Kowa’s cutting edge Optics
- Prominar XD (extra-low dispersion) glass lenses combined with premium coatings offer reduced chromatic aberration to create clearer, color-accurate images.
- Phase-Corrected and C3 reflective coatings on the Schmidt-Pechan prism increases light transmission for image brightness, contrast, and color fidelity.
- Outstanding Close-Focus at 4.9ft. which is great for closer observation of birds or insects.
- Wide Field of View ranging 357ft. @ 1000 yds. which rivals other models in this range.
- Nitrogen filled to prevent fogging.
- 100% Waterproof
- Award of Excellence in 2011
- Large, textured focus wheel for a great grip and a smooth resistance for accurate focusing.
- A thin rubber armored housing made of Magnesium offers low weight, and prevents damage from minor impacts.
- Larger twist-up eyecup design which sit more comfortably around the eyes for sustained observation and decent eye-relief for eyeglasses.
- Lockable Diopter, unlike some models where you can easily knock one barrel out of focus. This is very convenient for keeping the binocular focused to your particular eyes.
Compared to 32mm Binoculars
The Kowa Genesis 33 series are designed to rival any 32mm binocular thanks to slightly increased light transmission for brighter images while maintaining a small and compact form in this price range.
In Depth Features
Understanding Prominar XD glass:
The Genesis Series incorporates Kowa’s “PROMINAR XD” lenses. To attain the highest point of binocular performance, a total of 4 XD lenses (2 sets of 2 lenses) are utilized in the objective end of the binoculars. What do these XD lenses do? Well when light passes through a prism, it causes a dispersion (spreading out) of the colors. XD glass reduces this dispersion of chromatic (color) aberration and therefore creates a much sharper image with more accurate color fidelity so you can see the important details in your target. However, this type of glass is much more expensive to manufacture and is thus found in higher end optics. This is the one of the reasons for the Genesis series being at the top of Kowa’s product line.
Schmidt-Pechan Prism & Coatings
Many binoculars in the middle-upper range feature BaK-4 prisms made of superior glass to produce clearer images, but Kowa has gone one step further and incoroporated the Schmidt-Pechan prism design that have both BaK4 and SK15 prisms. This prism design is more compact, but has a few drawbacks. One of which that the two prisms are separated by an air-gap and one surface of the Pechan prism does not provide total reflection. To get around this Kowa have added their own highly reflective multi-coating they call the C3 coating that gives a reflectance of 99% or more across the entire visible spectrum. On top of this Kowa uses a phase-corrective coating on the Schmidt prism that prevents the loss of contrast and resolution so that colors appear much more accurate. It is a feature that is only found on high end roof prism binoculars.