Anyone have Pentax DCF SP Binoculars?

14mercs · 01-05-2005, 10:29 AM

I am looking at buying a pair and they are a lot of cash for optics. I have had Nikon and Steiner and was not happy with either. Pentax reviewed good on a few bino sites but wanted hunters opinions not desk jockeys. Anyone own Pentax?

skeeter 7MM · 01-05-2005, 10:19 PM

I have a pair of 10x43's and have been very satisfied. I bought them because of my previous experience with Pentax Porro Prisms Bino's and Pentax CS was excellent IME, they stood behind their product even though it was my error and replaced them at NC so I felt very good supporting them again. Also they were the best I found for what I required and wanted to spend.

PABowhntr · 01-06-2005, 07:47 AM

I have had the chance to play around with several of the SP line models...notably the 10x43s, 8x43s and the 10x50s. Excellent binoculars for the price...right in line with what those birding articles you mentioned have suggested. In fact, I would give them more credit than that. Birders do place some very stringent demands on binoculars....more so in terms of image quality in most cases.

Matt/PA, on the moderators on here, owns the 8x43 SPs and cannot say enough about them. Do a search for them and you will see what I mean.

I have a pair of the XPs, the 8x33s and I love them. They are about 9/10ths as bright as some of the 8x42s I have seen on the market and much more compact. Speaking of which, they measure approximately 4.25 inches long and about the same width. If you are familar with binocular styles in general then you may realize that size is not much bigger than the classic compacts that all of us owned at one point or another. The big difference though is in the image quality and overall durability.

The Pentax XPs, SPs and HR IIs are all waterproof, fogproof, nitrogen filled with full multicoated optics and phase coated roof prisms. The difference between the models is reflected in terms of the overall sizes and internal designs. The XPs are the smallest overall with the HR IIs being the largest. The SPs use the most glass (aspheric lens) internally to achieve a slightly clearer picture across the entire image.

I would recommend any of them. Most birding authorities rate the Pentax SPs at very close to the same quality level as Swarovski, Leica and the upper end Zeiss. That says quite a bit to me.

Good luck with your purchase and let us know what you decide on.

14mercs · 01-06-2005, 08:28 AM

Yeah! You all are winning me over. The Steiner Predators were $225 and if I look through them at dawn or dusk it is actually darker than without bino's. It also seems that no matter how I focus them and roll the fine focus cup, they are not quite clear. The Nikons eye cups both came unglued about the 3rd day I had them and Nikon would not replace them.

Thanks for the info and opinions. As soon as I get through with dropping some cash at the NWTF banquet, I am going to order a pair. Hotbuyselectronics.com has them for
$409.00. Lowest I can find by far. If you all know who can beat that I'd like to know.

Thanks again! Big help!

silverbackpete · 01-19-2005, 04:47 PM

I have had the 8x42's for 4years and I wouldn't be with out them. They are not cheap but they are a lot less than a pair of swaroskis. They get a B+ rating from me.

gselkhunter · 01-20-2005, 10:28 AM

14Mercs I have 2 pairs, 8X42 & 10X42, but they are the DCF WP model. The 8X42 I purchased years ago LOVE them! But I like 10X42 for long distance glassing and I found a pair on Ebay new in the box and paid $275 for them. Couldn't pass them up!
Gselkhunter

14mercs · 01-21-2005, 03:25 PM

I ordered the 12.5 x 50 DCF SP from Pentax. It was shade over $500.00 which is a bargain price!

Hunter401 · 02-18-2005, 08:32 PM

I have had an 8X42 DCF WP for about 8 years. They are fantastic. I have used them in Colorado for elk, deer, waterfowl hunting and birding. Everyone that trys them are impressed. Price has come down a lot since I purchased mine too. I purchased mine after getting recommendations from forums and birders.

Jeff Ovington · 02-19-2005, 09:01 AM

I have a pair of pair.
I missed out on purchasing a pair of Pentax DCF WP(now discontinued)
and ended up purchasing a pair of DCF SP instead.
Very bright and a 22mm eye relief gives lots of FOV.
I think its the best Bino in that price range going.