New Orion SWA 7X32mm

Started by erikdlin, 10/11/2003 11:59AM
Posted 10/11/2003 11:59AM Opening Post
Just returned from a two-day business trip last night. Another air traffic control hold at Newark Airport meant 2.5 hours of sitting on the ground in Miami Airport. That's when I really wish I had a wireless internet connection. Finally got home around 11 pm on a flight that was suppose to depart at 3:45 PM and take 2.5 hours. I guess that's an improvement from my trip last month. After a 12 hr. flight from Beijing my connecting flight sat on the Chicago runway for 3 hours waiting for release from Cleveland and Newark ground control. Anyway, when I got home the new Orion holiday catalog was waiting for me. Of course I quickly flipped to the bino section to check new models. The new Orion 7X32 Expanse SWA binos really caught my interest. They are listed as having 14 Deg FOV!

Some of you on this forum may recall I posted a brief report on a pair of EWA Russian 6x30s. This pair is listed as having 12.5 deg FOV. I thought it may be good to have as extra wide field finder from my mag 4.5 central NJ backyard. Many of the stars on modest mag 6 star charts are not visiable naked eye from my house. However, I was not impressed after checking them out at the 2003 NEAF show. It did not offer the extra wide angle views I was expecting from a pair of binos with 75 deg APFOV. Nor was I impressed with the built quality of a pair of small aperture binos selling for $130.

The Orion 7X32 SWA binos have better specs than the Russian 6X30s on paper: Higher power, wider 98 deg APFOV, slightly bigger objectives and black rubber grip(the Russian 6X30 had a cheap painted camo finish. The only minus I can see is the short 10mm eye relief. I do expect edge distortion with such extreme wide angle binos but in my experience Orion does not carry "Junk" optics.

I would be very interest in reading a review if anyone on this fourum decides to order this pair as a holiday gift "for their loved ones" this year. :-)

Erik D

PS, EdZ: What would be your estimated Limiting Maganitude for a pair of BAK-4 porro 7X32s that are "fully" but not multi-coated?