Does anyone have experience with stabilized binoculars in the field? If so, how rugged are they?
Also, what are they like in low light conditions?
Also, what are they like in low light conditions?
Stabilized binoculars rugged enough?
- Thread starter inthewind
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I had a set of Cannon 8x40. They worked ok for a couple of years. Never dropped or beat them up. Never had any trouble with them, but never put them to any rough use. My brother has the Cannon 10X50? and He has a lot of miles on them. So far as I know he has not had any problems.
In any conditions where you can not use a mechanical rest they will be better than nonstabilized that cost several times the money. If you have a tripod and a ballhead you will prefer Zeiss, Swaro ect...
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We had sniper kits that were theater provided that had 4 sets of Canon 10x42 L in them. Not sure how many other SS teams used them before us, but I'm guessing at least three. We used them daily and in every extreme imaginable, we loved them. Unless you are sitting on a static range watching paper targets, Stabos were invaluable. Those things were banged around, thrown, dropped, and given everything years of abuse could dish out, and the only issue we had was the battery compartment not staying shut on one of the units, 100mph tape fixed that. I was beyond surprised at how well they held up.
Low light they worked just as well as are Leupold spotting scopes.
Hope this helps
Low light they worked just as well as are Leupold spotting scopes.
Hope this helps
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Thank you, very nice information! No wonder the author of "The Ultimate Sniper" adopted them for personal use.
THANK YOU for your service!
THANK YOU for your service!
I can confirm what Victory said. We have the same kits and have used the 10x42L Cannon Binos with great success. We have never had any problems and they hold up to everything we throw at them. And we dont just give them to our sniper teams. Our regular grunts like myself take them out on every patrol. And we are notorious for breaking the unbreakable. By far the best binos I have ever used.
I'm a Canadian supplier of the Canon stabilized to a number of LE and military agencies.
Truth be told when these users started requesting the Canon's I was leery. One of my first orders was for a surveillance unit that was replacing their Swarovski's and I just didn't think they'd be the equal.
But they loved them.
Since then I've sold quite a few pair to everyone from the local police dept (a city of nearly a million) to the Lord Strathcona's (our tank unit in Afghanistan) and the coast guard.
There have of course been one or two warranty repair issues....but in all honesty I've not had one complaint other than the size issue.
Truth be told when these users started requesting the Canon's I was leery. One of my first orders was for a surveillance unit that was replacing their Swarovski's and I just didn't think they'd be the equal.
But they loved them.
Since then I've sold quite a few pair to everyone from the local police dept (a city of nearly a million) to the Lord Strathcona's (our tank unit in Afghanistan) and the coast guard.
There have of course been one or two warranty repair issues....but in all honesty I've not had one complaint other than the size issue.
I've been using the Cannon 10X42 stabilized for 6 or 7 years now.
I bought them from SWFA off of their "Sample List" for a hefty discount.
They are far superior to non-stabilized especialy for target identification when you are in an unsupported position.
I've "seen" things with the Canons that others with higher power spotters or rifle scopes failed to notice.
Optics are great and they weigh less then my armored 10X Steiner s.
I have competed with them and hunted with them in low light and low contrast environments.
They are rugged enough. I use one of Skinney's cases because the factory case doesn't allow easy access or much protection.
If you know you are going to be out for several days, replace the battery in advance.
Also, as stated above, tape the battery cover shut.
It doesn't give you much advance notice that it is about to die.
However, I've been stuck without a replacement battery and continued to use them and they are excellent in non-stabilized mode.
You can't go wrong.
I bought them from SWFA off of their "Sample List" for a hefty discount.
They are far superior to non-stabilized especialy for target identification when you are in an unsupported position.
I've "seen" things with the Canons that others with higher power spotters or rifle scopes failed to notice.
Optics are great and they weigh less then my armored 10X Steiner s.
I have competed with them and hunted with them in low light and low contrast environments.
They are rugged enough. I use one of Skinney's cases because the factory case doesn't allow easy access or much protection.
If you know you are going to be out for several days, replace the battery in advance.
Also, as stated above, tape the battery cover shut.
It doesn't give you much advance notice that it is about to die.
However, I've been stuck without a replacement battery and continued to use them and they are excellent in non-stabilized mode.
You can't go wrong.
