Until now.
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Equally amazing is the fact that whist upgrading their BD XD models to low dispersion ED glass, nitrogen purged waterproofing, and expensive rigid magnesium chassis, Kowa have reduced the price so much that you now get FIVE pairs for the price of one Swarovski, Leica or Zeiss.
I've owned most, and still use $3500 and $4000 models from all of those makers. And in my humble opinion, the Kowas are better!
They're also available from the main supplier Jacobs Digital in New Zealand for the same price or slightly less, than elsewhere in the world. This is most unusual, as we generally pay around 50% more here for some brands, than in Europe.
Not so in this case. Only $749 in New Zealand now we have our own specialist dealer.
https://www.jacobsdigital.co.nz/product ... 2-prominar
I won't go into a long technical analysis of the specifications here. But the BD XD 8x42 is incredibly bright. Brighter in fact, than my giant 10x50 Lieca Ultravids. They're also sharper, and require less fiddling with the focus wheel. I've tested them with friends alongside many prestige models from Zeiss, Lieca, Swarovski and the better far-eastern manufacturers. We can't match them for brilliance, sharpness and best of all, the superb handling. Only one pair, Phil Hammond's 8x42 Ultravids marginally bettered the Kowa, just in the centre spot. But they're bigger, heavier and cost $3265!
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The whole glass snuggles effortlessly deep into the cupped hands, and the four-position twist-up eyecups are the most comfortable in my binocular 'fleet'. No more owl-like red circles around the eye-sockets after a day's birding! The great handling and solid feel can't be overstated.
In fact, they feel so nice that I just want to hold them all the time. Whilst cuddling and petting the BD XD's it's reminiscent of the 70's, when roof prism binoculars were a revolution in potent, compact super-performance. Somewhere since then we seem to have lost our way, with roof prism models from the main manufacturers progressively 'bloating' to bigger, longer and heavier packages, that I once heard described as "like carrying a bag of sugar around your neck.."
Kowa have finally managed to recapture all the advantages of the roof-prism design in an instrument with the same breathtaking performance of the behemoths that we've been lugging around for the last decade.
The metallised focus wheel's fine thread is smooth and precise, focussing down to a close distance just beyond the end of the reviewer's toes. Other items worth a mention are the low level of lens flare whilst viewing dark objects against bright light. The image shows only a mild opacity in such adverse conditions, never displaying the 'half-moon' shaped burnouts seen particularly in the Zeiss test binocular.
Unexpectedly too, the Kowa seemed able to look out through a car windscreen with less image 'smear' or distortion shown by other models, and without requiring re-focussing. Possibly due to the model's good depth of field, this was a real bonus.
Finally, just one criticism. Like other far-eastern glasses I own, Kowa seem to think it's ok to stick the badges onto their binoculars at random, crooked angles. I may be a bit obsessive, but that looks totally crap to me. I don't think we'd accept a new car with it's bonnet-badge stuck on upside-down, so how is that ok on a pair of binoculars?
Right, whinge over, back to the review.....
After drinking-up the colours, detail, depth and contrast of the Kowa, I found it impossible to return to the comparatively muddy indistinct view of my Zeiss roof prisms, and sold them on Trade-Me, where I recovered all the money to buy my new ones. I've kept one pair of Leica x10 glasses for when my neck is feeling stronger (almost twice the weight of the Kowa).
And of course, there's the 'Snobbery Value' to consider.
In New Zealand we do like to look down upon rich visiting European and American birders, heavily hung with their flashy overpriced Austrian and German optics, don't we? Kiwis are proud of our 'number eight wire' culture, and enjoy demonstrating to these swanky tourists that we can see that distant Wrybill with our pair of $99 disintegrating 'Ftang Tsao Chop' brand
far-eastern glasses, held together with duct tape. (come on, you know it's true...)
Well, now we can have the best of both worlds: Pacific-manufactured glasses indeed, but with blistering performance to blow the foreigners away, and the prestigious 'Prominar' badge to retain just a hint of credibility for ourselves!
But hey, don't take my word for it. Try a pair out. Three of us have already made the same mistake. One look and you're hooked. Out comes the credit card.
Is this the next 'New Zealand favourite' binocular?
cheers
Paul
