Canon 12 x 36 IS II Binoculars mini test drive

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

I bought these for birding, but I've just come in from using these new binocs on the Moon and Jupiter. Maybe it's my incipient Parkinson's, but I have to say image stabilization makes these better than my traditional 10 x 50s. They easily allowed me to see three of Jupiter's moons tonight as a crisp trio of steady pinpricks of light, all in a row. And the planet was a stable round disc, not a roving blob. The moon really pops with crisp detail, too. The field is very flat in these binoculars, and meandering through clusters with IS turned on is a joy. Unfortunately I got clouded out before I could do a decent evaluation with M42 and the trap, but once again I was impressed by the pin point clarity of steady stars amid the gaseous nebula. All this with me standing up, too, so things would be even better if I were seated.

These binos are very light too (only 652g), so they're easy to handhold for a decent amount of time.

The eyecups are good when used, but with them folded down the eye relief is enough for me to use them with my glasses on, which is definitely a boon for me — I hate having to push up the specs and reacquire a target through binoculars.

The field of view is 5 degrees, which isn't as generous as some other IS binos. And the exit pupil is only 3 mm (which seems to be pretty standard on IS binoculars for some reason). And only the eye lenses come with caps, which seems a bit funny to me...

But I reckon anyone thinking of some binoculars for a combination of astro and daytime use should definitely check out (and maybe put on their Christmas wish list) a pair with built in image stabilization.

I have no affiliation, I promise. But I am becoming a bit of a Canon fanboy.

Cheers,

Brian.

[Larryp (Laurie)]

Thanks for the review, Brian. I have been thinking about buying one.

[dannat (Daniel)]

I won't be giving mine up, the IS is great for dbl stars also

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

Perhaps another reservation for some birders is the near focussing distance of 6 metres. Some others in the canon range, and some other brands, allow you to focus closer than that. I'll have to wait and see how much of a limitation that will be in the field. IS is meant to be very good if you're on a boat, too.

I find the IS very quick and quiet. (In fact I didn't notice the noise at all until someone pointed it out to me.) Some reviews claimed it takes a second for IS to kick in. This wasnt my experience.

Even my 18 year old son was impressed. Have you ever known an 18 year old to be impressed by anything? They're THAT good.

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

Originally Posted by Larryp

Thanks for the review, Brian. I have been thinking about buying one.

No worries, Laurie. I'll be interested to hear what you decide.

Originally Posted by dannat

I won't be giving mine up, the IS is great for dbl stars also

Good thinking, Daniel. What's the closest double you've managed to split?

[MikeyB (Michael)]

Originally Posted by Miaplacidus

And only the eye lenses come with caps, which seems a bit funny to me...

Brian.

Flip-up protectors for the objectives on telescopic gunsights are available that are a press-fit on to the 12x36 binocular barrels and do the job very nicely. I found a reference to the "Bushwackers" shown in the attached pics via the Canon binoculars sub-forum of the Equipment area at BirdForum and located a UK supplier on eBay. I think the price was less than $20 and they do a great job of shielding that vulnerable Canon glass.

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

Thanks, Michael. Sounds like a good solution.