I got a set of these recently and was quite surprised. I had never thought of purchasing anything like it and, honestly, I didn't purchase these directly. I got them from D_TROS's charity raffle thingy. In any event, I don't think I ever really had a proper idea of how they worked or the size/weight. I figured they'd be kinda huge but it turns out they're tiny, about the size of my hand. I figured they'd be heavy. While they are weighty for their size they're not appreciably heavier than a decent set of 10x binos. I'd also thought that image stabilization would be done via an internal display screen but it's not. When you look through them with the stabilization off they're just really quite nice, optically speaking, 10x binos that happen to be quite small and there's no internal display. When you flip the stabilization on it seems to move or unlock some internal components and the image stabilizes but it doesn't absolutely stop moving. It's a bit like watching a TV that's floating on a raft. The image moves but slowly and not by much. When I walk around while looking through them it feels no different to walking around without them other than the image is magnified. When you do that with normal binos all you see is a universe of image shake. Being able to walk while looking through them and still having a stabilized image is pretty nifty.
Would I pay the $700 entry price for a pair under normal circumstances? Not exactly. I mean, if you think about it I paid quite a bit more than that for them. I just did it in an unconventional way and I knew what I would be getting when I did it. I hadn't really thought about how a stabilized image might affect my days afield. Turns out, quite a bit. I wanted to take these to Africa this year but the timing didn't work out. Instead I took them for a jaunt around Silicon Valley. It is much easier to identify a leftist nutbar from afar with these than with any other optics I've used that didn't include a display screen. Of course, one can safely assume that everyone you see in Silicon Valley is a leftist nutbar but you get my point. If you're a hunter and you have to count antler points or examine horn curl then these are going to be really super helpful and they're no super heavy. If you're into looking up at stars/satellites/planets/comets/aircraft etc... then these are about the perfect thing (FYI, 10x is PLENTY of magnification for sky watching since no amount of magnification helps with most things and 10x is plenty for everything else).
What came with them? A neck carry strap for the binos themselves and a padded carry case with a loop for a 2" belt. It also came with a battery which is quite nice since it's a CR123 which I don't have just laying around.
My hands are pretty normal size for an average size American man.
Sig put up a nice and SHORT video which briefly shows the difference between a stabilized and non-stabilized image.
Would I pay the $700 entry price for a pair under normal circumstances? Not exactly. I mean, if you think about it I paid quite a bit more than that for them. I just did it in an unconventional way and I knew what I would be getting when I did it. I hadn't really thought about how a stabilized image might affect my days afield. Turns out, quite a bit. I wanted to take these to Africa this year but the timing didn't work out. Instead I took them for a jaunt around Silicon Valley. It is much easier to identify a leftist nutbar from afar with these than with any other optics I've used that didn't include a display screen. Of course, one can safely assume that everyone you see in Silicon Valley is a leftist nutbar but you get my point. If you're a hunter and you have to count antler points or examine horn curl then these are going to be really super helpful and they're no super heavy. If you're into looking up at stars/satellites/planets/comets/aircraft etc... then these are about the perfect thing (FYI, 10x is PLENTY of magnification for sky watching since no amount of magnification helps with most things and 10x is plenty for everything else).
What came with them? A neck carry strap for the binos themselves and a padded carry case with a loop for a 2" belt. It also came with a battery which is quite nice since it's a CR123 which I don't have just laying around.
My hands are pretty normal size for an average size American man.
Sig put up a nice and SHORT video which briefly shows the difference between a stabilized and non-stabilized image.
