[Recommended by an author who dislikes binoculars] The lightweight, high-performance intermediate-grade Kenko machine "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" is amazing at how different optical performance from the entry machine.

I've started discord

Binoculars are very useful to have for enjoying an outdoor life, observing wildlife and natural scenery. Many people have one, but they are difficult to use and rarely use it. Actually, I was one of those people. However, when I started using Kenko's "Ultraview EX Compact 8x32", which is said to be an intermediate model, the impression changed completely. We will also introduce the differences between these and general entry-level binoculars.

What is Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32"?

The talented player who won the top recommended mid-class recommendation in "Home Appliance Criticism"

I'm also saying this at the beginning of the article on binoculars, but I was really not good at binoculars because it was difficult to see something. Perhaps because I usually use expensive telephoto lenses for single-lens reflex cameras, I found the clarity, sharpness and resolution to be low, making it difficult to focus, and my eyes felt tired.

When I was taking pictures of wild animals and birds, I checked the situation with binoculars, and then thought, "That's cool, that's it," but there was a reason why I didn't carry binoculars with me when I was photographing wild animals.

However, the other day, I was talking to an employee of Kenko Tokinar, who also works on camera lenses and accessories, as well as binoculars and telescopes, and they talked about it, "We've reviewed camera lenses in detail, but we don't use binoculars." It is true that I publish e-books such as Lens Database and Lens Lab on Amazon Kindle as my life's work. The latest issue is " SIGMA 14mm F1.4 DG DN | Art Lens Database ." If you are interested, please take a look.

When I confessed, "Actually, I don't like binoculars because they find it difficult to see," he asked me, "Maybe you're using an entry machine?" I didn't know about this, but the majority of the binoculars industry's sales are entry machines with an actual price of less than 10,000 yen. Unfortunately, it is said that there are some parts that cannot be said to have sufficient optical performance due to the price.

And I also tested Kenko's "Ultraview EX Compact 8x32" (actual price: around 30,000 yen) and used it as a test, saying, "There are various technical reasons why intermediate and higher models are recommended in terms of ease of viewing, but it's faster to actually see them, so I'll lend you it." This is the mid-level model in the industry with actual prices exceeding 20,000 yen, and is a talented player who ranked number one recommended in the middle class in the "No. 1 binoculars for live viewing competition!!" in the August issue of "Home Appliance Criticism" Despite having sufficient optical performance, it weighs approximately 375g, so it is recommended for people like me who want to use it outdoors, as well as for those who like to watch live shows. This time, we have actually reviewed Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32."

Recommended points

• The difference in realism is like a DVD to Blu-ray
• It's bright with a brightness of 16, making it easy to see even in dimly lit areas.
• Highly immersive feeling with a lens barrel with a diameter of over 3cm and twist-up viewing
• Large, smooth focusing dial is easy to use
• Although the objective lens has an effective diameter of 32mm, it is lightweight at approximately 375g.
• Waterproof and antibacterial body equivalent to IPX7

Points that interest me

• Unfortunately, the body color is only black

Main Specifications and ratings

item	Kenko Ultraview EX Compact 8x32
magnification	8x
Effective diameter of objective lens	32mm
coating	Full multi-coat
Real view	8.3°
Hippo diameter	4mm
Brightness	16
View 1000m away	145.1m
Eye relief	15.2mm
Eye width	56-73mm
Minimum focusing distance	2m
Size (when eye width is maximum)	108.5 x 49.5 x 124mm
mass	375g
Material	Body body: PPS resin Body rubber/roller/Lumbar for your own use: EPDM (including antibacterial agent)
accessories	Pouch, strap
Resolution	★★★★☆
Ease of viewing	★★★★☆
Brightness	★★★★☆
Carrying	★★★★☆
Cost Performance	★★★★☆
Satisfaction	★★★★★

Detailed review

I was amazed at the difference in realism, resolution and texture from the entry machine

Most of the binoculars that sell well in Japan are entry machines with an actual price of less than 10,000 yen, and many people say they use this entry machine without being particularly aware of it. I'm sure the author probably didn't really pay attention to it and used the binoculars from this entry machine and thought, "It's difficult to see and I'm not good with binoculars."

So, we also rented out the Kenko's Classi-air 8X21DH to make it easier to compare with the intermediate-grade Kenko's Ultra View EX Compact 8x32. The actual price is around 6,000 yen. This is a talented entry machine that ranked second in the entry class in the "No. 1 binoculars for live viewing competition!!" in the "Home Appliance Criticism August Issue."

For now, I was told that I could tell if I looked it up, so I'll take a look at Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" and Kenko's "Classi-air 8X21DH." Although we will discuss the details separately, Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" is overwhelmingly easy to read. Not only is it easy to watch, but it also shows the difference in resolution, like the movie you watched on DVD has been turned into Blu-ray, the difference in realism, and even the texture of the areas in focus.

I'm sure there were no particular complaints when I was watching a movie only on DVD, but many people have probably experienced the fact that after watching a movie on Blu-ray and then returning to the DVD, it's hard to say that it's indescribable, lack of three-dimensionality, and the cheapness of the gradation of the colors can't help but worry about it. That's the difference between Kenko's "Ultraview EX Compact 8x32" and Kenko's "Classi-air 8X21DH".

When I asked why it was so different, they said that the main factors were the difference in lens aperture, lens coating, and even the performance of the prism. Kenko's "Ultraview EX Compact 8x32" has an effective diameter of 32mm, and all lens and prism surfaces are coated with multi-layer coating, making it a full multi-coat to extremely reduce light transmission loss, and it is said to use a prism made from high-grade glass material with a high refractive index, called a phase coat and a dielectric multilayer Bak4 film.

In contrast, the Kenko's Classi-air 8X21DH has an effective diameter of the objective lens, and the lens coating uses a multi-layer coating that reduces light transmission loss by applying multi-layer coating to at least one surface that contacts the air, and the prism uses a glass material called BK7, which is aluminum-evaporated, and the entire optical system is said to be inferior to intermediate models such as the Kenko's Ultra View EX Compact 8x32.

In fact, even for camera lenses, glass materials and coatings are important factors that determine the optical performance of a lens, but the larger lens diameter uses high-performance glass materials, which improves the performance of coating many lens surfaces, but this has the problem of becoming expensive inevitably. Therefore, the binoculars of intermediate models, which can use glass materials and coatings that cannot be used with low-cost machines called entry machines, are said to be dramatically easier to see and feel like the resolution has improved compared to entry machines. In fact, I was surprised at the difference.

It has a large diameter and is bright, making it very easy to see even in dimly lit areas.

Brightness is a very important factor in optical lenses. The brightness of camera lenses, which I am usually familiar with, is expressed in units such as F○○. In contrast, the brightness of the binocular lens is expressed as straight brightness, and Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" has a brightness of 16. By the way, Kenko's "Classi-air 8X21DH" has a brightness of 6.8. In fact, the calculation method is very simple: "squared (effective diameter/magnification of the objective lens).".

Kenko's "Ultraview EX Compact 8x32" is 16 for the square of (32/8), and Kenko's "Classi-air 8X21DH" is 6.8 for the square of (21/8). However, the actual brightness is also affected by the number of lenses and coating, so the actual difference should be even greater.

However, when you compare it in a store where you buy it, you often don't notice any difference in brightness than image quality. This is influenced by the pupil diameter, another factor that represents the brightness of binoculars. The diameter of the bright circle that can be seen when viewing the eyepiece from about 30cm away from the binoculars is called the pupil diameter, and the larger the diameter, the more powerful it can be used for observations and astronomical observations in dimly lit areas.

This pupil diameter can be calculated using the "effective diameter/magnification of the objective lens", with the Kenko's Ultraview EX Compact 8x32 being 4.0mm and the Kenko's Classi-air 8X21DH being 2.6mm. Naturally, lenses with a larger pupil diameter are brighter, but in conditions where the size of the human pupil diameter (pupil) is smaller than the pupil diameter of the binoculars, the human pupil blocks the brightness, making it difficult to tell the difference in brightness. Generally, in bright areas, the human pupil is about 2mm in diameter, so in bright areas it is difficult to feel the difference in brightness between the 4.0mm pupil diameter Kenko's Ultra View EX Compact 8x32 and the 2.6mm Kenko's Classi-air 8X21DH.

In my case, I felt the difference in brightness in the dim forest and in the dusk, but if you use it for your favorite activities such as live concerts or concerts, I recommend that you carefully check this brightness and the diameter of the dog. By the way, binoculars that are suitable for viewing things even in dimly lit areas are roughly bright with a pupil diameter of 3 to 5mm. With these conditions in mind, it goes without saying that the Kenko's Ultra View EX Compact 8x32 is the advantage over the Kenko's entry-level "Classi-air 8X21DH."

Also, when you actually look through binoculars in a slightly darker condition, the bright Kenko "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" is clearly easier to see. I thought that the author was the only one who felt this, so I asked a friend to take a look, and he said that the bright Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" felt less tiring than the Kenko's "Classi-air 8X21DH" entry-level machine.

In fact, the impression is that it's not too compact and gives a solid sense of immersion.

I was convinced that the intermediate model, which costs over 20,000 yen, is superior to the entry-level model, which has a sense of realism, brightness, and optical performance that is easier to see below 10,000 yen, but what really made me feel even more different than that was the immersiveness and ease of viewing when actually using it.

The Kenko "Classi-air 8X21DH" used as a comparison object this time has an effective diameter of the objective lens, with an effective diameter of 21mm and a diameter of the tube portion of about 32mm, and weighs only about 170g. In contrast, the effective diameter of the objective lens for the Kenko UltraView EX Compact 8x32 is 32mm and the diameter of the lens barrel is approximately 42mm, so the inner diameter of the eyepiece for the Kenko UltraView EX Compact 8x32 is approximately 35mm, while the Kenko Classi-air 8X21DH is approximately 25mm.

Although it's only 1cm different, when looking through binoculars, the Kenko's Ultra View EX Compact 8x32, with an inner diameter of the eyepiece, with an approximately 35mm inner diameter, the eyes of the binoculars firmly adhere to each other, giving a high sense of immersion, while the Kenko's Classi-air 8X21DH, with an inner diameter of the eyepiece, gives a strong sense of immersion, and does not provide a high sense of immersion.

It seems that the diameter of the eyepiece is smaller than my eye, so it feels like the eyepiece doesn't cover the entire eye. So, when we looked into the size of human eyes, it seems that the average size of Japanese eyes is about 2.7-3cm wide and about 1cm long. Even if my eyes are average for Japanese people, the entire eye size of Kenko's Classi-air 8X21DH, with an inner diameter of the eyepiece, is probably not covered by the eyepiece. Perhaps because of this, I feel like I'm not able to get a high level of immersion. In contrast, the Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" has an inner diameter of the eyepiece, approximately 35mm, and it seems that Japanese people with an average eye size will cover the entire eye, giving them a strong, close-up feel.

As for binoculars, it is important to be lightweight and compact, but I felt that although the inner diameter of the eyepiece is larger than the size of the eye, it felt better to be immersive and easy to see. My friend who tested it together said the same thing, so it seems that it's not just my opinion. In that sense, the Kenko "Ultraview EX Compact 8x32" is an intermediate model with a light weight of approximately 375g, with an effective diameter of the objective lens being 32mm and the inner diameter of the eyepiece being sufficient, while still weighing approximately 375g.

In addition, for the eyepiece, Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" uses a twist-up viewing port that allows you to adjust the eye points by twisting. The eye relief is a high eye point that is over 15.2mm and over 15mm, so even people like me who wear glasses are wearing them are less likely to experience vignetting when observing, making it comfortable to use. The entry-level Kenko "Classi-air 8X21DH" has an 11.1mm eye relief. In this regard, it appears that there is a difference between the intermediate model with an actual price of over 20,000 yen and the entry model.

Easy to focus, waterproof and antibacterial Kenko "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32"

This is a bit refreshing for me, who are now used to still camera lenses, where autofocus (AF) is commonplace, but manual focus (MF) is the norm for binoculars.

Therefore, turn the focus adjustment dial to adjust the focus according to the distance to the subject, but in environments where the opponent is moving, such as wild animals, birds, or live concerts, you need to adjust the focus at all times. Therefore, the ease of use of the focus adjustment dial is very important.

You can easily try it out in a retailer's store so be sure to check it out, but with the intermediate model Kenko's Ultra View EX Compact 8x32, the focus adjustment dial has a large diameter of about 32mm, and it has a rubber finish with unevenness to prevent slipping during operation, and the feel of the operation is very smooth, and the force required during operation is constant. In contrast, the focus adjustment dial of the entry machine, Kenko's Classi-air 8X21DH, has a small diameter of about 16mm, and although there are unevenness and non-slip, the dial itself is made of plastic, and it is difficult to say that it moves smoothly with a uniform force.

The only dial to operate when using binoculars is focus adjustment dial, so in a sense, it can be said that this operability determines the operability of the binoculars. Unfortunately, this also clearly shows the difference between intermediate and entry-level aircraft.
Also, like me, I think it's not just for those who mainly observe wild birds and wild animals, but also for those who are also interested in their favorite activities, they may be outdoors. Even in such cases, Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" is waterproof, equivalent to 1m depth (10 minutes) in accordance with JISB7261 (ISO9022-8) and is equivalent to 710 minutes in IP evaluation). Moreover, the binoculars are filled with nitrogen gas to prevent the lens from fogging. Furthermore, the exterior covered with EPDM (ethylene propylene diene rubber) is antibacterial, which suppresses the growth of bacteria and keeps it clean.

What made me a little sad about this was the entry-level model, the Classi-air 8X21DH, comes in a wide variety of colors, including orange, deep gray, blue, and white, while the Kenko Ultraview EX Compact 8x32, is available in black only. There may be preferences, but I feel even happier when there is a choice of body colour.

Summary: Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" is shocked by the difference between the entry machine and the entry machine

If you're going to buy binoculars, you'll want to compare them thoroughly before choosing an intermediate model.

The author said, "I don't like binoculars because it makes them difficult to see," and Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" borrowed from Kenko Tokinar. While reviewing numerous interchangeable lenses for cameras, it can be said that the author has not taken into consideration the differences in optical performance of binoculars at all.

In fact, Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" is an intermediate level of binoculars, and yet boasts solid optical performance, and is clearly easier to see and use than an entry-level machine worth less than 10,000 yen. When you think about purchasing binoculars, you may think that an entry-level model is fine at the same magnification, but on the other hand, it's hard to find a new model after purchasing a binocular, so we recommend comparing it with intermediate models over 20,000 yen, which manufacturers recommend for their optical performance.

When I went to a field with wild animals and wild birds, I couldn't help but feel the desire to take a photo, so I immediately turned on the camera shutter, but when I put my camera down and looked at wild birds, wild animals, ezo squirrels, etc. with Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32", I was able to see the subject from a different perspective than when taking a photo, which is very enjoyable.

Until now, I've been advised by my seniors that when I see the subject, it's important to not just take a picture, but also to look closely, but perhaps because I used the binoculars on my entry machine, it was difficult to see something, the resolution was poor, and I felt like my eyes were tired, so I stopped them. However, when I tried out the compact and easy-to-use intermediate model Kenko "Ultraview EX Compact 8x32", I realized that observing wild birds and wildlife with binoculars is a different kind of fun than taking pictures.

Whether you use it in an outdoor field like I did, or for activities such as live performances, concerts, or for favourite activities, I recommend trying out a mid-level binoculars model, such as Kenko's "Ultra View EX Compact 8x32" before purchasing. Many people are probably surprised at the difference in performance that is greater than the price difference.

Details and purchase of Kenko's "Ultraview EX Compact 8x32"

For product details, see Kenko's Ultra View EX Compact 8x32

Saito Titoce

Former monthly camera magazine editor. While pursuing the spectacular views of Hokkaido and the wildlife, I was completely hooked on the outdoor life of camper vans and sleeping in my car. While traveling the entire country with his 2-year-old son and wife, he is a photographer writer who photographs and writes everything he has experienced, not only cameras and lenses, but also outdoor camping, child-rearing, PC gadgets, cooking, and dieting. OUTDOOR GEARZINE plans to write a variety of articles, focusing on the QOCL (Quality of Camping Life) Improvement Committee, which will improve the quality of life in camping and camper vans.

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