Mike,
Erik makes the most valid of points. You need to know your maximum dark adapted pupil. If it's only 5.5mm no sense going for 8x56s or 7x50s. Your pupil if smaller will reduce the effective apertture.
I had Orion Vista 8x42s for a while. The 8x42 is the same as Carton Alderblick and almost the spitten image of the Swift Ultralites. Smallest binocular I've ever held. They were a little loose for me in the focus and had much too short 11mm measured eye relief. They also had small prism obstruction. Excellent coatings tho. Don't know if this translates to the larger pair.
The Swift Ultralite 8x42 by comparison weighs slightly less 20oz., is a little tighter, had no prism cutoff, has 19mm eye relief, same fov, ip distance gets 5mm closer and 3mm wider. same price, beats Vista hands down.
I have 12x50 PCF III and 16x60 PCF V. Coatings are better on the PCF V. Not as good as the Swift.
Coatings on newer models Oberwerk are improved. Similar to Pentax PCF V, not in color but in performance.
Are the Pentax 7x50s PCF V waterproof? None of the others are WP.
Do you have a star chart? Photo copy a page with the dark circles showing the sizes for the star magnitudes. Cut the photcopy right down the middle of those star sizes. have someone hold the half circles up to your eyes in a fairly darkened room. You need some light to see what you are doing. looking in a mirror to do it yourself constricts you pupils when you try to focus on your own eyes in the mirror. get a good read on your own pupils. Assume potential for 1mm increase once outdoors under your dark skies.
edz
Erik makes the most valid of points. You need to know your maximum dark adapted pupil. If it's only 5.5mm no sense going for 8x56s or 7x50s. Your pupil if smaller will reduce the effective apertture.
I had Orion Vista 8x42s for a while. The 8x42 is the same as Carton Alderblick and almost the spitten image of the Swift Ultralites. Smallest binocular I've ever held. They were a little loose for me in the focus and had much too short 11mm measured eye relief. They also had small prism obstruction. Excellent coatings tho. Don't know if this translates to the larger pair.
The Swift Ultralite 8x42 by comparison weighs slightly less 20oz., is a little tighter, had no prism cutoff, has 19mm eye relief, same fov, ip distance gets 5mm closer and 3mm wider. same price, beats Vista hands down.
I have 12x50 PCF III and 16x60 PCF V. Coatings are better on the PCF V. Not as good as the Swift.
Coatings on newer models Oberwerk are improved. Similar to Pentax PCF V, not in color but in performance.
Are the Pentax 7x50s PCF V waterproof? None of the others are WP.
Do you have a star chart? Photo copy a page with the dark circles showing the sizes for the star magnitudes. Cut the photcopy right down the middle of those star sizes. have someone hold the half circles up to your eyes in a fairly darkened room. You need some light to see what you are doing. looking in a mirror to do it yourself constricts you pupils when you try to focus on your own eyes in the mirror. get a good read on your own pupils. Assume potential for 1mm increase once outdoors under your dark skies.
edz
