Kite APC 16x42 Image Stabilized Binoculars Review

[@padlnjones]

truly a fantastic review! I want to get either the Kite 16x42 or the 12x42s for my wife for an upcoming South Africa trip. She does wear glasses. I read your entire comments, but wondered if you could address what might be the better choice for her of these two. I have a pair of Fujinon TS 14x40s that weigh almost 4 lbs, so considering getting a pair of Kites for myself, and selling the Fujinons. thanks!

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Hi there, many thanks for the kind words and the question. For glasses, eye-relief is very important, so take a look at which model has the most (usually the lower powered one). Also take a look at my guide to using glasses with binoculars if you need more info: www.bestbinocularsreviews.com/blog/eye-relief-eyeglasses-binoculars-11/

[@Pesmog]

Thanks for this important review of the Kite IS binoculars. Due to having sub-optimal eyesight I currently own about 10 good or excellent pairs of binoculars, three of which I have purchased on the BBR websites recommendation. I am currently on my third pair of stabilised binoculars which I use for viewing aircraft at 3-5 km distance. My first set were Canon first generation ones which were okay. I then changed to the previous model Fujinon techno-stabi 14x40 which I hated as they were way too heavy for continuous use, the stabilisation was under damped so you felt nauseous, and they would eat several sets of batteries a day. I now have Canon 12x36 IS II which are light, have a brighter image, stabilise well and the batteries last much longer. I will have to track down the nearest Kite dealer in the UK to try a pair to compare with my Canons as I really need something in the 14-16 times magnification range. Thanks again for this, I like your work.

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Hi - many thanks for the interesting comment. Will love to know your thoughts on the Kite IS once you have had a chance to use them. BTW for a UK dealer, you can try Stealth Birding : stealthbirding.co.uk/collections/binoculars/brand_kite?sca_ref=45303.ODWPuKka1o - just note that link contains an affiliate link, so if you do purchase you will be helping out BBR, but wont cost you anything. Thanks ;-)

[@DanBarksey]

@@Pesmog I was concerned over such short warranties on electronic stabilization binoculars when so many have life time warranties on manual binoculars that cost the same or more … it seems that they don’t believe in their own products to give a lifetime warranty

[@jrnumex9286]

great vid. just purchased fujinon 14 tsx. wow. side by side with a Leupold 15 x on a tri pod dead heat finish. love those step child leupolds though. those $4k tecno stabi ones, what the heck like no

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Hi - thanks for the insight. Much appreciated

[@WSCLATER]

Informative clear presentation. No music no gimmicks. Very good.

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Thanks very much for the kind words, glad it was helpful.

[@bonienl4550]

Once again a great review, thank you very much. I enjoyed it.

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks very much for the feedback, it is very much appreciated.

[@PaulHarsch1]

For a relatively amateur user, I found this review exceptionally well presented and informative. I am looking to replace a now non-functional Nikon 12x32 ISO I purchased many years ago and which I was very happy with but now miss the IS feature. I found your video by chance and was interested in the features of the Kite 16x42 but now have concerns about the very small exit light. I would love further guidance as I would not want to sacrifice the opportunity to use binoculars in low light.

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Hi Paul, thanks for the kind words and glad to have helped. You are right to be worried about the exit pupil on these 16x42 binoculars - in terms of low light performance these are not ideal and I would not recommend them or any 16x42 binocular if you plan on using them under these conditions often. See my complete guide to the exit pupil here: www.bestbinocularsreviews.com/blog/exit-pupil-06/ However, Kite do make the APC in a 10x30, 12x30, and12x42 configuration, with the 12x42 having the largest exit pupil and whilst it will never be a brilliant low light performer, it will almost certainly outperform the more powerful 16x version.

[@TheFairway8]

I was very lucky to pick up a second hand but immaculate pair of Canon 15x50 IS binoculars for about $500. I use them mostly for astronomy they have become my go to optics replacing all my traditional bins and even my various scopes. I've never experienced any problems as regards battery life

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Thanks for sharing and sorry for the late reply, but I have been away...

[@mustang5132]

How would you compare these to the canon 10x42L or 15x50? I’m thinking of getting an IS bino for astronomy since I love my skymaster pros but would rather not have to take a tripod with me

[@MrSeedi76]

Thanks for the review! Would you recommend these for astronomy? And how would they compare with something like the Celestron 15x70 Skymaster?

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Hi, yes, for Astro use they are good because of the IS, however, the small 42mm lenses don't make them the ideal Astro binocular in my opinion so if I was buying a binocular only for astronomy, I would go for something like the Celestron SkyMaster Pro series of Binoculars like this 15x70 version: www.bestbinocularsreviews.com/Celestron-SkyMaster-Pro-15x70-Binoculars-Review-259.htm (Unless you cannot afford more, don't go for the standard Skymaster series, they are far inferior) - the larger objective lenses and resulting larger exit pupil ( www.bestbinocularsreviews.com/blog/exit-pupil-06/ ) means they will look to have a better low light performance and thus I feel you are more likely be able to see fainter stars even though the 15x70 has a slightly lower power. If you can't or don't want to use a tripod, however, then an IS binocular like the Kite APC series would be a better choice

[@MrSeedi76]

@@Bestbinocularsreviews thanks very much for the detailed answer :). Much appreciated. I already have the standard 15x70 Skymaster - I think it's quite good for the price. Had to collimate it first however. But I plan on either getting an IS-bino or the MX marine 23x110 nitrogen filled and water proof binocs from TS-Optics and mount them on a parallelogram. Not sure however if I should go one step further and get one with exchangeable eyepieces like an APM semi-APO with 100 mm lenses. But I do like the "no fuss" aspect of the mx marine. And they have threaded eyepieces so one could put some filters on them for astronomy. Cheers, mate. Keep up the good work :). Really enjoying your channel.

[@DanBarksey]

Good review explaining the cost to degree of stabilization… I have to start saving , hard sell on the wife . Lol

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

You can do it ;-) Also, thanks for the comment much appreciated

[@smaganas]

Fantastic review.

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Thank you kindly!

[@robertpitt8418]

Exalent video and a very interesting review : i bet you would love to get your hands on the fujinon 16x40 some day : )

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Hi Robert, many thanks for the feedback and yes, Kite has opened up my eyes a little with these and so it would be great to be able to compare them against some of the more established ones out there.

[@geeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzz]

I kid you not. I have a little spare pair of 8x24 porros (Carson Mantaray) on a tripod for viewing the distant countryside & mountains from the house and I find them more enjoyable than the 15x70's I had on previously or my little scope.. Not sure why, just smaller & easier to get on with I think & still great viewing.

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

I hear you, technically they are not ideal for the task, but like you I also have a few of my favorite pairs that I enjoy using more than others - sometimes I feel there is another element to simply enjoying using something that has nothing to do with specifications and technical specs that is hard to explain.

[@geeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzz]

@@Bestbinocularsreviews & they look kind of ridiculous on the big tripod which makes you think this just cannot work but then you try them and find hey that's actually quite good. Have you had look at the Viking Peregrine 8x32. I was thinking of buying that as I like the colour rendition of the Peregrine 10x42 I bought recently but it can have a lot of purple fringing and not a lot of contrast. The Carson Mantaray has a small view circle but it's the cleanest edge view you could wish for and great light transmission actually at times mind blowing in good light, if only it had a larger afov then I don't think I would ever need any other binocular. I recently tested a Leica Ultravid 10x25 against my Carson Falconer 7x20 and not much between them the Carson much better for wide angle and the Leica sent back with a rubbish stiff focus so even though I have lots of other bins I still am a bit fascinated by these Carsons but I love the compact Pentax VD 4x20 WP also. It is a classic. I bought 2 of the 4x20 bins so I was thinking I could stick them together like with the telescope and make a 16x20 bin lol. Haven't tried that yet but I probably will get around to seeing what it's like someday.

[@jacobiteken1164]

Hi Jason just got my kite 16X42 APC binoculars from Stealth birding ..my question is ,while watching your vid showing the back of the binoculars top middle your bins has Japan then numbers ,yet mine has just numbers..watched more vids the same Japan then numbers..so I was wondering is there a reason for this ?

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Hi, I am not sure, but I can ask the guys at Kite Optics for you if you want?

[@jacobiteken1164]

@@Bestbinocularsreviews yep that would be cool thanks Jason

[@muhammadishaque1400]

Very Nice information. Super ❤️❤️❤️

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Thanks a lot - much appreciated.

[@roseforeuropa]

The "Cost per angle stabilized" metric was by far the single most important and critical number presented.

[@Przemo-c]

That's important but doesn't address the quality of stabilisation like minor shake that makes the image blurry or overshoot and springy feel when panning or how does it stabilise minor Hand shake Vs big bumps like on a boat etc. So while it is a really useful metric the degrees of stabilisation matter depending on the use case. For instance when at home canons stabilisation is perfectly adequate and there's little to no benefit for getting 6 degrees of TS-x but on a boat anywhere but a lake those 2deg of stabilisation is not 3x worse than techno stabi it feels like 10x worse. Still even canons limited is feels like magic 😂

[@kaiwansachsen96]

Thank you so much for your information

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

My pleasure, thanks for the feedback - I very much appreciated it

[@fistouille23]

it would be interesting if you can get the new "SIG SAUER ZULU6 HDX OIS 20x42mm" and compare to the kite 16x42 :)

[@nomatterwhatdontevergiveup3445]

Hi a question ? Im trying to get the best budget stargazing binoculars that's gives best clarity and strongest magnification and quality for viewing in color or taking pictures with ? Wat is the best Stargazing binoculars under $ 300 Deference between Celestron 20×80 barska gladiator 25-125×80 Barska gladiator 20-140×80 Which one is better for better quality and magnification

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Hi, thanks for the question. It is a little hard for me to answer in detail in this comments section and it would be tough for me to comment too much on the Barska Gladiator Binoculars as I have not used them, in general my advice is to stay away for cheap variable magnification (zoom) binoculars, especially high powered ones as they ted to have many issues associated with them: www.bestbinocularsreviews.com/zoom-binoculars.php and at maximum zoom, the exit pupil on these Barska binoculars is going to be tiny - I have reviewed models from the cheap Celestron Skymaster series and the better SkyMaster Pro series and I have to say if you can afford it - get the Pro series - MUCH better quality at not that much more money - you can get the idea from my 15x70 SkyMaster Pro review here: www.bestbinocularsreviews.com/Celestron-SkyMaster-Pro-15x70-Binoculars-Review-259.htm

[@nomatterwhatdontevergiveup3445]

@@Bestbinocularsreviews ok and thanks for tips/advice

[@malin7919]

It seems that you only focus on IS and not the glass or image quality. I think Canon uses the high quality fluoride ED glass. Can you say the same for Kite and Fujinon?

[@MrSeedi76]

Very good point - I'm currently looking for a pair of image stabilized binoculars for astronomy and ED glass would be a big plus for that application.

[@ЛуиБен]

Please review Nikon Monarch 7 8x42

[@Bestbinocularsreviews]

Hi - If you can get Nikon to send them to me I would love to! - I have been trying for many years to get Nikon to send me binoculars, but without success!

[@Revelator2025]

Canon binocs are OKAY. There’s no comparison between my Fujinon TS1440 techno-stabi binoculars. I would love to try the Fujinon Stabiscopes but alas the cost.

[@mustang5132]

Is the glass quality much better on them? How are they for astronomy?

[@Abc-nb9yt]

Sorry the chromatic aberration How is the 16x42 ? Looking some upper branches with birds or also something very fare to understand better the binocular quality. Like me if you don’t have a shop close to home….😃😆

[@victoralexander848]

Yeah!! but will it be around as long as the canon's they have been around for at least four decades and still going strong, in that period the canon's has seen off many here today gone tomorrow image stabilization binoculars,Nice review though

[@dremadghabrial5421]

Canon 18x50

[@marcphilibert2344]

@ 09:41 no, not down ... UP ... (in Belgium) €1200 JUN 2022 ... 🤑🤑🤑🤑😢😢😢