Yet as far as value vs. features goes, I just purchased a binocular that has to go to the head of the class.
They're made in Germany, in Wetzlar as a matter of fact; they're beautifully crafted with fully multicoated lenses; they're 10x42 with brighter light gathering capability than I've seen in any other binocular; they have phase corrected roof prisms; they're rubber armored and advertised to be "nearly indestructible"; they have a polycarbonate body giving them a weight of 22 oz., lighter than nearly any other in their class; they're o-ringed throughout and completely waterproof down to 5 meters; they're nitrogen purged and have barrels filled with expensive argon gas making them almost impossible to fog up in temperature extremes; and they offer eyeglass wearers one of the longest eye-relief figures of any roof prism: 16mm. In a word, this is one beautiful pair of glasses.
With all those features, and a Wetzlar genesis, you'd almost have to guess these are Zeiss or Leica binoculars, right? Close, but no cigar. They're actually MINOX BD BL binoculars, designed by the famous spy camera company. But then MINOX is fully owned by Leica, and Zeiss makes all of Leica's binoculars, so that means these MINOX binoculars are actually Zeiss binoculars made for Leica to be marketed under the MINOX logo.
I have no idea why these binoculars are being marketed in the US (imported and distributed by Leica of North America) as inexpensively as they are. I also have no idea why the green models never caught on in popularity as did the black models. The green model is what I bought and I think it's a very handsome binocular. The price? $399 for the black, and as low as $319 for the green! Better jump on these while you can. They won't stay this cheap for long, and they're as good if not better than nearly anything twice their price.
