Fujinon Polaris 16x70 FMT Binocular

Let me put it this way: I have semi-dark suburban skies (Milky Way _just_ visible on the best nights), but under those conditions, these show a definite non-stellar object just where the Ring (M57) ought to be. Not bad for 16x! Difficult to hand-hold, like all giants (I recline on a lawn lounge, which helps). Someday, I ought to invest in one of those parallelogram mounts.

I purchased these 16x70 FMTs primarily for astronomy, but also for terrestrial & birding uses. I spent a fair amount of time weighing the cost, the quality, the size/weight, the magnification, objective, exit pupil, etc. From the specs and reviews, I figured these Fujinons were about perfect - and I was right! At just under 5lbs they are about my limit for hand hold-ability. Mil-spec: all metal barrels, waterproof & nitrogen-filled - so the build quality I wanted is there. At 16x70, the 4+mm exit pupil was important too. As expected, the optics dont disappoint, the views are great! Eye relief is OK as I wouldnt want less, and luckily I dont need more either. Some points: when stargazing it is often hard to tell exactly what I am seeing - because there are SO many more stars visible through the binoculars - it will take getting used to. Also, here is where any bit of arm support helps. They have a large depth of field when focused far away, so although the individual focus at times can be a little slow for wildlife, plenty of waaay distant subjects appear - and will appear just fine. The markings on the eyepice come in real handy for quicker focusing with a little thought and a bit of practice. While more mag/aperature would have been nice for stars, at 16x70 & still less then 5#s, I think any more power would be a tough trade against the convenience (added size & weight) and overall usefulness. Because they were a bit more money then similiar binoculars I started looking at, buying them took some effort. Now I know the money spent was WELL worth it - to get just what I had in mind & the quality I KNOW I wanted, these Fujis definitely fit the bill. A GREAT purchase. I ordered the tripod adapter too - will get used on my monopod and tripod eventually.

I purchased these 16x70 FMTs primarily for astronomy, but also for terrestrial & birding uses. I spent a fair amount of time weighing the cost, the quality, the size/weight, the magnification, objective, exit pupil, etc. From the specs and reviews, I figured these Fujinons were about perfect - and I was right! At just under 5lbs they are about my limit for hand hold-ability. Mil-spec: all metal barrels, waterproof & nitrogen-filled - so the build quality I wanted is there. At 16x70, the 4+mm exit pupil was important too. As expected, the optics dont disappoint, the views are great! Eye relief is OK as I wouldnt want less, and luckily I dont need more either. Some points: when stargazing it is often hard to tell exactly what I am seeing - because there are SO many more stars visible through the binoculars - it will take getting used to. Also, here is where any bit of arm support helps. They have a large depth of field when focused far away, so although the individual focus at times can be a little slow for wildlife, plenty of waaay distant subjects appear - and will appear just fine. The markings on the eyepice come in real handy for quicker focusing with a little thought and a bit of practice. While more mag/aperature would have been nice for stars, at 16x70 & still less then 5#s, I think any more power would be a tough trade against the convenience (added size & weight) and overall usefulness. Because they were a bit more money then similiar binoculars I started looking at, buying them took some effort. Now I know the money spent was WELL worth it - to get just what I had in mind & the quality I KNOW I wanted, these Fujis definitely fit the bill. A GREAT purchase. I ordered the tripod adapter too - will get used on my monopod and tripod eventually.

I prefer the better eye relief and lower magnification of the 10 X 70s. These binocs do have the incredible 60 degree plus AFOV but eye relief is a little limited. My pair showed a bit more CA than my 10x pair. A wonderful binocular nonetheless. Mechanically very well made.

I ordered a pair, but there was a black spec on one of the prizms. Anacortes Telescope kindly sent me a replacement pair but this one had a black spec inside one of the eye pieces. Both were sent back to factory. The factory determined that they were within the factory specifications. The third pair they sent me was exceptable. In addition to this pair, I own a pair of 7x50FMTRC-SX. On closer examiation of my 7x50, it also had a black spec on one of the internal glass surfaces. The 7x50 spec is not visible during normal usage. Both specs on the 15x70 would NOT be noticed by an Astronomy user. But if you are near sighted and looking for killer whales on a bright ocean these might not be the best binoculars for the job. Call sign: Porpoise I retired