| This high power waterproof Meade Glacier 10x42 roof prism binocular has good resolution and color fidelity, as well as surprisingly bright images for a 10x binocular. It uses high transmission multicoatings on all air-to-glass surfaces and BaK-4 prisms (which are brighter than the BK-7 prisms used in conventional binoculars). In addition to improving the contrast and resolution, the phase-correcting optical coatings on its roof prisms provide the added benefit of an 8% improvement in prism reflectivity and light transmission. These factors all combine to give you up to a full hour of additional usable observing in the dim light of dawn and dusk with the Meade Glacier when compared with conventional binoculars in this price range. The high power 10 x 42mm Meade Glacier is a good choice for examining the details and colors of distant birds in open field, lake, and shore-side birding – even in the low light of twilight. At the same time, it focuses down to a very good 6’, making it an equally viable choice for butterflies, as well as close-in warbler, woodland, and backyard feeder birding.
The Meade Glacier weighs only a trifle over 23 ounces, surprisingly light for a full-size binocular. Combine that light weight with the Glacier’s comfortable-to-hold armor and waterproofing and you have an easy-to-carry all-day/all-weather high power birding bino. The Meade 10x42mm Glacier is a surprising performer across a wide range of observing conditions, bright sunlight and dim twilight alike.
There is very little curvature of field, leaving the edges of the field almost as sharp as the center, an unusual characteristic at the price level. Barrel distortion is very low, so that straight lines stay quite straight, rather than bowing in and out as they move across the field. The color rendition is good and chromatic aberration and astigmatism are well controlled, for a view that is easy on the eyes during extended observing sessions. Performance this good used to cost $500 to $600 only a few short years ago. Overall, the Meade Glacier is easy on the eyes, easy in the hands, and easy on the budget.
Features of this binocular . . . Roof prism optics. H-body roof prism design with internal center focus. BaK-4 prisms for high light transmission. Its 5.6" length is easy to handle, and its light 23.3 ounce weight won’t weigh you down during all-day birding.
Large aperture fully multicoated optics. Large 42mm objective lenses gather substantial amounts of light for bright images in twilight or overcast conditions. The twilight factor is 20.49, well above the 17 recommended as a minimum for a low light binocular. Broadband multilayer antireflection coatings have good light transmission for minimum light loss in dim conditions.
Phase-coated prisms. Special phase-correcting optical coatings are applied to the roof prisms to improve the contrast, color fidelity, and resolution. The resulting improvement in color fidelity and detail is easily visible when looking sunwards and examining the shadowed areas of a silhouetted or backlit bird. The phase coatings also increase the prism reflectivity by 8% to extend your observing time in fading light situations.
Waterproof and fogproof. Dry nitrogen-filled and O-ring sealed to be waterproof and fogproof in all temperature and climate extremes. Designed to operate reliably in rainforests and deserts alike. Armor. Black rubber armor absorbs noise and shock and provides a good grip when wet. Twist-up eyecups. An eighth of a turn of the rubber-rimmed eyecups retracts them into the binocular body for eyeglass or sunglass use, rather than rolling down. An eighth turn in the opposite direction extends the eyecups for non-eyeglass use. Good eye relief. Eye relief is specified at 15.5mm. While this is technically correct, the actual usable eye relief measures somewhat less due to the recessing of the eyepieces when the eyecups are in the down position for eyeglass use. A shorter eye relief than specified is typical of all binoculars. There will be some vignetting of the field for eyeglass wearers. Very close focusing. A little over one and a half turns of the comfortably-large ribbed focus knob moves from a y’ close focus out to the horizon and beyond. Rotary diopter correction. A continuously variable diopter ring on the right eyepiece allows you to match the binocular optics precisely to your individual eyesight for a sharp image. Supplied Accessories. The comfortable 1" wide woven cloth neck strap makes the lightweight binocular even less of a burden to carry during all-day birding sessions. An eyepiece rainguard is standard, as are snap-in objective lens covers similar to those used to protect camera lenses. The soft case sheds water and comes with both a belt loop for no-hands carrying and a wide shoulder strap.
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