Steiner Navigator Pro 7x30 marine binoculars - Extremely rugged, sharp images, 5m water proof - Outstanding viewing quality for beginners and professionals, Blue

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The section of the Dordogne river that we paddled down was pretty slow-moving and tranquil most of the time and even the "rapid sections" were for us pretty easy to navigate (except for one! Whilst certainly not essential, Steiner's Hydrophobic "Nano-Protection" is a very nice feature to have on the water and I love the way the water acts like it is almost allergic to the glass and simply runs off it.

Made from what looks like a combination of rubber and plastic, the cups are designed to fit into the ends of the barrels whereas most cups fit over the ends and often just look like an afterthought and not a part of the instrument. This has been remarked from time to time in this forum (and birdforum), usually by those among us who have matured past seeking in binos simply high power and big front lenses. The "always in focus" system and not having to adjust the focus is an excellent feature in this context of using it on a canoe/kayak and certainly made the binocular much easier to use in one hand and ensured I didn't miss out on seeing that kingfisher darting about.The image remains sharp and in focus from the center of the view right to the edges and they show almost zero image softening at the edge of the view. An extremely well-made instrument using high-quality components very comfortable in the hands, with high levels of grip.

Its view is essentially the same, and its mechanical/ergonomic package is of a very high, modern standard.Not only does this make for a much cleaner, integrated look, but it is far, far quicker to add an remove the strap should you wish. I wonder how good they will still work when I am 60 -- however on the Komz there is a simple trick to make them CF -- just get a big rubber band and put it over the barrels. One optical coating that is important to mention here for their intended marine uses is that they have a hydrophobic/aquaphobic material on the outer lens surfaces.

Steiner-Auto-Focus Once set, the STEINER Auto-Focus always delivers crystal-clear images in 3D brilliance from 20m to infinity - without refocusing. Indeed at this extreme, I would found it to be about 1 meter, however, this can still be very useful if you sometimes need to focus on something fairly close by. In moderate and even fairly low light conditions I still thought these performed as well as I had hoped and it was only in very low light at sunset that the performance noticeably drops off if you compare them to a larger instrument like an 8x42 or 7x50 for examples. An integrated compass features bearing marks that don’t interfere with the field of view, and is stabilized to increase visibility during rolling seas. except for the fact that it is too narrow and thus the weight of the instrument is more concentrated and becomes a little uncomfortable.the Navigator's are nitrogen pressure-filled (anti-fog) and waterproof to 5m, making them reliable under the most adverse weather conditions. As with many of their other instruments these are also filled with nitrogen gas under pressure and are said by Steiner to prevent fogging up inside at temperature range of between -20°C to +60°C. If you need to, you can actually reduce the minimum focal distance a fairly long way by adjusting both of the diopters. Rather unfairly, they all get tarred with the same brush and I will admit to often stating in my reviews of binoculars using folding cups that I would have preferred to have had the twist-up type instead. I'm not sure if there were elements of "invisible sponsorship" or "stage/camera management" involved,but representatives from various branches of professional users,such as the military,hunting community and marine industry were interviewed, and Steiner binoculars were very well portrayed.

In addition to excellent image clarity, this navigator features an integrated large analog liquid-damped compass that can be illuminated to aid in course determination at sea.All is not lost however, as I know some have had good results with the higher end [read expensive] versions with the Hi-definition optics. For a start, you can instantly tell that it is well made using good quality materials and the stitching looks reasonably good and there is no doubt in my mind that it will be long-lasting. They also come with twist-up eyecups, allowing you to leave your glasses on while you look through the eyepieces, as well as a dioptre compensation ring, which you can use to compensate for differences in vision between your left and right eye and obtain a razor-sharp image. In addition to the excellent image quality, this binocular offers a large analogue and fluid-damped compass, which can be illuminated and make it easier to determine the direction at sea.