Kowa BD II XD 6.5x32 Review - Best Mid-Range Bino?

Рет қаралды 4,750

Жыл бұрын

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion.
There are very few binoculars left with magnification of less than 8x.
6x30 or similar designs really have a lot to offer when you are looking for stability and ease of use in a compact package.
As a matter of personal preference, for general purpose use, I like binoculars with the exit pupil around 5mm and Kowa 6.5x32 is a grand example of why.
Kowa BD II XD 6.5x32: amzn.to/3Z2tgJm and bit.ly/3tuBDyT
Kowa's YF 6x30 bit.ly/3B0dQeL
Maven 6x30 bit.ly/3QjuITi
Steiner Navigator 7x30 bit.ly/3OcprKQ

Пікірлер: 24

@TheSavagederek 7 ай бұрын

Around 11 years back I gifted a pair of Leica Trinovid 8x32 to a mate , as I'd just bought a new pair of the Ultravids , which were stolen a few years later . About 2 months ago I bought a pair of the Kowa BD8x42XD and been very impressed by them . Yesterday I was with that mate , out birding at some local lagoons . I wouldn't swap back tbh . Those Leicas were nearly £700 at the time I purchased . I've been extremely impressed by the view and brightness of the BD .

@janpedersen8987 11 ай бұрын

Very good review indeed. I have tested a lot of Pentax, Steiner and Kowa's over 10+ years, and I was blown away too by this 6,5x32 BD II from Kowa. They use one pair of flourid lenses, essentially XD Prominar lenses, in each barrel, although not screaming this out loud since the Genesis series (and all there scopes) are supposed to have a monopoly on this term. I was given the 6,5x a year ago and it put my 1000gram Swarovski 10x50 more or less on early retirement, since I much more appreciate the lightness and extreme FOV on this Kowa. One thing you do not mention is a great feel of a 3-D image unusual to a roof prism binocular. During migration I always have my Kowa scope at hand so up till now I have never been in a situation where I miss out on magnification. Highly recommended (and underrated binoculars).

@andrew13651 Жыл бұрын

Curious to know if you'd recommend the 6.5x32 for midrange (

@DarkLordOfOptics Жыл бұрын

Other than the old Leica Duovid, I have not seen a switchpower binocular worth buying at any price. With NRL, etc, the targets can sometimes be pretty hard to see, so it is hard to say if 6.5x is enough. I use them regularly out to 600 or so, but I have not tried finding hard to see plates with them. Sig's 10x bino that I have seen had pretty narrow FOV (around 6 degrees if memory serves me right). If you are willing to go to a conventional bino, you can find a bino with a lot wider FOV than that without sacrificing too much magnification. With LRF, Meopta Optika LR 10x42 and Delta Titanium RF 9x45 will give you about 10% wider FOV and better image quality. bit.ly/3jUGvLW Without the LRF, Kowa BDII XD 10x42 has FOV almost 20% wider than the Sig. bit.ly/3ioDymj

@mauriciolacruz Жыл бұрын

I've just purchased the Kowa Genesis Prominar XD 8.5x44 and want to put filters to protect the objective lenses (this model features front threads for installing filters). Is it better to install just standard protective filters (i.e. Hoya HD Gold Protector) or UV filters instead (i.e. Hoya HD Gold UV)? Thank you.

@DarkLordOfOptics Жыл бұрын

That's very individual.

@MikeGuadango Жыл бұрын

I had the Kowa Prominair 8.5x44. Aside from being a bit heavy and heaving a narrower FOV (compared to other in the class) they were great binos. I don’t think I gained much when I bought Swarovski ELs

@DarkLordOfOptics Жыл бұрын

Genesis binos are indeed very good. I think the 8x33 is the strongest of that line compared to the competition, but there are no duds there at all. Interestingly, the 10.5x44 and 8x33 have wider apparent FOV than the 8.5x44. I was kinda hoping they would make either a larger objective full size or lower magnification compact in that line, but no luck.

@falba1492 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the review. I picked up a pair at MidwayUSA for $329. Everyone else is asking $399 for these. The glass and field of view are excellent. This is the second optic I purchase, on your very excellent advice, in the last two weeks. How would you rate the Kowa Genisis line the to European brands? Are there any other hidden treasures to be had?

@DarkLordOfOptics Жыл бұрын

Genesis is very good and very underrated. 8x33 is probably the gem of that line. With the larger ones, I think the 10.5x44 is better.

@GM-bq6zo 10 ай бұрын

@@DarkLordOfOpticsI'm looking at getting the genesis 33mm, I've heard people say its as good as or better than leica ultravid 32mm and swaro el 32mm.

@DarkLordOfOptics 10 ай бұрын

@@GM-bq6zo It is definitely in that same conversation.

@GM-bq6zo 10 ай бұрын

@@DarkLordOfOptics is the genesis a lot better than the bd xd 2?

@GM-bq6zo 10 ай бұрын

@@DarkLordOfOptics is the genesis more 3d than the flat field of the swaro el?

@GeographyNerd48 Жыл бұрын

I have the cheap kowa 6x32 i think it is. I dont care for it too much compared to my 6x leupold that os also about 100 bucks. Unfortunately the leupold is discontinued. I was looking at the maven 6x but this looks nice too.

@DarkLordOfOptics Жыл бұрын

That's just sample variation. Kowa YF 6x30 and Leupold Yosemite 6x30 are the same design. They were even made in the same factory for a while

@GeographyNerd48 Жыл бұрын

@@DarkLordOfOptics oh. The focus wheel on the kowa feels alot different and seems to always move when im hunting is the problem. I was going to get the maven but now ill try this kowa 6.5-32 instead. I am hesitant to spend 500+ cuz where I hunt prairie dogs the dust is insanity. Takes days to get the dust out of my gear after a trip.

@commonsense5709 Жыл бұрын

I really think the sub $150 Nikon P7 8x30 is a fantastic set of binoculars comparable to the $550 Mavens but better actually. Field of view is incredibly wide.

@DarkLordOfOptics Жыл бұрын

For the money P7 is a pretty decent binocular, but Kowa definitely walks all over it.