A "little" treat: Carl Zeiss Victory 8x25 pocket binoculars

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Yesterday I bit the bullet and got myself an ultra light pair of binoculars (because of course I need more binoculars).  The aim is to have a quality pair that I can keep in my coat pocket, so it can travel with me without adding much weight to my luggage.

I settled for the Carl Zeiss Victory 8x25 pocket binoculars, given the stellar reviews, and the stellar performance of my other Zeiss Victory binoculars (10x42).

These bins have a curious asymmetric design.

and fold up to a tiny package.

They come with a handy protective case

but sadly lack lens caps of any description. I have found 33.7 mm eyepiece caps fit snugly over the eyepieces of these bins, but don't quite fit over the objectives. 

 

Optical quality is outstanding, as you would expect, and the eye relief is sufficient for me with my glasses. Hope to bring them to Texas for the eclips, and intend to make some solar filters for them shortly.

[Nakedgun]

7 hours ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

Yesterday I bit the bullet and got myself an ultra light pair of binoculars (because of course I need more binoculars).  The aim is to have a quality pair that I can keep in my coat pocket, so it can travel with me without adding much weight to my luggage.

I settled for the Carl Zeiss Victory 8x25 pocket binoculars, given the stellar reviews, and the stellar performance of my other Zeiss Victory binoculars (10x42).

These bins have a curious asymmetric design.

and fold up to a tiny package.

They come with a handy protective case

but sadly lack lens caps of any description. I have found 33.7 mm eyepiece caps fit snugly over the eyepieces of these bins, but don't quite fit over the objectives. 

 

Optical quality is outstanding, as you would expect, and the eye relief is sufficient for me with my glasses. Hope to bring them to Texas for the eclips, and intend to make some solar filters for them shortly.

~

You may find compatible caps via Amazon.

 

 

.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

4 hours ago, Nakedgun said:

~

You may find compatible caps via Amazon.

 

 

.

Found some Opticron ones that seem to fit the bill exactly

https://www.opticron.co.uk/our-products/accessories/rubber-objective-lens-covers/31027-rubber-objective-lens-covers-25mm-og-l-pair

[Captain Scarlet]

Very nice.

I’ve been thinking about a pocket pair too, I’ve narrowed it down to your Zeiss’, and the Swarovski 8x25. Did you consider those? They seem to be similarly priced.

Magnus

[andrew s]

I have the Swarovski CL 8x25 a perfect pocket bino. Ideal for hikes and casual through the window observing. Not tried the Zeiss.

Regards Andrew 

Edited March 6 by andrew s

[PeterW]

I picked up some secondhand Leica 8x20 trinovid, the smallest of this class of binos. Views narrower than I prefer, but they take up no space in my jacket pocket, so easy to carry all the time, never know when they might come in handy.

peter 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

14 hours ago, Captain Scarlet said:

Very nice.

I’ve been thinking about a pocket pair too, I’ve narrowed it down to your Zeiss’, and the Swarovski 8x25. Did you consider those? They seem to be similarly priced.

Magnus

I did consider Swarovski, but like my comparison of 10x42 roof prism binoculars from Zeiss, Leica and Swarovski, I found the Zeiss just a touch more comfortable. Otherwise they are very close in optical performance. The store I went to didn't have similar Leica in stock this time, so I just compared two. Eye placement in binoculars is a very personal thing, so your mileage may vary.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

11 hours ago, PeterW said:

I picked up some secondhand Leica 8x20 trinovid, the smallest of this class of binos. Views narrower than I prefer, but they take up no space in my jacket pocket, so easy to carry all the time, never know when they might come in handy.

peter 

Interesting. The FOV in the Zeiss Victory is pretty good (7.45 deg vs 6.4 for the Trinovid), and clearly better than the cheaper Zeiss Terra 8x25 (6.8 deg). I assume the FOV in the Leica was in part due to restrictions imposed by the narrower optical tubes, given the smaller aperture.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Just had them out under hazy skies, with some reasonably clear patches. Orion's belt stood out nicely, the stars pin sharp across the field of view. M42 could be spotted, but other DSOs like M65 and M66 were not visible in the haze. The optics seem very sharp, but deserve better skies to work properly. I did find eye placement a bit trickier than in daytime viewing, but a slight twist of the eye cups sorted that out. 

Normally I would use the bigger binoculars for astronomy, but it is nice to have a portable travel option.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Just got the lens caps for the objectives from Opticron. They fit neatly. Now for a couple of 33.7 mm caps (should arrive the coming week) and these can indeed be carried in my coat pocket

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

And the eyepiece caps have now also arrived, so I can now safely use them as pocket binoculars

 

[ollypenrice]

Very stylish! They instantly reminded me of the beautiful Snow Hill Lane Bridge over the motorway, near Lancaster, UK.

I have 10x25 by Leica and find them super-useful - but I'd rather have 8x, for sure. Light binoculars can be quite jittery, lacking much anvil effect.

Olly

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

4 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Very stylish! They instantly reminded me of the beautiful Snow Hill Lane Bridge over the motorway, near Lancaster, UK.

I have 10x25 by Leica and find them super-useful - but I'd rather have 8x, for sure. Light binoculars can be quite jittery, lacking much anvil effect.

Olly

I find holding these 8x25 bins very easy, but then I also find the Helios LightQuest 16x80 mm fairly easy to hold still (although a monopod definitely helps)