Pentax 8X32mm DCF ED

The Pentax 8x32 ED is a great travel binocular, small enough to fit in any suitcase or automobile glove compartment, as well as into many coat pockets. Surprisingly bright for its aperture, it has a close focus of less than 5' that makes it excellent for close-in birding and butterflies in shadowed wooded areas.

The use of ED glass for superior color reproduction and the elimination of chromatic aberrations (spurious color) is common in spotting scopes, but very rare in binoculars. Pentax is the first binocular manufacturer to adopt its optical advantages to an entire line of binoculars.

Like all the Pentax ED series, the 8x32 ED is totally waterproof and fogproof. It uses the latest type of sophisticated aspheric optical elements to give you excellent resolution, very low distortion and astigmatism, and an exceptionally flat field that is sharp and in focus from edge to edge. If you need a reasonably small and light binocular, but one with more optical performance than its size would suggest, look no further than this Pentax 8x32mm DCF ED.

Features of this binocular . . .

H-body roof prism with internal center focus.

Lightweight magnesium-alloy body with noise- and shock-absorbing dark green rubber armor and black trim. Many naturalists believe that dark green armor is less disturbing to birds and wildlife than conventional black armor. Shallow thumb grooves molded into the underside of the body help position the hands to balance the binoculars properly for comfortable extended observing sessions. Sized to fit birders with small hands, although usable by almost anyone who wants a reasonably small and very wide field binocular for woodland birding, butterflies, travel, etc.

Sophisticated four element/three group objective lenses for sharp, high-resolution images.

ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass optical elements reduce chromatic aberrations - the color fringing seen at the edges of dark objects viewed against a light background in lesser binoculars - to vanishingly low levels. Chromatic aberration is essentially non-existent, eliminating the yellow and purple fringes around tree limbs and power lines seen against a bright sky, and making it easier to determine the true color of eye rings, for example.

Fully multicoated optics for maximum light transmission. External lens surfaces have an additional scratch-resistant hard coating for added protection from scratches, dings, rough handling, etc. A hydrophobic (water-shedding) coating on the lenses helps keep water from forming large beads on the lenses during foggy or rainy observing, improving the image sharpness and contrast.

Hybrid aspherical lens elements in its five-lens/three-group eyepiece design provide a very wide 7.5° field with good edge-to-edge sharpness.

Little more than one and a half turns of the comfortably-large ribbed rubber-clad focus knob moves from an excellent close focus of 4.9' out to the horizon and beyond. The excellent close focus and very wide field make the 8 x 32mm Pentax ED a natural choice for close-in woodland birding and butterflies.

Nitrogen-filled and O-ring sealed to be internally fogproof in all temperature extremes and waterproof to a depth of 1 meter. The inert nitrogen filling also prevents the internal formation of fungus in high humidity climates, such as rain forests.

Phase-correcting prism coatings provide high contrast and resolution. This is particularly visible when looking sunwards, where more color and detail is clearly visible in the shadowed areas of backlit or silhouetted birds.

Twist-up rubber-rimmed eyecups retract into the binocular body for eyeglass use. The eyecups have four built-in click stops to more precisely match the eye relief to your eyesight. The eye relief is specified at 17mm. While this is technically correct, the actual usable eye relief will typically measure a few mm 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. Vignetting will be minor for most eyeglass wearers.

Objective lens covers are provided to protect the optics. The covers are tethered to the binocular body so they can't be lost in the field, but can be removed if desired.

A socket is built into the center hinge to let you connect an optional photo tripod adapter for extended tripod-mounted hands-free observing sessions.

The continuously variable diopter ring on the right eyepiece allows you to match the binocular's optical performance to that of your eyes. It can be locked in place so it can't accidentally be knocked out of adjustment during use.

An eyepiece rainguard is standard equipment, as is a wide woven neck strap and a lightly padded Cordura-type nylon soft case. The case is designed primarily to store the 8 x 32mm ED when it is not in use, so no shoulder strap is provided.

This Pentax binocular is covered by the Pentax "No-Worry" lifetime warranty. If a Pentax ever requires repair, even if the damage is the owner's fault, Pentax will repair it or replace it (at Pentax's option) to the original owner for a charge of only $19.95 to cover handling and return shipping. The "No-Worry" warranty does not cover cosmetic damage, theft, or loss. Replacement may be with a compatible model at Pentax's discretion if the original model is no longer available.

• Soft case
• Wide woven neck strap
• Eyepiece rainguard
• Objective lens covers