SLC Field of view, this normal?

[philcox]

I have a set of SLC I bought new about 2 years ago from S&S Archery. My question is that it seems that the edge clarity is not what I expected. It seems that the outer 10% is fuzzy when the center is clear. This would mean that there is 20% of the FOV that is fuzzy. Does that seem to be right for the SLC? (10x42).

Any insight is appreciated.

 

[Hoodie]

I haven't looked through an SLC specifically.

I do know that the SLC (like most binoculars) has a classic edge, with intentional field curvature. The field curvature is there to prevent the "rolling ball" (angular magnification distortion) effect some people get when they pan with a flat-field binocular.

Try turning the focus knob and looking at the edges. I'll bet you can get them sharp by adjusting the focus.

Field-flatteners are an eyepiece component used in binos like the Swaro EL and NL Pure, The Zeiss Victory SF, and the Leica Noctovid. Cheaper options with field flatteners are the Nikon Monarch HG, Opticron Aurora BGA VHD, Athlon Cronus.

Basically field-flatteners are what makes a bino produce an image that is sharp all the way edge to edge. There are trade-offs though. Some people get the rolling ball effect. The other trade off is that the image has less 3-D quality (hence "flat").

Lots of people actually prefer binos with the level of edge curvature you mentioned. It's a feature, not a bug. If you'd prefer something sharper at the edges I'd recommend taking a look at one of the models I mentioned (but probably not the Monarch HG. It gets marketed as flat-field, but it has curvature comparable to what you described in the SLC).

 

[PHo]

What Hoodie said. People often refer to it as having “soft” edges. It’s just what happens in binos that don’t use field flatteners in the lenses. I use my binos to scan a lot when I still-hunt so I prefer the 3-D look of the SLC’s as opposed to the flat image of any bino with field flatteners. Plus I get the rolling ball effect with field flatteners, which I hate.

 

[pacoalcracker]

I have the SLC's, EL's and Leica Ultravid HD's. I prefer the SLC and Leica lenses over the EL's even though I dont get the rolling ball effect. Its just a better view to me. Furthermore, your eyes tend to focus on just the 70% of the inner FOV anyways which is why they never really did field flatteners as an option until the last 15 years. It isnt that they couldnt, just that nobody was pushing for anything different and even then many that have the EL's probably dont use the glass to the edges anyways......its not a natural thing for your eyes to do. However, its good for sales. To me, color rendition and sharpness is far more important, amongst other things.