Optics4Birding.com: Burris Reviews

The following comments are the opinions of the writers. We're publishing them here with the permission of their authors, with minor edits for clarity or brevity. If you would like to submit a comment, send me an email.

The following is a brief set of impressions about the Burris 8x42 Signature model roof prism binocular I received as a gift for my birthday this year. (I'm sending a copy to Burris too.)

The close focus on this binocular is tremendous; I can focus on my own feet with some room to spare. (I'm 5 foot 11, not eight feet tall, incase you wondered.) The manufacturer's specs say 8 feet, but I can focus on something four-and-a-half feet away with no trouble.

I find the focus knob to be a good tradeoff between quick and sensitive. The new Swarovski binocular I tried out in a shop was oddly awkward to focus, and I'd definitely prefer the Burris knob. The only reservation I'd have about focusing is that distant focus seems to go well beyond infinite range. This isn't a problem in common use. The focus knob can be pulled out to lock focus; I don't use this feature much, and pulling the knob out seems a bit awkward.

The image is nice and clean. I have, out of curiosity, done a variety of home tests of optical clarity, and the 8x42 Burris acquitted itself pretty well. I wouldn't dream of making grandiose claims about the image quality, mainly because I'm not constantly asking my friends to compare. I am also not a professional binocular kibitzer. (Nor have the professionals reviewed this company's products, apparently.) But I've had no complaints.

They've performed decently at dusk and dawn. The only situation in which I've wondered whether I could get a better look was when I was trying to pick out ducks and grebes silhouetted against the setting sun. I think I may need to upgrade my pupils to keep them from dilating...

Signatures have good, solid rubber armoring. They're waterproof and fogproof, and they are guaranteed forever: for your life, for your children's lives, and - well, forever - against any manufacturer's defects. Whatever bad vibe you get from Burris's hunter's image (see below), you have to like their warranty.

I find them comfortable enough to hold. The only 'feel' complaint I'd have would be the shape of the eyepieces, the rubber cup of which is just slightly too rigid. (I've had that complaint about every pair of binoculars I've ever tried, actually. Why aren't less firm, cupped eyepieces like those on my SLR available?)

Here's the bad stuff: Burris primarily deals to the hunting/shooting-no-trespassing-signs-in-park-reserves crowd. Their web site, and some of their product literature, annoyed me. (A sentence in their catalog implied that other binoculars might be tough enough for bird watching, but _theirs_ were made for the beating a hunter can deal out. I had to laugh at that. How many hunters take trips to climb the mountains of Central America? They seldom seem in shape to set up a tent...)

All in all, I'd say the Signature 8x42 model was a decent, middle-of-the-road pick among roof prisms. I wouldn't say it was as bright as a $1000 binocular, mainly because I don't have much experience with the latter. I'm pretty sure this cost about $425 in a sports shop. At that price, they're a gem. I don't anticipate buying another binocular unless I become an obsessive lister more interested in identifying birds than in understanding them. (God forbid.)

Ian Westray, 28 July 1998.