Just wanted to give a quick bump up for anyone who has considered a pair 'big eye' type binos but has balked at the price.
I bought a pair of Minox BD 15x58 ED BR's from Doug (gr8fuldoug--Cameraland NY) a few months back. I had a chance to finally use them in the field a few weeks ago and wanted to pass along how great it was to use a new 'tool' and how they helped my hunt.
Bottom line--incredible capabilities on a 'beer budget'.
Pre-dawn, I had set up on a pretty tall hillside glassing for hogs (central California). You can look a pretty fair distance from where I was--up to about 12 miles or so. Just as the critters started to stir--I see a bunch of black dots on a hillside about 2 miles away. Using my 'field' binocs I finally sort out that they're just 'tactical' cows.
Not much else going on from what I could see. Pretty quiet...so what the heck--might as well drag out the 15x's and double check and see what I can sort out a little farther away. In retrospect I should have just humped them along in the first place. Good news is that my truck was only about 100 feet away.
Did a quick scan--yes, hand held but seated--and right away noticed that one of the cows was anything but. Probably the largest hog I've seen in California. Started chipping around like they do. Kind of restless--zig zag pattern...
My field 8x's aren't all that great--but they're not cheap-o's either. But when I hiked those 15 x's up to my zero dark thirty wake up eyes--WHAM! It was literally like someone had switched on the bright lights. As in--'oh, THERE they are' type bright.
No doubt this was a big toad. No doubt he'd mixed himself in with the cows. But I could make out his snout--low fat body--stubby legs and watched him digging for wild onion or whatever got his fancy that morning.
Of course with a wide field you'll have a narrow depth of focus band and I found that a VERY small turn in focus can make a huge difference in what is 'clear'. But the clear band is just that. Clear and sharp.
There is no way I would have DEFINED what this critter was without these. That's where they shined. Spotting something -vs- defining what it was that I spotted.
So what happened? He bolted into the beds before I could even think about an approach, but I know where he lives now. Another story for another time and place...
Bottom line is that this glass gives me a huge boost in capability to spot and DEFINE game. Good news you say? Heck yes. But the kicker is that you can get these for less than $600! As far as I know there are probably less than 100 of these sets in the market place--and when they're gone...Poof!
FYI--I'm sure it's crossed at least one of the cheery folks' minds here already so let me say clearly:
I have no connection with Doug, nor do I have any financial interest or benefit whatsoever from 'pimping' this glass.
Just wanted to pass on the information on in case someone may have missed the deal that Doug is offering or to add a little inertia to a fence sitter.
Buy 'em! (or regret the missed opportunity every time you read a story like this in the future).
Link to Camera Land NY-Minox 15x58 bino sale 
