Minox vs Pentax

[TWB]

So after years of borrowing dad's I'm fixin to pull the trigger on a new pair of bino's and I have a range of $600. After fondling the Minox 10x43's I think I found the pair I want, but I also read very good reviews on the Pentax.

So my question is how do Pentax compare to Minox? Specifically the DCF SP's 10x43 and Minox HG's 10x43. I honestly haven't had my hands on the Pentax but I know some folks here have rave reviews so I would throw them on the plate for comparison.

Warranty is also part of the consideration.

 

[Snyd]

Can't say about the Minox but I have had the PENTAX DCF SP 10x43's since they first came out. Nice glass. I have compared them to Zeiss Classic 10x40's. They are in the same class as far as my eyes are concerned.

 

[Alaska_Lanche]

I am just the opposite as Snyd. I have the Minox 10X43 HGs but no experience with the Pentax. I bought the Minox for my wife. I have Swarovski SLC 10X42s for myself and honestly can not see the difference between her glass and mine. The main difference between her binocs and mine is weight. Hers are quite a bit lighter. 12 oz to be exact!!! I that said even though they are lighter I do give up a little bit in clairity simple due to the fact that they are so much lighter than my swarovskis that I can't quite hold them as steady. Best to find a place that carries both. Good luck and I hope I was able to help more than further confusion the situation.

 

[AlaskaCub]

I have owned both the Minox HG's and the Pentax SP's (and currently own the Pentax ED's). The Minox HG's have better glass than the regular SP's do, no questions asked, they are much brighter and crisper. The only thing I didn't like about the Minox was the construction. The rubber around the objectives started to want to fold back off the actual housing, and they felt a bit fragile to me. The Pentax are very durable and well built though inferior in glas quality. I snagged up a pair of 8x43 Pentax ED's in 8x43 from Doug for $600, and they are really nice, but those demos didn't last long. I think for the money the Minox HG's are really pretty hard to beat, especially if you go with Demos from Doug, but I'd never pay Sportsmans Warehouse prices for em.

 

[hunt_ak]

Minox HG 10x43 BR ASPH vs Pentax 10x43 DCF ED <--(LINKS)

It appears to me that these binos are very similar. They even look sorta the same. In this case, I've never looked through the Pentax but I have looked through this same pair of Minox and was very impressed. You probably cannot go wrong either way. The difference here is price. They are roughly the same price as far as MSRP goes, but now we are talking a sample unit price of $950 for the Pentax and a demo overstock special price of $580 for the Minox. Hope that helps...

 

[Wyatt]

I looked at both before buying the Minox HG 10 x 43 at Camerland. I would give the nod to Minox in just about every catagory, but I did buy the Pentax as my spotter.

 

[LuJon]

Don't rule out the Vortex either. The Razor is some good glass.

 

[TWB]

I actually had a chance to try out all 3, Minox HG, Pentax SP and the Vortez Razors, I actually like the Razors but I do believe I will go with the Pentax when the time comes..ole lady put me on a spending freeze lol

 

[hntr]

Minox

Minox

I've owned the razors and the minox HG's and still have the HG's. They're lighter, more ergonomic, and you don't have to mess with adjusting the eyepieces every time you take them down from your eyes. Eyepieces on teh Razor's don't stay put.

 

[TWB]

I've owned the razors and the minox HG's and still have the HG's. They're lighter, more ergonomic, and you don't have to mess with adjusting the eyepieces every time you take them down from your eyes. Eyepieces on teh Razor's don't stay put.

Did you find the focus knob/eye focus itself flimsy on the Minox HG's?

 

[LuJon]

Did you find the focus knob/eye focus itself flimsy on the Minox HG's?

No problems there on mine. I have had zero problems with any function of my Minox Hg's

 

[pluggr]

Minox HG Focusing

Minox HG Focusing

Actually,besides the fantastic image they provide, I think that the design and quality of the focusing mechanism, are strong points of the HG's. Only one full turn and you go from close focus to infinity. Also, not a big deal to me, they are the first I believe, to have a graduated distance scale on the focus knob.

 

[LuJon]

yep I forgot about that they will work as a range finder out to 50 yds per spec. We keep talking about doing a test with a range finder to verify it with several users. The problem is every time I have both a range finder and my bino's out together I am too busy hunting!

 

[hntr]

focus knob

focus knob

They feel plenty sturdy to me, and like others have said you go from zero to infinity in one turn, unlike the razors.

 

[OATS]

Just came across this thread.....I own both the Pentax and the Minox HGs. I have replaced the Pentax with the HGs. I liked the HGs (10x43 from CameraLand $579) so much I bought a second pair for my wife. Nothing wrong with the Pentax, but the Minox are nicer in every way, IMO. Good luck.