Yesterday I ordered from B&H a Canon 10X42 L IS WP set of binoculars for professional service; looking at two story eaves to see if what I'm looking is Honey Bee hiving activity, Scout Honey Bee activity or Yellow Jacket activity. In my business, specializing in stinging insect control, you have to be able to split hairs at a hundred yards; insect identification.
I've spent the last couple of weeks researching binoculars and this pair keeps rising to the top as challengers to the unstabilized Leica and Swarovski line of binos. The 10X42 L IS are being well received by the birding community for it's ability to resolve color and detail. The singular exception to the ideal, that's a common complaint/comment, is their weight; 2.3lbs (1043g) , not a consideration for me and my size.
You can literally dunk these binos in a bucket of water and leave them there for a couple of hours to no ill effect which is the recommended method of removing salt water spray. Wasn't able to find any technical reviews (just personal anecdotal reviews), as one might expect in regard to camera lenses but there were lots of folks who participated in the below linked and lengthy thread which I read on the matter who are big time Canon "L" glass aficionados.
Anybody here have a pair of these technological marvels and if so, what are your personal findings with this pair? I won't have them in my greasy hands until Tuesday as I went next day on delivery, ordered them from B&H on Saturday evening and they won't be shipping until Monday. Darn! The waiting, as per usual, is killing me and it's only been ten hours since I entered the order.
I have a set of the older 10x30 stabilized binoculars. I thought they were excellent as long as there was plenty of light, until I took them to Yellowstone in Winter 2006. Then I found that they had chromatic aberration out the wazoo when viewing things surrounded by bright white snow!
That problem doesn't come up in more normal circumstances, or even in slightly exotic circumstances like whalewatching. Image quality then is excellent. I like my 10x30s, and the 10x42s should be less vulnerable to low light, and possibly with even better image quality, if your reports are true.
I had a pair of them as well as the 15x50 IS. Sold them because I simply didn't use them, but the quality and function was great. The 10x42 has a newer IS system that has longer battery life than the 15x50 I had, and I found that the Li cells gave extremely long life. We used them on a cruise to Alaska, and I mounted CPs, which made a huge difference, although for your use, I'm not sure they would be beneficial. I replaced the Canon neck strap with a Tamrac padded leather strap, which was much more comfortable. The case is unimpressive, the early Canon models had a hard shell case padded with egg crate foam, and Canon has definitely cheapened their cases. The binoculars I replaced were some Leupold golden ring, and I can't honestly say I saw a difference in optical quality, but the IS certainly makes a big difference.
I sure have my fingers crossed as there were plenty of folks who weighed in with their thoughts in the linked BirdForum thread.
According to the BirdForum link, the 10X42 L IS WP's are "L" glass quality and there's little to no CA. I also ordered an OpTech strap, to replace the Canon supplied neck strap. I'm waiting until the binos come-in to see if I need to add (IIRC) 52mm linear polarizers and screw-in lense shades.
Hammerli, I called B&H and had the order amended to include a set of support gear for the binos; a pair of linear polarizers, UV filters, Lense Hoods and a Pentax 5-11x zoom photo loupe magnifier for insect identification. It should all fit into an extra ThinkTankPhoto Speed Changer. All to be written off; Schedule 179.
, not a consideration for me and my size.
The waiting, as per usual, is killing me and it's only been ten hours since I entered the order.