Bausch & Lomb Discoverer 7x42

Ratings:Top:Astronomy:Equipment Reviews:Binocular Reviews:Bausch & Lomb Discoverer 7x42

 Info  Votes  Messages  More Stats  Up One Level
Brand and Model:Bausch & Lomb Discoverer 7x42
Price ($USD):$300.00
Attributes:checked Waterproof checked Armored
Objective Lens Size:42 mm
Magnification:7 x
Prism Type:Roof
Coatings:Phase Coated
Field of View:8.0 degrees
Eye Relief:20 mm
Near Focus:10 ft
Weight (lbs):1.8
Dimensions (w/h/d):5x6x2¼"
Description:

Vote Highlights Vote
Bausch & Lomb Discoverer 7x42
First, a couple corrections to the heading....fov is 8*, not 8.4...and eye relief is at least 20mm, maybe more. That said, this is a pretty decent unit for under $300....I got mine from Astronomics for $249...a closeout on the non-rainguard model, but which is phase coated. Very bright, very good to excellent resolution, neutral color, but does have noticable field curvature at the edge and the last 5-10% has some fuzziness. But with the nice wide field it's really not a factor. Ergonomics are excellent...has a substantial feel to the textured armor, well balanced and just heavy enuf to add a little stability. The focus wheel-mounted rt side diopter takes a little practice to get right but once mastered works well. One oddity on the Discoverer....it focuses backwards...turning the wheel clockwise goes to close focus, the opposite of most glasses...oh well. Overall, a good all-around glass and a very good value. It is exceptionally useful when in heavy woods where its good fov, ample light grasp and good depth of field make finding small birds easier than with most other binos. This same quality also makes it a very useful cosmos scanner...better in fact than any 7x50 I've ever used, largely due to the fov and better handling (I had a Nikon 7x50 Sports & Marine model that's a fully mc,BaK4,IF sealed unit selling for about the same price....the Discover is brighter and resolves better and is much easier to look thru...also tried against a Zeiss 7x42(usually considered one of the world's optical benchmarks)...the B&L pretty well held its own (a little wider fov and a little sharper at the edges, but that was about it for the Zeiss' advantage in the short comparo I was able to do (if doing something like Steve Ingrahm's NEED test, I'm sure the Zeiss wd show a little more....but for 3 times the $, it should). I'm very satisfied and wd recommend it. A caveat, tho....the newest Discoverers now have B&L's much-hyped "Rainguard" coatings, which add nothing optically but do add about $40 to the pricetag. I guess if you do a lot of hunting or tropical birding, that could be a plus...but not for me. (My mama taught me to come in out of the rain...)

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:8 Value:9
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=268031

Bausch & Lomb Discoverer 7x42
This is the best value, I think, in mid-range lower power binos, if u want an rp glass....nice size, not too heavy or bulky, great eye relief, very bright (not that far off the standard set by the Zeiss dialyt)....and a reasonably wide field (56*apparent)...rugged armoring, sealed, pop up eyecups all for 300 cimoleans (+change)...and the view is very good....nearly up to what they replaced in my glass reperatoire, a Nikon 7x35E, which had the best 7x images of ANY glass I ever tried (with the possible exception of the Nikon Prostar)....it's only flaw was the narrow field....as it was my primary woods glass, brightness, depth of focus, and wide field are the criteria, and 50* afov wasn't quite enuf...so I reluctantly peddled the E and got the B&L....and I'm quite satisfied.

Overall Rating: 7
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=205567

Bausch & Lomb Discoverer 7x42
At nearly 200g more then my Nikon monarch 10x42 DCF and not as shap optics I would go for the Nilon's over them any day.
Richard@Basingstoke

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Value:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=455290

Bausch & Lomb Discoverer 7x42
[Note: Vote moved from description by webmaster]

It seems to me that with the abundance of fine binoculars of this type [i.e. mid-priced WP phase-coated roof-prism] the ultimate deciding factor on which 'brand' to buy [be it Pentax, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus etc. all of which (and more) that make this 'similar' binocular] might hinge on what kind of 'deal' one could get on them [unless of course one has a particular brand-preference or the various subtleties of design that would 'make' that decision].

Since i have no particular brand 'loyalty' i chose the B&Ls for a couple reasons: I was able to get an unusually low price on them [which turned out to be only slighty higher than the Pentax DCF WP even after the Pentax rebate] and i liked the fact they have the diopter adjustment near the focusing wheel [instead of on the right EP and that was worth a few extra bucks to me- one of the design 'subtleties' i mentioned].

What i found:

Optical quality IMO is fine. Apart from a bit of distortion and 'softness' at the very edge of the field i have no complaints whatsoever for a binocular in this price range.

The center-mounted diopter adjustment could use more 'decoupling' from the focuser wheel as it's just a little TOO convenient and it's easy to mis-adjust while focusing [though in practice it turns out to be not much of a bother as i initially thought].

The focuser wheel itself could stand a heavier 'texture' for better traction.

The objective covers are sized way too loose and won't stay on [which isn't too much of a problem for me as i am using a set of flip-up style 'polar caps' on it].

The EP rainguard these come with, while of good quality is unnecessarily thick and heavy [the binocular at least sure seems to carry noticably lighter with an aftermarket one i replaced it with].

I think these are a nice set of binoculars and a decent value. My 'acid test' is to ask myself this question: if i lost these would i buy them again?

Answer: probably.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=148131

[Click Here to Login]
Don't have a login? Register!

Starting out in Amateur Astronomy
 
How to use This Site
Why Register?
Voting Guide
Searching with Fact200