Binoculars review

Results of the review

Real front lens diameter	Left:   51.83+/- 0.05mm Right:  51.85+/- 0.05mm	7/8.0
Real magnification	7.96+/- 0.05x	3/3.0
Transmission	85.8+/- 1.5%	11/15.0
Chromatic aberration	Slight in the centre, huge on the edge.	5.5/10.0
Astigmatism	Slight.	7.5/10.0
Distortion	The distance of the first curved line from the field centre compared to the field of view radius: 52% +\- 2%	6/10.0
Coma	Appears in the distance of about 60% from the field centre. On the edge is higher than medium.	4.5/10.0
Blurring at the edge of the FOV	The blur occurs in the distance of 67% +\- 4% from the field of vision centre.	2/10.0
Darkening at the edge the FOV	Slight.	4/5.0
Whiteness of the image	Distinct difference in transmission between red and blue light. A little hole in the centre of the visible spectrum.	3.7/5.0
Collimation	Perfect.	5/5.0
Internal reflections	Left: Right: Slight.	4/5.0
Housing	Significantly built and solid of the „open hinge” type. Comfortable to hold and to look through. Matt plastic padding, nice to the touch. Rubberized and regulated eyecups (4 stops). The rubber next to objectives sticks out a bit.	7.3/8.0
Focusing	Comfortable and huge central wheel with the range of 530 degrees. It works smoothly. Individual focusing on the right eyepiece moves the lens. Not very convenient ring, ribbed in a not very useful place.	4/5.0
Tripod	There is a comfortable tripod exit but far from the centre of mass.	2/3.0
Interpupilary distance	from 59.3 to 79.9mm	4/6.0
Closest focusing distance	2.5 m	2/2.0
Eyepieces FOV	Apparent field of view of 50.1 degrees.	5/10.0
Field of view	Measured by us amounted to 6.29 +\- 0.03 degrees and it was by 0.21 of a degree narrower than stated in the specifications.	4/8.0
Quality of the interior of the barrels	Inner tubes and bottom black and matt. Clean on lenses and prisms! Some specks of dust on the tube.	4.8/5.0
Vignetting	Left: Right: OL: 0.0%, OR: 5.3% Noticeably egg-shaped right pupil.	4.5/8.0
Prisms quality	Good quality BaK-4.	8/8.0
Antireflection coatings	Greenish coatings everywhere. Medium intensity.	4.5/5.0
Warranty [years]	30	5/6.0
Final result		118.3/170 69.6%
Econo result		0pkt.

Summary

• Shapely and solid casing,
• ood transmission,
• light astigmatism,
• well-corrected distortion,
• slight brightness loss on the edge of the field,
• excellent blackening inside the tubes,
• low flares,
• good quality of prisms and coatings,
• long warranty period.

• fast loss of sharpness on the edge of already not very wide filed of view,
• noticeably egg-shaped right exit pupil.

The result of the tested pair of binoculars is good but not outstanding, especially if you take into account its price, amounting to over 2000 PLN. It would be difficult to expect that a Minox from such a price segment can defeat the Swarovski SLC New 8x50, the Leica Ultravid HD 8x50 or its more expensive brother, the Minox HG 8.5x52 MIG. Still you can always check out whether it has something more to offer than its competitors with a similar price tags. Let’s have a glance at following chart.

Despite the fact that the BL series is touted as lightweight, the Minox remains the heaviest device in this group. You should remember, though, that its objective is by 2 mm wider (it means 8% of light more) and the device is fully waterproof and submersible, a feature most of its immediate competitors lack.

The field of view of the Minox, although not impressive, still is smaller only than that of the Vixen, being better than the field of the Vortexes and Alpens, even those more expensive ones.

The Minox compares favourably with its rivals, then. However, the class of binoculars with 50-52 mm objectives and 8-8.5x magnitude is quite narrow - probably only because of that the Minox BL 8X52 BR has an opportunity to become known.