| You can get a $130 value waterproof jacket for only $10 shipping and handling when you buy this Rainguard-treated Bushnell by December 31, 2008.
 The waterproof and breathable Realtree camouflage jacket has a full zipper with storm flap, a seam-taped 3-piece hood, two zippered chest pockets with storm flaps, and two patched cargo pockets with hand-warmer side entry pockets. The jacket is available in medium, large, XL, and 2XL sizes.
Simply send Bushnell a copy of your invoice, the UPC barcode from the carton, the form we'll include with your Bushnell, and a $10 check and Bushnell will send you the $130 value waterproof jacket. It's that simple to stay dry and save money at the same time! Many birders feel that the 8 x 42mm Bushnell Elite e² hits the sweet spot – the ideal balance between brightness and magnification. Its 8x magnification gets you close to nature, but without overmagnifying the image so that normal hand tremors are emphasized, making it difficult to see details. Its 6mm exit pupil and good 18.33 twilight factor give you bright images in the low light of dusk, making it easy to see colors and details, even as the twilight fades. Thanks to the use of much of the advanced XTR technology from the original (and current top-of-the-line) high-end Elites, the 8x42 Elite e² is an exceptional example of premium optics at a reasonable price. It has very good optics, with bright and highly resolved images and excellent color fidelity. The field is flat and sharp from edge to edge due to its Advanced Fusion Hybrid Lens System. Astigmatism, barrel distortion, and chromatic aberration are all very low. If you want very nearly top-of-the-line optical performance at an affordable price, this Elite e² is well worth considering.
Features of this binocular . . . Fully multicoated optics: All air/glass optical surfaces are fully coated using multiple vacuum-deposited layers of special high transmission XTR technology coating materials. These yield the smallest amount of light loss per optical surface possible and the brightest images in its class. These are the same high-tech coatings used on the top-of-the-line Bushnell Elite 8 x 43mm binocular that costs twice as much as this Elite e². The superior color fidelity of the Elite XTR multicoatings makes it easier for you to resolve subtle species differences, even in poor lighting conditions. The bright 5.25mm exit pupils will deliver all the light the binocular gathers to virtually every observer, regardless of age.
Aspheric optics: Spherical optics (the normal shape of the objective lenses and eyepiece elements in all binoculars) produce curved fields. The edges of the field of view cannot be brought into a sharp focus at the same time as the center. Premium binoculars use elaborate eyepiece designs with more lenses to flatten the field and provide sharper edge-to-edge images, but this approach raises the cost of the binoculars. The Bushnell Elite e² uses a different and less-costly approach to achieve the same flat-field performance – an Advanced Fusion Hybrid Lens System that fuses a thin synthetic aspheric lens element onto an optical glass substrate to form one of the lenses. The non-spherical shape of the aspheric element helps correct for the binocular’s normal field curvature, much as the additional lens elements of a higher priced binocular can. This provides the Elite e² with a flatter field and lower astigmatism for sharper edge-to-edge resolution, but without the added cost of multiple additional lenses.
Phase coated roof prisms: The image-erecting roof prisms are made of premium high transmission BaK-4 glass. Special PC-3 Elite-Series phase-correcting coatings (the best that Bushnell has to offer) are applied to the roof prisms for peak contrast, color fidelity, and resolution. The resulting improvement in color fidelity and detail is easily visible when examining the shadowed areas of a silhouetted or backlit bird.
Water-shedding “Rainguard" lens coatings: All external optical surfaces (eyepieces and objective lenses) are treated with permanent “Rainguard" coatings. These special hydrophobic (water-repelling) coatings are so smooth, even at the molecular level, that water can find virtually no grip on the lens surfaces. This causes the condensation from rain, fog, snow, or your own breath to form in much smaller droplets than on standard optical coatings. Smaller droplets scatter less light, resulting in higher light transmission and a clearer image.
Eye relief: Eye relief is specified at a long and eyeglass-friendly 19.5mm. While this is technically correct, the actual usable eye relief will typically measure a mm or two less due to the recessing of the eyepiece lenses to protect them from getting scratched when the eyecups are in the down position for eyeglass use. A somewhat shorter eye relief than specified is typical of all binoculars, although this Bushnell is much closer to being accurate in its specification than most manufacturers. Any vignetting should be very minor and not a problem for most eyeglass wearers.
Body construction: H-body roof prism with internal center focus. The lightweight and durable magnesium alloy body is clad in a durable black armor to take every kind of rough treatment in stride. The armor also insulates the binocular to keep it comfortable to the touch in all temperatures, and is lightly textured to provide a sure grip in wet weather. Thumb grooves molded into the undersides of the barrels help position your hands for effortless balance. The exposed metal parts have a durable scratch-resistant baked powder coat finish that will shrug off normal wear and look good for years. With a weight of only 25.7 ounces, and a wide neckstrap as standard equipment, this Elite e² is comfortable to carry on all-day birding excursions.
Weatherproofing: The Elite e² is O-ring sealed and nitrogen-purged to be totally waterproof, fogproof, and dustproof in all climate extremes – from the cold and mists of Attu, to the warm and dripping humidity of the Costa Rican rain forests, to the drenching salt spray of a pelagic birding trip.
Focusing: The extra-large ribbed focus knob can be used with either hand. The knob is very easy to turn, even while wearing gloves or mittens. Close focus is specified at 8’, good for an 8-power binocular, making this Elite e² very suitable for close-in woodland birding and butterfly work. We typically can focus as much as 2’ closer than the specified 8’ figure. That being said, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to focus that close, so we will stick with quoting Bushnell’s 8’ specification. At an 8’ close focus, however, the 8x magnification effectively puts you only 12" away from your subject. That’s close enough to see just about all the detail there is to see. Approximately one and a quarter turns moves from the close focus out to the horizon . . . and beyond.
Diopter adjustment: There is a centrally-located 19-position click-stop diopter adjustment in front of the focusing knob that easy to adjust, but difficult to shift accidentally while in use.
Twist-up eyecups: Twist-up eyecups with soft rubber rims block ambient light for those who don’t wear glasses while observing. The eyecups twist back down into the body to provide extra eye relief for those who must wear glasses while birding.
Supplied accessories: A tripod adapter is concealed under the logo at the front of the binocular hinge for extended no-hands viewing using an optional camera tripod. The 8 x 42mm Elite e² binocular comes with a wide and very comfortable foam-padded neckstrap, an eyepiece rainguard, flip-down tethered (but detachable) objective lens covers, and a molded semi-rigid case that is shaped to conform to your hip for more comfort when carrying your binocular at your side with the separate adjustable-length wide woven case strap over your shoulder.
|
Printer friendly version
Email page link to a friend
Do you have a question about this product?
