Nikon Compact Zooms - Travelite vs EagleView

tmillinr · Guest

Which of the two do you recommend?

Do either of these allow for different measurements between a persons pupils (distance between eyes for different sized persons)?

Both apparently have the diopter adjustment (one eye focuses differently than the other), which is great. Does one have a greater eye relief than the other? I wear glasses, and I understand that an eye relief of at least 14 is recommended.

opticsplanet.com · Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 8:53 am Post subject:

Hi

First of all, let me begin by saying I am not a fan of zoom bincoulars. A zoom binocular is always inferior optically and mechanically to a fixed power version of the same model. Return rate in general on zoom binoculars is a full ten times higher than fixed power binoculars.

Just as importantly, anything much over 10-12x needs a tripod or other means of support to use the higher magnification effectively. Adding a tripod or monopod to a compact binocular neutralizes the main adavntage of a compact - portability. Compacts are hard enough to steady without going to extreme magnifications.

As zoom go, neither of these Nikon models is especially good for eyeglass wearers with 13mm of eye relief at 8x and you will lose even more as you zoom up. The Travelite probably has a slight edge optically due to its aspheric lens technology and I prefer the zoom mechanism on the Travelite as well, but the difference between these two models is not great.

I hate to sound so discouraging, but if you really need more magnification than 8x in a serious way, you should be looking at a spotting scope mounted on a tripod.

If you want a more comfortable binocular to use and one that will outlast the zoom, I'd opt for the standard Nikon 8x25 Travelite, http://www.opticsplanet.net/nik-8x25-tb.html with its 14mm of eye relief or the Pentax UCF X II, http://www.opticsplanet.net/pen8xucfxbin.html with its 15mm of eye relief. I rate it as the best compact I have used under $100 in terms of optics and ease of use.
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