Bushnell Elite E2 7 x 26 Custom Compact Binocular

Bought these for a trip to Asia, for some casual birding in city parks. They worked great, offering sharp views with excellent contrast and comfortable eye relief. At 7x and with wide field they're good for sports, too. A little larger than roof prism compacts but you'd have to spend much more to get roofs of similar quality. Cheap roof prism binos (any roof that doesn't have "phase coating," and even some that claim they do) can't keep up optically with a good porro prism design. The extra weight compared to, say, 8x20 roofs is offset by a more secure grip offered by the larger body, and steadier views when in actual use. Also the 26mm objectives are noticeably brighter and allow for easier eye positioning than all the small roof binos I've tried. These are more similar in performance to good 8x32s than 8x20s. If you want to carry around a lightweight pair of binos constantly, consider lighter roof prism binos. If your compacts will stay mostly in the car or hotel room and only get carried around when you plan to actually use them, these are wonderful performers and great value.

Pros: Small enough to carry all the time, optically excellent, bright enough for any daylight use. Porro prism design = much less expensive than equivalent size roof prism binocs with the phase coating those need to equal porro prism contrast. Cons: like any center focus porro prism, not completely waterproof and less compact than roofs. The inverse design, with the objective lenses inside the eyepieces, helps, though. Eye relief is OK. My opinion: perfectly happy with these as all day, every day binoculars, assuming I won't be falling out of any canoes. Eye relief is very good. Like any small binocs, some practice is needed before you can use them effectively. If your activities require absolute water integrity or extra brightness for dawn and dusk, perhaps they're not for you. Edited 10/13/2014

Bought these as a gift. When I tried them out, I wished I had bought them for myself! I own a pair of Nikon 10x50's, a pair of top of the line West Marine 7x50's, and a pair of Pentax compact zoom binoculars. These little glasses are easily as bright and probably sharper than any of them. Despite the smaller lens. Excellent sharpness and clarity in all areas. Also, obviously well made from excellent materials. They are surprisingly hefty for their size. Backpackers obsessed with weight may want something lighter. But if excellent optics in a compact package are important to you, these are worth the weight! No pun intended! No wonder this particular model has been in production for 50 years and remains the hands down favorite of dedicated bird watchers all over the world. Expensive for compacts, but if you have never owned a pair of really good binoculars, you will not mind the price once you try them.

This pair of binoculars seem to be as good as hyped. Even as a beginner, I can see the quality of their construction, and appreciate the images they produce. The diameter of the eyecups seem to be on the small side however, at least that is my conclusion after I experienced my eyelashes stray across my vision when they are scrunched up inside the eyecups. That seems to be the only problem.

clear and bright, but Optic axis is abnormal, the images see by two eyes are not overlap. And two binoculars I buyed have the same problem.

Binoculars were out of alignment. Had to return. I have owned a couple of pairs of custom compacts and been very pleased with them in the past.

Wow! We now have three of these including two of the older models. This seems to even be better with the dial up eyecups than the older model. Compared this pair to our Minox 8 x 26 $125 pair and these 7 x 26 Elites shine in comparison. Crisp and clear and sharp from edge to edge very much like the expensive big models by Zeiss and Swarovski in clarity from edge to edge. Maybe one of the best ever pairs of binoculars. We are bird watchers and us our binos extensively and have owned 20 or 30 pairs over our lifetimes. These are so compact, medium weight (lightness is too often cheapness when you compare binos), easy to carry, with easy focusing. Hard to think anyone wouldn't like them. Spend the extra $100 over cheaper binos - they will last a lifetime.

Good, clear galss as expected for the price. The diopter adjustment moves to easy and I was constantly having to re-adjust. The eye pieces hit me wrong and after a while I experienced some eye fatigue. Generally, speaking a nice, light-weight travel pair of binoculars. No regrets.

Este es um prismatico absolutamente fabuloso. Calidad - precio sin igual. La otica és fantastica ... de una clareza e luminosidad tremenda. Tiengo alguns prismaticos Kowa.. Olivon... Nikon.. Steiner... etc... pero este és de otra liga. No será un Leica...o un zeiss pero por el precio son los mejores que vi e use... asi que se los encontras... compra! no te vas arrependir ni po un solo minuto.

great

This binocular is perfect to take on a sightseeing trip. You can hold it in one hand and adjust the focus very easily. The optical quality is first rate. In fact, it seems better than the optical quality of a much bigger binocular I bought of the same brand. We will be taking this one with us on all future trips and leaving the big one at home.

Ho numerosi binocoli, tra cui anche swarovski swarovision e leica ultravid 8x20. Nella mia borsa EDC questo ha preso il posto principale. Certo, non ha la stessa risoluzione e la stessa luminosità dei big e non è così tascabile come l'ultravid, ma se si vuole un compatto con le migliori prestazioni ottiche possibili e non si ha bisogno di metterlo nel taschino della camicia (e non piove), questo è il migliore.

Smart, bright and clear. I love it very much. It is easy to use. But I also found the cover of ocular is a little loose.