Minoscope MS Scope, 8x25mm, Black

After so much searching online I'm glad I found this Minox MS Scope. Its exactly what I wanted for both viewing the beautiful field behind my house, and for easily carrying while traveling. I also like that they work with my glasses and for others who don't wear glasses. They adjust easily. I was having trouble with heavier binocs shaking in my hands, but this mono is quite stable. Not complicated, easy to use, give me both the detail from 300 yes away and up really close so I can see the hummingbirds at the feeder just outside my window. They seem very well made. The only negative tis that they didn't include or offer a carry-pouch for these. Im having to use an old camera pouch which works, but it would have been really classy for them to provide one made exactly for this.

Very nice, high quality optic. Takes a bit of getting use to because it's so compact. As others have stated, the pouch is too small, but that's a very minor issue. Clear resolution and sharp focus. Retractable eye-cup works well with glasses or without. Extremely pleased with the unit.

I also own the much larger Brunton 7x40 macro scope. The Minox scope is much nicer with more powerful and closer focus capabilities in a much smaller pocketable (barely) size. The optics of the Minox are very good giving a bright, clear image. The screw out eye cup also works perfect. Below the eyepiece is a spot to attach the included neck lanyard which works fine. The tripod mount socket is also a nice addition to allow use with a table top tripod. This is a really nice take anywhere scope to check out birds, insects or tiny print.At closest focus, the field of view is 3cm or 1 3/16" at 8x magnification. You can see details invisible to your eye. You do need to brace it or use tripod for very close focus to minimize shake when using it like this, but it does give you a very nice little portable macroscope for field use.When you buy this, just accept that you are paying for the monoscope and assume the padded carry bag it comes with is useless, which it basically is. It is too small to easily get the monoscope in and out, and the cinch cord on top leaves a small hole exposing the eyepiece to dust, dirt and rain. The pouch also has no belt lops or any other way to carry it except for the mini carabiner to attach it to a belt which is just stupid. The Minox also lacks any covers for the eyepiece or the objective lens. I wish they included nice plastic lens covers instead of the flimsy bag it comes with.The best option I have found for a case is the $11 Lowepro Dashpoint 10. The Minox just fits without any extra room to make a nice compact package. This is a great case with all sorts of attachment or carry options. The optics are much nicer than the cheap roof prism monoscopes that I have tried. The Porro prism design gets you better optics at a cheaper price than comparable roof prism optics. Overall, optically, it is a great monoscope but it comes without lens caps or a usable carry bag.

This review will compare the following 3 8x monoculars. These are:1) Opticron Galleryscope 8x20. $1252) Opticron Trailfinder II 8x25. $603) Minox macroscope 8x25. $160In a few words, #2 (Opticron Trailfinder II 8x25) was the clear winner for me. Before I go into details as to why, two important facts about me and the intended usage for the monocular.- I wear glasses, so good eye relief is very important- I primarily will use the monocular when hiking, to observe far away things (meaning focus will nearly always be constantly set at infinity)1) Opticron Galleryscope 8x20pros* all metal body, well made (in Japan). Nice, compact case.* can focus close (1 foot)* compact body* easy focuscons* very short eye relief. That translates into an image much smaller and darker than other 2 models. Main reason why I returned it. Though I did not test it as such, situation may be much better if you don't wear glasses.* eyecup is of the folding rubber kind. If one has to switch between someone wearing glasses, and someone who does not, this is much less convenient than a twist-up/down variety.2) Opticron Trailfinder II 8x25pros* largest picture of all. Tie for brightest with the Minox.* eyecup is the twist up/down variety. Convenient.* compact (though less so than the 8x20 one), rubber-armored body.* best value of all. Which includes the price, but also the largest offering (belt pouch, 3 lens covers, laniard)cons* only one, but it is a big one and could be totally off putting for some users. Focus mecanism is hard to operate, with the adjustment lever always being in a "stuck" mode initially. But fear not, when unstuck, then it operates easily. But that stickiness creates a delay in focusing, meaning you might miss a quick moving subject. For me that was not a problem, because it will alaways be set to infinity, but if you want to quickly alternate between subjects at different distances, do not pick this model.3) Minox macroscope 8x25pros* good, bright image (though eye relief a tad worse than the 2nd Opticron)* somewhat chunky body enables good handling* easy focus mecanism* close focus (down to a feet)cons* bulkiest of all. I was looking into something to carry in a regular (non-cargo) pants pocket and it gets tight. A belt pouch is provided, but it feels a bit akward, dangling there.* priciest of all.Finally, if I was going to be a heavy monocular user, I would gotten the Leica one that will get everything right. But the $500 price made it a non-entry vs. the second Opticron ($60) for me, as I will use the monocular very unfrequently.

Bought for the macroscopic vision, and found it better than expected!I observe coffee beans as they tumble in the roaster and can more accuratelysee the texture and color of the beans. Naturally it has a narrow depth of field and it is necessary to brace oneself to keep things in focus, though it's easy to get the hang of it..I will never roast again without it.The image is sharp, though good lighting is necessary. I use a flashlight in conjunctionwith it.Telescope mode is no Leitz, I'd judge it fair to good. It's usable.

Me ha sorpredido para bién.

Ich brauche ein möglichst kleines, kompaktes und auch leichtes Teleskop für längere Wanderungen und auch Trekkingtouren. Da will man ja nicht ständig ein kg schweres Glas am Hals haben. Aber es soll schon eine recht ordentliche Optik bieten und nicht das Gefühl vermitteln, man schaut durch den Hals einer leeren Cola Flasche. Deshalb jetzt etwas mehr zu den optischen Qualitäten, denn die exakten Maße und Gewichte stehen ja in der Produktbeschreibung. Also, zunächst zu den drei klassischen Abbildungsfehlern, die JEDES optische Instrument mehr oder weniger stark aufweist ...Randunschärfe: In der Mitte ist das gelieferte Bild gestochen scharf, fällt am Rand allerdings in der Schärfe sichtbar ab. Es ist aber nicht dramatisch. Der scharfe Bereich in der Mitte ist so groß, dass das nicht wirklich stört. Dennoch muss ich sagen, dass die Randunschärfe im Fernbereich(!) die größte Schwäche des Geräts ist.Verzeichnung: Eine leichte kissenförmige Verzeichnung ist zu beobachten … aber wirklich nur am Rand etwas deutlicher. Insgesamt wirkt das Bild plan.Chromatische Aberration: Die CA ist im allgemeinen praktisch NICHT sichtbar. Lediglich bei den typischen Extremsituationen (Klassiker: Antennenmast vor hellem Himmel) kann man ganz am Rand einen ganz schmalen dunkelvioletten Saum beim Kontrastwechsel erkennen. Wirklich hervorragend!Insgesamt ist das Bild klar, kontrastreich und überraschend hell. Das Sichtfeld ist groß (kein Blick durch die Klopapierrolle!) Im Vergleich mit meinem alten 8x30 Binokular (mehr als dreimal so schwer!) schneidet das Minox in allen Disziplinen deutlich besser ab. Was sonst noch auffällt: Die optische Qualität ist im Nahbereich noch mal besser als im Fernbereich … um nicht zu sagen: exzellent! Daran merkt man wohl, dass das Instrument wohl als "Makroskop" entworfen wurde. Das tut dem Einsatz als kleines Fernglas auf Wanderungen allerdings keinen Abbruch. Auch da ist es immer noch recht gut. Wer es deutlich besser haben will, muss dann halt zu Leitz oder Zeiss greifen. Das heißt dann aber auch: dreifacher Preis! Da muss man bei der Beurteilung schon fair bleiben.Makroskop: Was das kleine Ding da an Bildern liefert, ist wirklich atemberaubend! Meine Freundin ist "Blumen und Insektenfreundin", und bei den ersten Versuchen hörte man nur noch "Ahs" und "Ohs" von ihr (ganz ohne mein Zutun!).Fazit: Die Kombination aus Teleskop und Makroskop bei guten bis sehr guten optischen Leistungen macht dieses Gerät wohl einzigartig. Es ist so klein und leicht, dass es bei Wanderungen bequem in der Hemdtasche getragen werden kann. Das perfekte "immer dabei" Instrument, das man jederzeit auch mal fix zücken kann, um sich schnell einen Vogel, eine Eidechse oder auch die Landschaft näher anzuschauen. Es wird künftig auf allen Touren mein ständiger Begleiter sein.P.S.: Ja, die Tragetasche ist etwas zu klein; das wurde ja hier schon oft moniert. Das ist zwar doof, will ich aber dem Instrument nicht anlasten. Außerdem stört es mich nicht sooo sehr. Daher … von mir volle Punktzahl!

Le monoculaire est de très bonne qualité, il y a surtout et ce n'est mentionné nul part, un filetage pour trépied.Le plus produit pour la vue qui baisse ou observation des bebettes de près, c'est la fonction macro.

Strumento ottico di alta qualità, con definizione e contrasto impeccabili per il prezzo. Trattandosi di un monoculare, peso e ingombro sono ridotti di oltre il 50% rispetto ad un binocolo con lo stesso ingrandimento, rendendolo tascabile. Inoltre è impermeabile all'acqua e senza condensa interna. Quindi la scelta ottimale per un alpinista, un escursionista o un naturalista.Ma la caratteristica che lo rende unico in questa categoria riguarda la possibilità di mettere a fuoco da una distanza minima di 30 cm all'infinito.Questo permette di osservare quanto interessa, mantenendo sempre un ingrandimento di 8 volte, indipendentemente dalla distanza reale: per esempio, si può passare da un fiore in primissimo piano all'albero sullo sfondo senza alcuna difficoltà. Io utilizzo il Minox anche come una lente d'ingrandimento 8x esaminando un insetto o un minerale da molto vicino.Naturalmente, l'aspetto critico della messa a fuoco con una tale estensione (30 cm- infinito) riguarda una profondità di campo limitata: in altri termini, ogni volta che la distanza dell'oggetto osservato cambia, occorre modificare la focalizzazione (tramite rotazione dell'anello frontale, sensibile e morbido alla regolazione). Inoltre, questa caratteristica ottica rende meno facile seguire un soggetto in rapido movimento, specie in condizioni di luce non ottimali.In conclusione, questo monoculare macro è la scelta perfetta per chi vuole osservare bene da molto lontano e da molto vicino con un solo strumento ottico. Ma la necessità di regolare in continuo la messa a fuoco non rende questo monoculare adatto ai principianti e neppure alla osservazione di soggetti in movimento. In queste situazioni, meglio dotarsi di un normale binocolo ... anche a costo di rinunciare alle straordinarie caratteristiche di questo Minox.

A qualidade de construção é boa.A qualidade óptica e luminosidade são boas, para as dimensões da objectiva.As dimensões do monóculo são muito pequenas, o que dificulta, a visualização, a estabilidade e a regulação do foco, tornando difícil a obtenção de uma boa imagem.A bolsa de transporte é muito pequena e não permite proteger o monóculo na totalidade, agravado pela falta de proteção das lentes.Embora, no geral tenha boa qualidade, tendo em conta a relação com preço, não voltaria a comprar.