56 but they are rather expensive are these fuji 10 x 70 better? thanks

I just got last week the 10x42 Passion HD, OMG,, same sharpness and resolution and brightness as my Leica Ultravid 10x42. It really is something else with the quality of workmanship and the optics for sure. Please do a video on an HD please, would love to see what you think my friend. Love your videos!!

Darn it David, is there any Bino that has more than 50% sweet spot? LOL.

Hi Dave. I've seen something similar to what you describe about the sharpness of this Maven B2 before, several times with Russian, Japanese and Chinese binoculars. I single this out as a separate type of defect... The last time I observed such a defect effect was with my new BOSMA APO 10x42, this is binoculars from Kunming United Optics (KUO), the same as the one that made a lot of noise on English-language forums - Sky Rover Banner Cloud APO 10x42. Even when the first reviews about Sky Rover appeared, BOSMA was already announced, it is the same model under two brands. By the fact that both of these brands apparently sell KUO products. So about the Maven B2 defect that you describe, or rather about its "ghostly sharpness", which I met earlier. As it was with my BOSMA APO, when looking at small details through binoculars, they become visible (unambiguously distinguishable) somehow gradually, at first I observe some blurring of the smallest details (for example, small letters in the inscription) - not clarity, then small details gradually appear and the inscription differs entirely, each letter. But if you take the binoculars away from your eyes for a while, and then look at the same objects again, then everything will repeat from the beginning, small details do not differ unambiguously (only some of them are the largest), it seems that small details float slightly and it remains so for a while, then it becomes clearer and more distinguishable. But the feeling that something is wrong remains all the time observing these details. Having watched so many times, I realized that my vision compensates for the lack of information from one eye with information from the other, and the brain puts it into a general image in which there is enough information, but gives a signal "something is wrong". At the same time, there is no pain in the eyes and head, this feeling is different. I checked my guess, looked with my left eye alternately through each half of the binoculars. All right. I asked my wife to look at it, she confirmed my observations. I mean, this is an optical flaw in one half of the binoculars, which causes the eye looking through it to see less detail, and the eye looking through the other half of the binoculars to see more. The brain gradually compensates for this disadvantage, gradually pulling up vision to normal, small details of objects are being drawn. I also noticed that in addition to the lack of sharpness in the right half, there is also less brightness, there is no explanation. The binoculars were sent back, and I am now in correspondence with the manufacturer. As I understand it, they have a different opinion, but I'm thinking of fighting. Regarding the model of the binoculars itself, I liked the very wide field (7.8°), excellent brightness and color reproduction. Excellent immersion in the image and the unexpected presence of a 3d effect, better than other Roof binoculars that I had. The sharpness that this model is capable of could not be estimated, for obvious reasons. Of the disadvantages, binoculars are heavy for 10*42 - 930 grams and Eye relief is not as big as we would like to see the whole field in sunglasses, the whole field is visible in corrective glasses. In general, provided that these defects are eliminated, I liked the binoculars, and so did my wife.

BPO or GPO?

Well I tell you one thing. I ain’t cravin a Maven.

The porro optical design is simple and elegant. The prism surfaces don't have to be coated because the design utilizes total internal reflection. The popular roof prism design is more compact and can be lighter but it requires a lot more engineering to achieve a similar optical performance. Roof prisms are therefore usually more expensive. Also I believe roof prisms are more easily waterproofed but I'm not absolutely sure about that. Thanks for your video!

The summary that I came up with after reading and seeing a multitude of reviews for a long time, is that the only "negative" points of the Kowa Genesis Prominar XD 44 (8.5x and 10.5x) compared to the so-called "Alphas", are: 1. Greater weight (which I see as positive since it means greater constructive robustness.) 2. A lower FOV (which I don't find particularly negative either, since the FOV of these Genesis is not small either, it is more than enough and, in addition, we must take into account that either the 8.5x or the 10.5x version, in any case, it is always a magnification 0.5x greater than its competitors; in addition, I also particularly prefer to see the edge of the image, or circle, rather than not seeing it and being out of my field of vision because it is excessive, as happens with the NL Pure.) In some cases the edge-to-edge sharpness is also mentioned, somewhat less than the best of them all (again the Swarovski NL Pure), but on the other hand it is average to the rest. (Which does not bother me nor do I notice much of it since my eyes always look at the center of the image and not at the edges.) And with regards to the rest of the mechanical (focus wheel) and optical (sharpness in the center of the image, sweet spot, color, contrast, brightness, CA control, flare / glare / stray light control, geometric distortions, close focus distance...) characteristics, the general opinion / consensus is that the Kowa Genesis Prominar XD 44 are at the same level (or similar) as the "Alphas" in some of these characteristics and even above them in others (which also happen to be the most relevant optical characteristics for me and what I value most in binoculars.) So well, as each person has a different point of view from their neighbor, what for you "does not arrive / it doesn't make", for others "does arrive / it does make and even surpasses." I finally bought these Kowa (both: the 8.5x44 and the 10.5x44) and I couldn't be happier. And I don't look back since. Cheers!

I have the 10x42 B1.2 and have tested them (mainly for resolving power/sharpness) against Leica, Zeiss and Swaros, and they are as good or better. Even though they don't have field flatteners, the sharpness looks fine to my eyes edge to edge. This edge to edge sharpness isn't anyway very important to me, as I tend to concentrate in the middle of the FoV.

Interesting features. Looks like it was made in the early 90s (still made in Japan). Perhaps it was an attempt by Tasco to gain a foothold in the higher-priced sector. And then it didn't work out and they stopped trying - but that´s just pure speculation on my part. Happy collecting! 😄

Join Birdforum some very clued up binocular people.

About a few hours ago I just got my Tameron RangeMasters delivered in the mail. They’re looking good and yes they are heavy ! I really like the view. I really believe I’m going to like them. Great Video !

Interesting thing about coatings versus no coatings I've found is that they don't improve sharpness only light transmission and the more modern multi coatings often seem to produce chromatic aberrations in bright light, which is why I don't own many modern bins. My favorite pair are the oldest and sharpest of my collection, well over 100 years old and made forty odd years before coatings were invented, these pre WW1 made Busch prisma binocule's are 9x20 with tiny exit pupils and narrow FOV and pretty useless in low light but in good light they are pin sharp 100% all the way to the edge and have such an amazing depth of field for 9x magnification at least as good as any 7x pair I own so you don't have to fiddle with the focus much. With their compact size and light weight I find myself taking them everywhere and they have gotten me more interested in miniature and compact binoculars, which I find far more useful than their bulkier more respected counterparts. There are so many situations when you don't want to look like a nerd or peeping tom with a big pair round your neck that my full size pairs stay in my vehicle or at home these days. These little old Busch's are actually sharper at the edge than my Leitz's I mentioned in my last post but of course cant compare in low light. Another great compact vintage binocular I own are Bausch & Lomb 10x28 discoverer reverse porro's, the older 1960's all metal version. These are amazing birding binoculars, the purple coatings make for rich colors and outstanding contrast though they do get a tad fuzzy round the edges and you have minimal depth of focus but the barrel wheel is super smooth and precise and can focus down to 8 feet, which is amazing for a 10x porro. They are heavy for their size but it makes for a steady view. I would love to watch you review this binocular that also comes in a 7x24 version which I have not tried.

"Das Boot", has to be the best war movie if not THE best movie of all time, every nail biting minute of it. Thanks for reminding me of that great movie I first saw in a old abandoned movie theater with no heating in a 1980's British winter that had been brought back to life by local film buffs with a reel to reel projector and the first CD player I ever saw that cost its proud owner as much as a car at the time. It was the full 6 hour version and we had several intermissions while the young guy changed the reels, one of which had failed to engage the take up spool and was piled up on the floor when the lights came on, which made us all laugh otherwise we all huddled in our winter coats and drank hot chocolate and nobody said a word or complained the whole time. at the end we all filed out in total silence totally dumbstruck by what we'd seen. Totally unforgettable experience! I have some Leitz Marseptits that are great binoculars BTW.

Man, I wish I had the money for Oz. Thank you very much for the kind comment, by the way. I think that the next video will be less of a review and more of a plea for assistance. I have a 7x50 that no one seems to know about, even the manufacturer.

I also bought the ED version, thanks for the nice Video!

A "good or better" Quality pair of 7x50 porro prisms binoculars are THE STANDARD to own and use! I try to keep a pair handy for most every need. Now, at night, for Astronomy purposes? The 8x56 are just a tad heavier and I must use them on some sort of brace. For me, next up is my 14x70mm pair. These are normally used only for the Night Sky and on a special mount. But, great optics are a joy to use!

I've watched a lot of your videos. Thanks for doing them. They're appreciated. But I'm now curious as to what's behind the curtain. Kansas or Oz? :)

Great review. I have some advice: Take it or leave it. Your audio level (stats for nerds) is reading at -10.3. I recommend turning it up to near -3. You should aim to get your audio at -16 Lufs.

Wrighty, please don't let this one incident put you off from the Maven B series. For all I know the entire B series is worth exploring. And why not, when you can just send them back till you get one that fits the bill. I may yet give the B2 a go. Nine power for sure.

Hello David, I'm disheartened to hear your report, I had high hopes for this model from reading the sheer amount of praise for it. Do you feel the 15X model would fare any better?

Hello David, You should try a new SkyRover (Banner Cloud) APO binocular - either in 8x42 or 10x42. (10x50 &12x50 are going to be available soon). I had a chance to try them against the Swarovski NL Pures - 8x42 and 10x42 - and I must admit - I was impressed. Optically - the are very impressive, bright, sharp, CA are very well corrected. I could barely see any difference in their perfomance against an Austrian Alpha Glass. A huge 70° AFOV , which is sharp right to the edge makes them a joy to use. Built quality and ergonomic however are not on par with the Swarovskis, but they are more than acceptable for $450, i've paid for them. Please be advised - the eye relief on the SkyRover is a little bit "restricted", some independent measurements say it it about 12-13 mm, which may be challenging for an eyeglass wearer. I don't wear glasses - and can only see the whole field of view only with the eyecups fully down.

When I saw the title, I thought it was the Carl Zeiss Dialyt 8x30 B/GA T* Classic which I think is one of the best Zeiss binoculars ever made together with the Carl Zeiss Dialyt 7x42 B/GA T* Classic and the Carl Zeiss Dialyt 8x56 B/GA T* Classic. I do not remember my first binocular brand name, but it was a 16x50 in 1970. Later I got a 7x50 which I only had a short time, nex up was a Kenlock 7x35 wich was prety good and very compact. Then I got my first really good binocular, a Prominar 9x35 wich I guess was a re-branded Kowa 9x35, the coating was excellent and the handling very good, unfortunately like most binoculars with oculars on a "bridge" it did not last for hard work in the field, so I got my first high end binocular, the Leitz 10x40 BA/N, the N stands for a better close focus distance of 4.5 meters, the normal Leitz 10x40 BA had a close focus of 9 meters !!! If you compare the 10x40 BA/N to the 10x40 BA you can see that at very long distance, that the 10x40 BA is sharper. The Leitz 10x40 BA/N could have been fully working if it wasn´t for an accident out in the field. So I got the Leica 8x32 Ultravid HD, it is very sharp and easy to handle as my old Leitz was, but I was disappointed with the lack depth of field in the Leica 8x32 compared to my old Leitz 10x40 BA/N. So I bought a (not much used) Leitz 10x40 BA in mint condition, later a Leitz 8x40 B and Leitz 8x32 B and Leitz 8x32 BA (green armor), latest I got a Leica Ultravid 12x50 HD which now is my most used binocular and sometimes my Kowa TSN-99A Prominar telescope. Do you know this site for binoculars !? www.allbinos.com/binoculars_reviews.html

David, It sounds like you got a demo dud which is not unheard of. My C series sweet spot is huge and thats their mid tier glass. Every review on B5's iv read have equalled or exceeded swaro SLC's for about half the price.

I recently returned my Genesis 44 8.5x44 to Kowa for them to evaluate and re-collimate if necessary. I did this because I didn't believe that the Secozoom should have been outperforming the Kowa. They returned it after it went to their repair shop and wrote to me to assure me that it was being returned fully conforming to their standards of performance for that model. As soon as it arrived I tested it against the Secozoom at 50 yards, using the 1951 resolution test target. The eight power Secozoom outperformed the Kowa by a full element. I believe that I would be doing the community a disservice by not passing this information on.

Tinc la versió GA amb coverta de goma i no puc estar més content amb la construcció. Com els teus, són impermeables. Òpticament, són òptims per observació i caça big game i grans aus. Poc recomanable per aus petites a curta distància. Si no portes ulleres i pots viure sense un gran FOV, són per tu. Ho he pogut comparar amb Zeiss i Leica 10x de primera classe i en condicions de llum escassa aquests Habicht estan per sobre sense dubtes. Gran canal, tens un seguidor més.

jeezus dude ditch the slow talk and get to the damn point.

David, the Swift Audubon 8.5x44 is worthy of a look 👍 Some high end bins have awful focus action. I had some Swaro 8x56SL that were inexcusably bad and notchy, and a couple of pairs of Ultravids with unimpressive focus action. At that level, you really expect such a simple thing to be sorted properly. If a pair of $40 Swifts can have a focus like butter, the big boys have no excuses.

I've just tested my Kowa 6x30 and my close focus is around 2.6 meters , I actually measured with the tape measure, iI can't understand where Kowa got the 5 meters from

they both have too much eye relief for many non glass users. Eye point is user dependent but there are some tendency of the bino. amount of ER mm stated is not all. smaller AFOV are more easier to make long ER but also easier to have more blackout to non glass wearers. and also, If eyesup is not long enough for it's eyerelif, also can lead to blackouts. vantam and yf is both have all that issue. small afov, eyecup bit short to fit it's long ER. vantam is worse. and of course, 8x30 yf is much easier to see with naked eyes. because of less ER and much larger AFOV 6x30 has bit longer eyecup then 8x30 but not enough. they both have enough ER to use with glasses. 6x30 is much longer that even can be seen with I leave one eyecup click behind. so. ease of view to glass wearers will be better in 6x30 but in overall, more variety of people will found 8x30 much comfortable. Longer ER doesn't always mean better ease of view many people didn't even heard about it. The blackout issue is not only with cheap binoculars. Zeiss conquest 8x42 is notorious for it that Zeiss even sell extending eyecup for conquest. 8x42 conq is known to have worst eyepoint between 32~42 conq mainly because it have significantly smaller afov. Even Leica noctivid 8x42 has blackout issue to some. not as much as vantam, yf 6x30, conquest 8x42 but significantly more then Swaro NL 8x42. because it have more ER and smaller AFOV. so, therea are some binocular that eye glass weares like but non glass wearers dislike and can also have opposite situation. rubber flip eyecup such as nikon E2, Steiner nighthunter, ior valdada and some bino with less - average eyerelif such as kowa genesis, fujinon hc, leica ultravid tends / said to be more comfortable to non eyeglass wearers.

Hello David:Enjoyable video. I love testing out all kinds of binos in all genres. It’s a labour of love for me and, I suspect, for you also! Keep up the good work! Best wishes, Neil

Hey i like your reviews , i did get this bino for my little guy because its not bad for the money but also because when he uses it as a bat or train , warranty will get me a new one. i did the same for my daughter she is older , viper in the end i dont think any of the vortex line are that great .

I just got a brand-new pair of these, serial number 6975308 and they do not have the yellow tint to them, maybe they have later coatings?

Kudos on the review! Really helpful in deciding which piece one should get. And thank you for taking suggestions from the community

Hi Wrighty, good to hear from you. I just ordered a Kowa 8x30 but received a second 6x30 instead. I'm trying. Anyway, I think that it would be cool if you made a video review of your Maven and sent me a link. I'd watch.

Not sure you can go wrong for $48. I should pick up a Kowa YF 8x30, they're almost twice as expensive in the UK compared to Japan so they will have to wait to be added on a JP order i think. I just got myself the Maven C.2 7x28 and its been going everywhere with me.

It’s obvious you don’t know what to look for in binoculars to see the difference between an entry level $200 Diamondback binocular to an upper mid grade $1000 optic. The resolution, light transmission, edge correction, distortion characteristics, color reproduction, etc. etc., the list goes on are completely on a different level in the Leica, assuming again you didn’t have an old beat up Leica. Either you need to get your eyes checked or your doing a mis service to your viewers. Unfortunately this a perfect example of how anybody can post a KZbin video and get viewers.

Another issue that the Tamron version of the Bushnell Rangmeaster suffer from, is the top heavy design. It is well known by collectors of these fine instruments that there are a lot of them that have cracked prisms. The issue is that if you have a small IPD (inter- pupillary distance) setting, they don’t balance well and tip over when placed down thus damaging the prisms. The problem here with this review is that the reviewer doesn’t want to do his due diligence to review a proper example, because he doesn’t want to spend a few dollars. I’m sure we’d all agree if we reviewed a beat to crap Swarovski NL it wouldn’t perform well.

A couple of things here that are misleading about his subjective observations. I may need two parts. First the eye relief is 10mm and anybody who does not wear glasses can easily see the whole 11° FOV, and the edge field stop is clear , black and sharp. But because of the huge field of view it is on the periphery, unlike binoculars that have a more conventional (smaller) FOV. As far as clarity and sharpness, it is outstanding even by todays standards. The issue here is that 90% of these are beat up and require service , and the main service is cleaning the haze buildup on the prism as well as a good collimation. Assuming of course we’re starting with a specimen with good condition coatings. I’ve had a half a dozen of these and every one needed the prism cleaned to perform at its best. It’s clear the reviewers Bushnell needed service. This is very unfortunate when your giving opinions on the quality of optics.

The Tamron Rangemaster is an excellent wide-angle binocular and I am continually impressed with its performance. I hope that the location where I want to make a video about these binoculars will work out this year. The Rangemaster binoculars were apparently not officially sold here in Europe. That's why both versions are extremely difficult to obtain here. On the other hand, many european binocular collectors don't have these binoculars on their radar, which is why they aren't that expensive when you do find them. I would recommend the Swift Audubon to you as the next milestone. Happy collecting! 😀

7x35's such a rare size nowadays, or just 7x in general. There's nothing between a Nikon action ex at the budget end and a Leica trinovid at the top end if you want this size. The latest UO 6.5 or 8x32 APO's might be close though.

you owe it to yourself to get a nikon wx

Sell all of those and get the Habicht 8x30 and be satisfied for the rest of your life (if the eye relief is sufficient for you that is).

No, this $500 bino is not on the level of a $1000 bino. The ED is a mid level bino in about the same grouping as a Nikon M7, a Zeiss Terra, a vortex Viper and so on. The Passion HD is in the upper mid level , just below the top of the line binoculars. It compares well with the Zeiss Conquest, Nikon MHG, Leica Trinovids, etc. etc. When it comes to optics , you pay for what you get. There’s no free ride.

Alrighty then. You settled that issue. Super thanks for the review John. Please, keep us informed concerning any other gems you run into.