Stomach-Resting Binoculars

Stomach-Resting Binoculars

 

For several months now I've been using a new binoculars, one of two models introduced by Pentax last year. Designated the DCF-WP (for Water Proof), the line consists of an 8x42 and 10x42, both of which are of identical size and weight. Of course, the size of the exit pupil and field of view differ due to the magnification factor, but those are the only differences. 

I've been using the 8x42 binoculars for bird watching and I'm extremely impressed with it. In fact, on a recent African safari, I left my 8x32 Leica Ultra that I typically use at home and took the Pentax instead. 

Now normally I consider glasses with 40/42mm objectives to be a tad too large and heavy for all-around hunting if I'm going to be on foot. In safari hunting, however, you spend a lot of time in a vehicle, so your binocular is kinda' resting on your stomach and a good bit of its weight is off your neck. 

Among Pentax's 28 different binocular offerings, these roof prism DCF's represent the top of their line. They feature multi-coated lenses and phase-coated prisms that render a beautifully sharp, clear image. 

Other features for a best compact binoculars include a rubber armored magnesium frame, snap-out ocular cups, click-stop diopter settings that stay put and are waterproof. Despite all the glass in these babies, they weigh just shy of 27 ozs., which is just four more than I'm used to carrying. They're also about an inch longer than your average 8x32. 

Over the course of my 10-day stay in the Selous, I lent out the Pentax for a full day to each of our professional hunters, Pano Calavrias and Clint Taylor, as well as to the other two clients in camp. Calavrias and Taylor, especially, know good optics because in their professsion they demand and use the best themselves -- usually Leica, Swarovski or Zeiss. After a day's use, both were as impressed with the DCFs as I am, particularly when I told them the street price of around $400, which is less than half the price of the top German and Austrian glasses. 

Of course the ultimate test of any binocular, riflescope or compact spotting scope is in how it holds up over time, and that's determined by the quality of the components and the care and precision with which they're put together. Will the instrument continue to stay waterproof and maintain firm adjustments for five and 10 years down the road? That's what you pay for when you buy the best. 

 

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It's too early to tell how this DCF is going to hold up over the long haul, but based on my living with the binoculars for nearly a year now, I have a hunch they're going to stand up just fine.