Valiant effort! - Leupold BX-4 Pro Guide HD 8x32mm Binoculars

These new calcium-fluoride HD Pro Guide 8X32's (MIJ) offer some great optical performances, with possibly a few caveats.

Pros: Sharpness, clarity and resolution appear very close to my Austrian Alpha glass binoculars. They are very solidly built, with a nice ergonomic layout and armor that is comfortable and secure to hold. Hinge IPD tension is tight and the 3-step eye cups have a very comfortable fit to my eye sockets. Focus speed is the fastest I've ever used, going from close focus (2 yds) to 100 yds in just 1\2 a turn, great for birding and quick in-close nature observations. These also offer another 3\4 turn to get you way out beyond infinity, very useful if you do not want to wear glasses while making observations. Focus tension is smooth and even, with enough resistance to easily maintain settings without any stray wandering. Diopter adjustment, located in the focus knob, has quite a bit of accommodation range (not specked out), is very easy to set and relocks securely in place. Color presentation has very natural fidelity and realism. DOF has a nice stereopsis effect with a deep in-focus range of view. At dusk low light conditions, I was able to still make out dark shadowy objects at infinity.

Cons: I felt their 396ft rated FOV was somewhat restrictive (use to 8X32's being 420ft). I'd rate their in-focus "Sweet Spot" at about 50%, with a gradual roll off to the edges that had more pincushion distortion than I'd like. These effects reduced my overall comfort of viewing (aka: picture-window-viewing ease). But to be fair, I've not had the opportunity yet to spend hours of observation and use behind these 8x32's to decide long term, if these could become my main compact glassing instruments. With their very fast focal speed, I also often found myself easily "overshooting" my main focal points. Again to be fair, I'm use to binoculars that are 3X slower (1.5 turns) to achieve sharp CF and all the way out at 100 yds! The included accessories work well, however the carry case doesn't have any type of case shoulder carry strap (but does have double loop sleeves for wearing on a belt).

Overall, the BX-4 Pro Guide HD 8X32's exemplary quality of build, excellent optical presentation (in their usable FOV) and ergonomically compact size\weight allow these binoculars to compete well in their investment range marketplace. IMHO, they clearly out perform any of the Leupold BX-3 Mojave Pro Guide HD's or the BX-4 McKinley HD's that I've owned these past 3 years!