Kowa 6.5 x 32 binocular
First. Jacobs responded promptly to my purchase via internet (I responded to an e-mailed ad). I bought the glasses during a sale at a very substantial reduction. I had previously examined the glasses at the Auckland shop, hence the e-mail, but they were a bit pricy. They arrived promptly and well packaged.
At a bit over NZ$500 which is what I payed, they’d be called mid priced. Check their specifications on the internet for a description of their technology and statistics. I think you get a lot for your money.
Why Kowa 6.5 x 32? I wanted this size, a smaller mid-sized glasses I was attracted to these by excellent reviews and its lower power and wide field,
Most folk would think a higher 8x or 10x would be better. In some situations, perhaps. But here is a list of actual advantages of this lower power. I deliberately chose this lower power for these reasons.
1) Less image shake when using, especially useful perhaps for older users, like myself which, for many, more than makes up for the lower image size
2) A wider exit pupil, almost 5 mm. This makes it much easier to use the glasses and find the “sweet spot” without fine or constant adjustments .
3) It also much improves the image brightness for use in darker areas, such as forests or at dawn or dusk - a near 5 mm exit pupil is hardly less than that with an 8 x 42 binocular.
4) Generally, as in these glasses, a wider true field of view. Here it’s 10 degrees, one of the highest available, anything over 7 deg is considered wide.
These Kowa glasses also have a very close minimum focus of 1.4 metres or about four feet. You can easily focus on your own feet! Great for flowers, insects etc, and I imagine in museums and art galleries or grand houses.
I’ve only had them a few days. Here are my impressions.
Solid build, sturdy. The eye cups have four positions, and click firmly into place. The binoculars can be used with spectacles or sun glasses There’s a 17 mm eye relief, . though if you’re not using a complicated prescription, you’ll find with any binocular, you get a better view without glasses.
The focuser is metal, and is as smooth as silk. There’s a bit of turning, due to the close focusing.
The dioptre adjustment is smooth, but stiff and won’t move accidentally.
The view is very sharp indeed, no chromatic aberration in any view so far, and remains sharp until about 70% out from the centre, but in such wide field glasses this really isn’t an issue. Refocussing will bring this into sharpness if needed. At night, there’s no glare but you can see light streaks from bright street lights, due to the roof prisms. But they’re not intrusive. They are not visible with stars or at other times. At night, the stars are sharp and bright, and you can easily get the whole Southern Cross in one field.
They come with rubber objective covers which hang from the binovulars. The rubber eye covers will attach to the strap.
All in all an excellent example of modern optics and are highly recommended.
Snags? Two obvious ones. The case is cheap and inadequate, too small for the binoculars which only fit easily if folded to their narrowest and the eye cups folded down, and the case has no straps of its own. A better case is definitely needed so that’s disappointing.
Second, the lugs that hold the straps are positioned so the binoculars hang on your chest at an excessive angle, with the objective end digging in to your chest. I think this could prove quite annoying after a time if you’re in the habit of say bird watching with the glasses always at the ready. You can minimise this by folding out the glasses to their widest and having a very short strap, but this isn’t that convenient. Many reviewers have confirmed this, and for one it was so annoying he returned them. I haven’t had them long enough to see whether this is actually an issue for me in practice, most reviewers just accept this and are happy with the instrument’s other advantages. I haven’t found the lugs a bother when holding the binoculars. If I can find a better ready case I doubt I’d have them hanging on my chest whilst moving around in any case, as they’d be more easily damaged. An old fashioned leather case with a lid you can keep open will allow rapid retrieval of the binoculars when required.
