Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Fujinon CD 7x42 Binoculars... $189 at EO...

For a 7x junkie like me this seems almost too good to be true...

http://www.eagleoptics.com/index.asp?pid=2571

The folks at Eagle Optics claim these were marked down from an original asking price of $750. I dunno if THEY were originally asking that much or if that was just a MSRP, browsing around I found them still offered for as high as $500 and change.

The consensus of the astronomy folks over at www.cloudynights.com is that one should snap these things up...

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthre...0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1/vc/1



Turns out these are Japanese made but being undersold by Chinese production.

I'm gonna float a WAG that these things are in the Pentax DCF WP quality ballpark.

Sorta nice to have a last opportunity for a "Made in Japan" binoc, especially at that price.

I did a quick search and didn't find these things mentioned anywhere here in the past. Has anyone here used 'em?

Birdwatcher

I haven't ever used them BW but looking at the specs they seem to be very similar to the Bushnell Discoverer. Another clone perhaps?

The Meade Montana 7x42 was selling in the $150 to $200 and has often been remarked upon to being identical to the Discoverer....which has always received high praise. I have owned the Montana, briefly, and it basically was what it was touted to be...bright, fairly crisp with a very wide field of view.

The downsides were the weight (compared to other mid-priced roofs) and a higher level of distortion than I am accustomed to.

I had an older set of porro prism fuji's in 7x50. they were optically just about everthing my leica's are. they were an ergonomic nightmare as each eyepiece had to be individually focused, but they were dang nice for the $$$. I had a friend with the pentax's......fuji's by a long shot.

I emailed EO asking them if the claimed original $725 asking price of the Fujinons on their website was an old MSRP or what they used to sell 'em for.

They told me the $725 was in indeed an MSRP and that they sold them at "Minimum Advertised Retail" (I didn't know there was such a thing) without specifiying what that was.

They did say the Fujinons were similar to the old Bushnell Discoverers in design but were a definite step up in optics, clearer and brighter edge to edge. The Discovers though went through a couple of upgrades during a long production run, so I dunno which version they were referring to. They used to sell the Discoverers for $300.

Minimum advertised price? There appears to be much to the intricacies of the binocular market, that market even now in a state of constant change. One thing that IS true is that the price of decent glass continues to fall.

I'm guessing five years back folks would have happily been laying out $400+ (those Fujinons are still listed at $500 some places on the net) for the likes of the Fujis, I came across mention of a site selling those same Fujinon 7x42's for $138!
http://cameras.pricegrabber.com/binoculars/m/690202/

A buyer's market for binocs at the moment.

Anyhow, I have emailed them back asking for that minimum advertised price.

Birdwatcher

I took delivery of a pair today.

Browsing around, Fujinon was probably the maker who made these for Bushnell (Discoverer) and Meade (Montana).

FWIW the "list" price for these on the invoice from EPO was $520 although they told me via email they had never actually carried them. Perhaps the $520 was the aforementioned "minimum advertised price".

Same edge rolling effect with these as mentioned for the Montana, but clear and bright center field. The outer 20% of the wide 420' FOV is out of focus but otherwise of little concern to me, mostly in birding I need that wide field to pick up movement.

Very good depth of field and light gathering ability.

I don't care for the center diopter adjustment (which doesn't appear to adjust much) but at least it can be checked by feel by virtue of a raised bump on the ring, I hate having to reach for reading glasses in the field to check the diopter setting of binocs.

EO claims these things are clearer and brighter than the equivalent Bushnells, which if true likely applies to the Meades too. If so its gotta be the lens coatings.

My take, these things are competent mid-priced roofs, $189 being a good deal while it lasts. I dunno how this deal compares to $150 for the Montanas.

Birdwatcher