Reviews - Oberwerk 7x50mm Mariner Series Binoculars Reviews - OW-BI-Mariner-7x50

Author: Moose (verified customer) , I am outdoors a lot. I have a great many nautical/maritime interests. I have often worked with sensitive optical instruments in scientific applications., from Boston, MA on Aug 31, 2009
Pros:  Excellent optics, FULLY broadband MULTI-coated (this means all external AND INTERNAL optic surfaces) with BAK4 prisms (top-quality), water/fog-proof (insides of binocular are nitrogen-purged); fully-armored chassis with sure-grip rubber coating; eye-cup caps attach to carry-strap.
Cons:  Slightly heavy (but this is to be expected in a military-spec, ARMORED binocular-- negligible for the trade-off for ruggedness); objective caps loose (do not attach to binoculars when not in use), i.e., you must keep track of them so as not to lose them, warranty for only one-year.
Would recommend:  yes

Moose wrote:

I am outdoors quite a bit, and when I decided to become more involved in maritime activities, I knew enough about binoculars to know that I needed a specialized item which would keep salt water OUT, and give me optimal foul-weather vision (my old Bushnell 7 X 50's are good and have given me years of service, but they are most certainly NOT marine-grade). Therefore, I did some internet research and narrowed my list to three companies, including OpticsPlanet.com. After further guidance from customer service including reference to their educational pages and links (see http://www.opticsplanet.net/how-to-buy-binoculars.html for information on how to choose a pair of binoculars, and URL's for specific binocular categories and see http://www.opticsplanet.net/binmarine.html for Marine binocular specs), I narrowed my product list to five or six items. Customer service then addressed my more detailed technical questions and I purchased this item, and its big brother, the Oberwerk 10 x 60 mm ...
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Author: Photon (verified customer) , Amateur astronomer Camping/hiking , from Aurora, CO on Dec 15, 2008
Pros:  Visual quality, ruggedness, solid feel
Cons:  Physically large
Would recommend:  yes

Photon wrote:

Optically excellent with only the outer 10% of field showing out-of-focus. It was perfectly collimated. The focusing is very precise and smooth. They seem rather tall compared to others but I think this is because of a high f-ratio to improve color correction. This is an excellent, solid binocular. I think it compares favorably to ones costing far more.