The short version of this review - Astoundingly compact for it's performance, with great battery life - at the sacrifice of sealing, with slightly exaggerated eye-relief and exit pupils. Good for those of us who wear glasses, but only by a smidge, leading to some finickiness.
The larger Techno-Stabi sibling has been long regarded as an excellent value in stabilized binoculars - but it had two shortcomings that prevented me from ever using it.... Insufficient eye relief, and it was a bit cumbersome - still compact-ish, given it's stabilization and magnification and overall ability, but larger than I like to travel with or carry around. The Techo-Stabi Jr was never a great alternative - just about as heavy, horrible eye relief - it may have been a bit more compact, but not enough to really justify it when it's far superior older brother was an option.
I pre-ordered these when I found out about them because I had high hopes, based on the massive amount of eye relief. Those high hopes have mostly paid off, but there are some gripes here and there... What you have in this package is a very lightweight stabilized binocular with acceptable eye relief, "on paper" beyond any other compact stabilized binocular. There's a lot of qualifications here - first and foremost, they are compact binoculars - and with that, carry all the caveats of compact binoculars, in that they are always a compromise.
So first of all, some specs that Fuji didn't bother to mention:
- Real field of view is ~ 4.6 degrees. Calculating this at all is a bit annoying, but especially so when it's expressed as "meters view at 1000 yards" - it's like asking someone how long it will take them to travel 5 kilometers at 35mph. I'm nitpicking, but still.
- Sealing is rated at a rather disappointing IPX-2 - That protects against objects 12.5mm (seriously, not a typo) from entering, so you're well protected from most ball bearings, but most dust tends to be smaller than that. They can handle some dripping water - while vertical. I have not tested this, nor do I recommend you do so.
- I really don't see how 12x28 ends up with a 2.5mm exit pupil. The calculated answer is 2.33, I guess they considered 2.5 "close enough" - More on this in a bit.
- Close focus is somewhere in the 8' area, which is excellent for this category.
- Eye relief is specced at 17.5mm, but the lenses are recessed a couple of mm into the eyecups, even at the smallest setting, so it's realistically closer to 15-15.5. This takes it from "awesome for use with glasses" to "good for use with glasses". It's still quite good for a glasses wearer in reality - I spent a lot of time comparing it to others in my collection, and it's definitely near the top of the list - so this isn't too harsh of a criticism.
- The objective lenses can be covered via a 30mm clip-on lens cap, if you so wish - no cover for the objective lenses is included. They are recessed a few MM, so relatively well protected on their own - I'd have no qualms throwing it in a bag as is, but if you are the sort who MUST cover them, you'll want to order two 30mm clip on lenscaps.
The stabilization system is powered by a CR2 - a bit exotic for some of us, but you can order a ton of them from here, and they will keep for a long time. This is likely part of what keeps it so lightweight, though - It's rated for 12 hours of use. I suspect that's optimistic, but not wildly so - and that's another one of the major draws here. Most other system are rated between 1-3 hours.
Not everything is perfect - I'm not sure if it's the "2.5mm" exit pupil or the ~2mm that the lenses are recessed - but the "viewpoint" is just small enough to be annoying to line up. These are some of the more finicky binos I own in this regard - I have others that have a true 2.5mm (and at 15mm "manufacturer" eye relief, at that) that aren't this hard. Combined with the stiff action on the pupillary distance, it can be frustrating to dial in the exact fit. The great news is that when you get it right, it will stay there - but you'll still have to be pretty precise in how you line it up when you hold them to your face.
I'm also REALLY concerned about how these would do in a light rain / ocean spray - It took a long time to find any sort of waterproofing rating for these, it was buried away in a manual... The ultimate rating is IPX-2 - That's more like mild sneeze-proofing than any sort of sealing, and that is a hard sell at this price... I'm not surprised that Fuji buried this particular spec in the manual. There is additionally no information on any waterproof seals / nitrogen purging, which tells me that these may not be a good call for bad weather or large temperature changes. Most everything else along these lines (and certainly, even the really high end WR lenses / cameras) doesn't even bother with an IPX rating, but I'd imagine that anything "WR" will do better than this. So I don't think I'd take this in the most extreme conditions, or even in a rain to be honest. It seems inexcusable to me that these aren't better sealed and nitrogen purged at this price - I would love to see real weather sealing on this. It's possible that this is the tradeoff that keeps these small and lightweight- so caveat emptor, but I really feel like it wouldn't have taken more than a couple of o-rings to have made a ton of difference here.
The glass is very good - it's razor sharp at the center, and remains very sharp to the edges, at least on my sample. Close focus is surprisingly good for a 12x as well - I'd put it at close to 8'. Another spec not officially listed, I'm afraid. They could even do OK for stargazing - Likely not as flat of a field as you'd see in some higher end binos, and yes, they are dim. But surprisingly usable in ways they would likely not be if they weren't stabilized.
These aren't TINY, but they are a VERY small - one of the smallest stabilized on the market, if not THE smallest - and a good size for a 12x - they don't fold down as tight as many others, but they remain very compact when in use - they are just under an inch and a half longer than my Nikon 10x25s, presumably to cover the stabilization. They are also very light weight - on paper, they are the absolute lightest stabilized binoculars on market at this time, and that is really the headline here.... They are a very good size - you won't slip them into your back pocket and forget they are there by any means, but they certainly won't bog you down at all. They may even fit in a jacket pocket with no issues.
There really are almost perfect for me - I'm a compact binocular junkie, so I can live with a lot of shortcomings if things are generally in place... even with the compromises you make in that class, there are some things I'd be close to knocking a star off for on these binoculars. I'm honestly a bit frustrated by the spec exaggeration on eye relief / exit pupil, although it seems OK in real world usage.... Just not quite "as advertised." The lack of weatherproofing at this price point definitely keeps it from being 5. And not just weatherproofing - IPX2 is just really sad. Definitely look up the ratings online if you aren't familar, but there's a reason you never see anything advertised visibly as under 5. It has me really concerned about dust intrusion, outside of just water concerns. Time will tell, but these very well could be dust magnets. Let's hope that isn't the case. Of course, you will see no mention of waterproofing on similarly sized Canons (the smaller IS, not the very waterproof 10x42), so I suspect that they are largely the same deal. So it's not completely out of the ordinary for the price point, but it's still disappointing.
Even given these shortcomings, as it is, under almost all situations, I will reach for them before all others - the experience of using them is quite good, and I can use them all day and take them everywhere with no fatigue whatsoever.
There's always compromise in compact binoculars... At the price point I paid - which I'll mention, was less than list - I'd say these are good, and they fill a niche that I've not seen anyone else address - very lightweight, stabilized binoculars that are mostly appropriate for those who wear glasses. While you won't get the full 17.5mm, no other stabilized compact binocular comes close in terms of eye relief - and few non-stabilized compacts do this well, either. It's absolutely no comparison to my Opticron Travelers in that regard - my other go-to - but those are 6x32, and they also have an absurd amount of eye relief. I find the usability comparable to my Nikon 8x20s / 10x25s, although the Fuii is just a bit more finicky with positioning.
I'm not sure how much larger the whole system would be if it was, say, 12x36 - I'd personally love to see a weather-resistant 12x36 with an "actual" 17.5mm eye relief, maybe powered by a CR123a (a bit easier to come by, more capacity, not much heavier, great rechargable Li-Ion options) - until that comes along, these will be my go-to. That is - as long as it isn't raining.
All of this being said (and it is a lot)- I have little basis of comparison to other stabilized binoculars. I did also pick up the Canon 10x42 IS, and I will say that the Fuji system seems far superior, at greater magnification - and the 10x42s are quite good on their own. There's enough going on here that it's hold on a 4 is tenuous, but that may just be the compromises inherent to a compact. May be worth seeing what other professional reviewers have to say about that, and I'll be curious to see what those who have used other IS/VR/whatever systems think. Price wise, it seems comparable to similarly sized Canons - but those Canons weigh twice as much. From everything I can tell, you are paying a premium for a good image stabilization system in as compact of a package as possible, especially for 12x - and if literally everything else is secondary to that, or you can live with the compromises in exchange for something small and light, then you've found your binoculars.
-- REAL WORLD USAGE - Update after a few days of use --
I've taken these with me on a few bird-watching walks / light hikes, and that's a good use for these... They really are small enough to be unobtrusive, and the clarity / stabilization has been wonderful to have on hand - and I never had to take my glasses off to use them effectively. It's still sometimes a pain to get the pupils lined up perfectly, but that's generally a small annoyance and doesn't affect my overall experience. I do find myself second guessing how I have the eyepieces set.
I'm not kidding when I say that the real value in these is how compact they are... I know it sounds weird to say "they are smaller than they look" but that's how it feels. Because of this, I end up taking them in situations where I'd never bring something full-sized. They feel great to use all day.
Field of view has been a bit small, but appropriate for a 12x - rather good for a compact 12x - and not so small as to present a problem finding and chasing sea birds at flight.
I've also used these minimally to look at the night sky - As I said above, I wouldn't make that my primary use of these, but they are also the best performing compact I've used for this - which is to say that they are surprisingly usable, but don't expect anywhere near the same results you'd get out of anything with a 42mm or 50mm objective. That being said, they are much better than you'd expect - certainly, if you want to look at the moon, you will not be let down.
What I have yet to do - and I'm so curious about - is take these on a boat. From what I understand, that's where the traditional Fuji system has excelled. That's also why the lack of better sealing is inexplicable. There may be some whale watching in my future, and if so, these are coming with me. We'll see if they hold up to a spray of water or two. I'm really skeptical about that, if it isn't obvious.
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此商品在美国亚马逊上最有用的商品评论
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28 条评论
Michael C. Jackson
Stabilized compact binoculars that are OK (not great) those of us who wear glasses - at a price, and at only IPX2.
2018年5月10日 -
已在美国亚马逊上发表已确认购买
Lloyd_S
Large stabilization range is great for boat use
2021年2月16日 -
已在美国亚马逊上发表已确认购买
fox-orian
Small, I mean you knew they were small but then you get them and---
2020年12月9日 -
已在美国亚马逊上发表已确认购买
fox-orian
评论于 2020年12月8日 在美国 🇺🇸 发布
Seriously these things are small. I'm really just writing this review because I wanted to include a photo of me gripping them with one hand so you can get a better idea on their size.
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