Olympus Outback 8x21 RC1 Binoculars by Olympus
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Digital camera reviews of Olympus Outback 8x21 RC1 Binoculars
Digital camera Review: Fine Binoculars
Summary: 5 Stars
Light, compact, and easy to use, these binoculars are all I'll ever need. They were more highly rated by a leading consumer magazine than binoculars costing twice as much.
Digital camera Review: For Portrait Painter
Summary: 5 Stars
I got these to help me see detail in the model while portrait painting. I also considered butterfly-watching binoculars and opera glasses (La Scala Aida 3x25), but settled on these for the following reasons:
First, all the butterfly-watching binoculars that I could find reviews for were at least three times more expensive, out of my price range. They were also bigger and heavier.
Close focus distance on the Olympus is 7 feet. I'm usually sitting somewhere between 5 and 10 feet from the model. Opera glasses have a slight edge here with a larger field of view at the same distance, and a closer focusing distance of 6 feet. I noticed a little more distortion around the edges in the opera glasses.
The Olympus has rubberized eye cups, so they don't scratch my glasses. The eye cups extend for use without eyeglasses. The opera glasses had smooth polished metal eyepieces. They didn't scratch my glasses the few times I tried them, but they made me a little nervous.
The Olympus has an individual diopter adjustment: what this means is that you use the central focusing ring to adjust for your left eye, then use the right side focusing ring to fine tune for your right eye. After that, you can simply use the central focusing ring to adjust for viewing at different distances. This flexibility was great for me because I frequently take off and put on my glasses when painting very fine detail. The opera glasses only had the central focusing ring. (Another artist I know had opera glasses which could focus each eye individually, but she bought those years ago and couldn't recall the source.)
I have used these binoculars in an auditorium lit only by a high north-facing window, light enough to read but dim by photographic standards. The image in the binoculars seemed at least as bright as what I could see without them, but I didn't have a chance to compare the opera glasses in the same setting.
Given a choice, I would keep the opera glasses as a backup and for the larger field of view, but if I could only have one, especially because I wear eyeglasses, the Olympus 8x21 is the best compromise.
Digital camera Review: Good Binoculars
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought these to take on a recent trip to Costa Rica. The unit is compact and comes with a nice case. The optical quality is good and I am satisfied with this purchase. One of our Costa Rican guides told us how to hold your camera lens up to the ocular of the binocular to make a telephoto lens. This technique works pretty well with this nice little set of binoculars.Digital camera Review: Good at a reasonable cost
Summary: 4 Stars
These are very good for the money. They do not produce an extremely bright image compared to more expensive binocs, but they are better then the uber-cheap models ($13-$15) you can buy. The carrying cord is oddly arranged, but they are very light weight. If you are already hauling around a spotting scope and want a pair of binocs for on-the-fly viewing, these are quite acceptable. They would also work well in your carry-on if you are combining birding and business.Digital camera Review: Good for their size -- but they are quite small
Summary: 4 Stars
Buyer should realize that these are very small binoculars -- and because of this the viewing experience is much less enjoyable than a regular sized pair.
We have these among others on our window sill (both smaller ones like this as well as larger ones) for viewing scenery on the water. I almost never use the smaller ones because the larger ones give such a better view. For this reason, I would only recommend these if you are going to use them when traveling, etc...
But for their size, they compare very well with other small binoculars I've used.