Bushnell PermaFocus binoculars?

[Casey]

During our recent trio to Hawaii we were doing some shoreline whale watching on Maui.

The group provided Bushnell "PermaFocus" binoculars for everyone to use, and I was quite impressed with the good, easy-to-use performance.

I have a pair of Fujinon 7x50's on the boat that are great, but were quite expensive. I had the impression the PermaFocus was nearly as good ... and MUCH easier to use (and they didn't become unfocussed).

Has anyone else used these? ...what's your opinion?

Check them out at:
http://www.opticsplanet.com/bushnell-permafocus-line.html

Best,
Casey&Mary

[bridma]

Hi Casey,

I do not have the PermaFocus bins but I do have the Bushnell waterproof 7x50 yellow rubber coated bins. I also have a smaller pair of Bushnells for hiking when off the boat. I am really pleased with the Bushnell brand and those PermaFocus look to be a really good price.

Martin.

[Sea Wolf]

Casey-

Bushnell is a large corporation that has all kinds of jobbers manufacture optics for it, and of all qualities.

The various binoculars on the page you mention above have some very different features:
There are regular poro-prism binoculars, reverse poro-prism binoculars, and roof-prism binoculars.

For a critical review of the PermaFocus concept see this article in Cloudy Nights Telescope Reviews:

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Number/5379496

On the other hand, if you used a particular pair and like them, what's not to like? They fit your eyes and the price is right, no?
Just be sure to get the same exact model you used and like in Hawaii.
And be sure to get a returnable contract with your purchase, in case the new ones don't fit you like the others you liked.

Good Luck!

Joe.

[Casey]

Joe & Martin,

Thanks for the replies.

I'm not really in the market for bino's, but these seemed like decent quality bino's at a very good price so I thought I'd pass along the info. ...now if they made a pair that float(!).

I really like my Fujinon's, but I'm often concerned about dropping them overboard, so tend to keep them handy, but in the cabin. To address the occasional focus issues I made a small (Very small...) scratch on the housing so I know where to return the focus-to. (Apologies to the binocular purists out there - I probably committed the binocular version of Original Sin by inscribing a mark, eh?)

Mary seems to like her Svarofski's (or something like that...) so I guess we're set for now.

Tuesday AM we're Northbound. We'll take a month enroute from AZ to Prince Rupert, and hope to launch in PR on/about June 1st. We plan to be on the waters north of PR for Jun/Jul/Aug.

Best,
Casey&Mary

[DuckDogTitus]

optics is a painful topic that comes up for me every fall... about deer season. Nikon as a rule of thumb are my favorites... ease of focus, and usually allowing more light in (so ideal for dusk settings).

Good lenses are quite pricey though.

Now there may be more than one version, but the perma focus bushnells I've seen are a bit large for my preference. I've found the higher end optics with a very very very clear vision in all lights, are also a bit smaller and easier to handle.

But then, I just play with them, I dont typically buy lol