Kowa 6.5x32 BD II XD Wide-Angle Binoculars?

[sidpost]

Kowa 6.5x32 BD II XD Wide-Angle Binoculars?

I am looking for lower-power binoculars for general surveillance and closer uses. Cheaper big box store binoculars have been a total waste of time (and money) so, QUALITY MATTERS!

I own Steiner, Zeiss Conquest, and Leica NV binoculars for reference. I find I use the Steiner 8x30 and 8x56 most as they are so easy to use, have reasonable weight and handling, and are a good servicable binocular. What I am finding while looking at cattle at 100~200 yards is that the FOV is too small and I generally don't find the 8x magnification to be the best. Lighter, smaller, and handier bins with a better FOV would be super helpful. I also would like something useful at closer ranges for viewing insects in general, butterflies, bees, and similar things.

At $350 retail, the Kowa 6.5x32 BD II XD Wide-Angle Binoculars seem to tick all the boxes. However, I wonder about the Maven B.3 6x30 with their ED lenses but, with the smaller FOV and higher price I wonder if they are a good option. I am also probably overlooking a lot of other reasonable options.

Are the Kowa 6.5x32 BD II XD Wide-Angle Binoculars best for my intended uses? What am I overlooking in terms of performance or in competitive brands at somewhat similar price points?

TIA,
Sid

 

[Lionhound1975]

I bought the Kowa 6.5x32 BD II XD last year but returned them. I compared them to a Vortex Viper 6x32 HD (Japan) that I had at the time but I preferred the image in the Vortex. The Kowas handled well and had a huge FOV but they had a whitish cloud from glare in the lower third of the image under many different light conditions. Enough that to me the wider FOV didn't matter. It wasn't just one or two specific light scenarios.

The Vipers had a very close focus (3 feet) so they would be very good for stuff like bees, butterflies, etc. I ended up selling them and am also interested in the Maven B3 6x30.

 

[RussDXT]

I have some that I just purchased for heavy timber or when I need to go as light as possible. I really like them. The are clear and the fov is awesome.

I picked them up
From optics planet for $350 ish and think it’s a great value.

 

[Xlr8n]

Maven's in 6x30 are great optically and build quality is top notch. Super compact. Excellent bowhuting and wooded timber glass.

 

[Blue72]

The Kowa superwide 6.5x are one of my favorites, I also have the maven

depends what you want in binoculars

kowa are

• sharper in the sweet spot, definitely notice it at very long distances
• better FOV
• much brighter in dusk
• better then the maven for astronomy
• better AFOV
• the extra .5x magnification is nice.

Maven have

• the optics are pretty decent to the edge were the Kowa have slight distortion in the outer edge
• more compact binocular, almost as small as my Nikon monarch 7 8x30
• slightly better color saturation

 

[RussDXT]

Blue72 is the reason I went with the kowas. He is a wealth of knowledge in the bino field.

The only other option if price isn’t a big factor is the 8x32 NL pures have a very wide fov.

Haven’t looked through them but swaro does not make junk.

May be an option.

 

[sidpost]

View attachment 330917

How do those Meoptra bins compare to the Kowa and Maven bins other than being 8 power?

 

[Blue72]

How do those Meoptra bins compare to the Kowa and Maven bins other than being 8 power?

crazy sharp in the center, awesome build quality. But the outer edges are horrible compared to the others. It’s the least recommended out of the four in that pic

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Did you look at the Steiner Predator 8x30?

 

[sidpost]

Did you look at the Steiner Predator 8x30?

I have a friend with those, and they were terrible with my glasses with the eyecups rolled back.

The Steiner MM830 Military - Marine are one of my most used binoculars. I believe I ordered them from you as well.