A Work Commenced June 25 2024

Product: Cannon Powershot Zoom

Country of Manufacture: Japan

Specifications:

• 12MP 1/3rd inch sensor
• 1080 30p video
• 0.39 dot EVF
• 60fps when viewing through the viewfinder
• Autofocus
• Face tracking
• Optical image stabilisation
• Wifi & Bluetooth compatible
• 100-400mm f5.6-6.3 optical zoom and 800mm digital zoom. No shooting in between the focal lengths
• Magnification Equivalent: 100mm@1.2x, 400mm@ 4.8x & 800mm@ 9.6x
• ISO 100 to 3200
• No manual controls
• ~1 hour and 20 mins of battery life
• Microphone included
• MicroSD: Comes with SD card
• 10fps
• USB C charging
• Not waterproof
• Weight: 144g
• Price: £230.00

As you may have gathered, I’m not a big fan of optoelectronic devices, especially when it comes to combining circuitry with sports optics. I’ve always felt that using IS binoculars was more like looking through a camcorder more than anything else. I also don’t like having to rely on battery operated devices in the field. I’m just happy with robust, reliable optics that respond to human muscle power. Having said that I’ve been testing the new Canon Powershot Zoom monocular extensively for over a month now, and I must admit to liking it an awful lot despite its significant limitations. 

This nifty little device tips the scales at just 144g,  yet is packed full of great features. Let’s take a look ‘round the device.

The Canon Powershot Zoom is dead easy to operate. Up on top of the device you have the on/off button. The menu button allows you to set the time and date so you can record when an image was taken. And just like a basic digital camera you can adjust exposure by +\- 3 stops depending on your ambient light conditions. The zoom button cycles through three fixed settings: 100mm, 400mm and a 2x digital zoom yielding 800mm. These correspond to real magnifications of  1.2x, 4.6x and 9.2x, respectively.

The underside of the device has buttons for taking individual photos, and a video record function(1080/30p) The raised white stalk can be rotated clockwise or anticlockwise to focus sharply on the screen. 

The Canon Powershot Zoom has built-in stabilisation shooting with a maximum aperture between F/5.6 and 6.3. The view finder contains a 2.3 million dot electronic screen for clear and bright framing of images. At its heart is a 12.1MP CMOS sensor. 

The internal optics and the optically flat viewfinder appear to be multicoated judging by the reflected colours from the front and back of the device. 

You can connect the monocular to your smartphone via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, allowing you to transfer and share your photos and videos wirelessly. It also enables remote shooting and control from your mobile device. The Canon Powershot Zoom is powered by an internal lithium ion battery charged using a supplied USC cable. The package also includes an SD card to store your images and video footage.

Demonstrating the Zoom Capability

The following three images show the same target at 100mm, 400mm and 800mm:

Examples of its Imaging Capability

What follows here is a small sample of handheld images I shot using the Canon Powershot Zoom using the 800mm digital zoom setting unless otherwise stated. The device only generates jpeg images and so are inferior to a regular digital camera generating RAW images. The reader will note that only very basic image processing was performed on all of these images.

Notes from the Field

The Canon Powershot Zoom can capture about 150 shots or 60 minutes of video from a full charge of the lithium ion battery. Charging takes about 40 minutes. Closest focus is a decent 1m at the 100mm setting but extends to about 4.5m at the 400mm setting and above. Using the device is very easy and intuitive. Simply turn it on, look through the viewfinder, frame your photo, and press the photo button half way down to focus. Pushing the button all the way down captures the picture. 

The Canon Powershot Zoom tends to over-expose targets in bright sunlight so it pays to adjust the exposure compensation function to get the right level of brightness. Similarly, during dull evening conditions it pays to over expose by half or one full stop to get the best results. 

The device does not work well in dim light. 

Like any regular digital camera, you can review the images or video recordings while in the field to ensure you’ve captured the right shots on a given target. Alternatively, you can download the images onto your smartphone via bluetooth. 

Since acquiring the Canon Powershot Zoom, it’s been my constant companion in the field. And while it can be used as a stand-alone monocular, the images you see are a lot dimmer than what you see through your binocular. As previously stated, the device will not give you the image quality of a good digital camera equipped with a long lens, but for me that’s superfluous. I use it to catalogue some of the more interesting targets I encounter during a glassing session. I have also tried using the Powershot Zoom as a digi-scoping device using the 100mm setting, where it’s very easy to hold it up to the binocular eyepiece for superior images. Its inbuilt stabilisation technology and handy size makes it much easier to do compared with simply using your smartphone camera.

In summary, as long as you’re aware of the limitations of the device, you can use this little instrument to greatly enhance your birding experiences. It will not replace your binocular but will enable you to capture visual memories of your experiences which you can enjoy at any time. 

Highly recommended!

If you like my work, please support me by buying a copy of my new book on binoculars. Thanks for reading!

De Fideli.

A Work Commenced December 10 2021

 

Product Names: Barr & Stroud Sprite Midi 8 x 42/ Plus 15 x 50

Country of Manufacture: China

Eye Relief: 5.25mm(8×42)/ 3.33mm(15×50)

Field of View: 129m@1000m(8 x 42)/ 66m@1000m(15 x 50)

Eye Relief: 17.5mm(8 x 42)/ 11mm(15 x 50)

Coatings: Fully Multicoated, silvered and phase corrected Bak4 prisms(8 x 42 Midi non phase coated)

Chassis Material: Rubber Armoured Polycarbonate

Waterproof: Yes (1.5m for 3 minutes)

Nitrogen Purged: Yes

Close Focus: 3m(8 x 42)/2.5m(15×50) advertised, 2.9 and 2.2 m measured, respectively

Tripod Mountable: Yes

Weight: 339g(8 x 42)/ 448g(15 x 50)

Dimensions: 139x80x55mm(8 x 42)/165X80X62mm(15 x 50)

Accessories: Soft padded carry case, lens cleaning cloth, carry strap, warranty card & instruction sheet, tethered rubber objective and ocular caps

Warranty: 10 Years

Retail Price(UK): £59.95(8x 42)/ £74.95(15 x 50)

 

In several previous reviews, I’ve showcased a few binoculars made by Barr & Stroud. As I explained before, I cut my first binocular teeth with a modern roof prism binocular by Barr & Stroud just over three years ago, and have always been impressed by their excellent bang for buck. Unlike so many other instruments in the same price range, which showed mis-collimated barrels, too much field curvature, chromatic aberration and sub-standard ergonomics, Barr & Stroud products punched well above their weight in terms both of the quality of the optics they presented and the rugged no-nonsense chassis in which those optics were housed. In this review, I’ll be discussing the optical and ergonomic features of two nifty monoculars from the same company; the Sprite Midi 8 x 42, and the higher power Sprite Plus 15 x 50. But before we get to those details, let’s take some time to go over the reasons why a monocular might suit an individual more than a binocular.

A monocular is, quite simply, half a binocular. Thus, it uses one eye rather than two. Some people have natural deficiencies in one eye, such as severe astigmatism for example, that results in their inability to properly adjust the dioptre setting on a regular binocular leading to a blurred image. Others have one eye damaged in some way and so can’t avail of the natural advantages of using both eyes. Some folk like to use monoculars because they are smaller and lighter than the equivalent binocular and this may prove to be very important if space and weight constraints are very tight. Monoculars are now available in many sizes and magnifications. Low power monoculars have magnification ranges similar to that found in modern compact and full-sized binoculars, but higher powered units function more like mini-spotting scopes, enabling the user to lock in on small targets beyond the range of binoculars or seeing details quite invisible to conventional, hand-held binoculars. Yet another advantage of a monocular is cost; it’s just cheaper to use a monocular than a binocular of the same aperture.

What does one lose in going from a binocular to a monocular? Well, a few things actually. Depth perception for one thing, as our eyes were designed in such a way that they both create the sensation of focus depth, allowing us to gain a sense of the 3-dimensional shape of objects and how far away they are. Many observers enjoy up to a 40 per cent gain in contrast using binoculars compared with the same sized monocular. The reasons for this are not entirely understood but suffice it to say that using two eyes increases the signal to noise  ratio in the electrical impulses that are created in viewing an object. Many observers also report that monoculars are harder to hold steady than binoculars of the same aperture. Despite these drawbacks, most of the main binocular manufacturers also produce monoculars, and Barr & Stroud is no exception.

                                First Impressions & Ergonomics

Both the Barr & Stroud monoculars have a polycarbonate chassis overlaid by a grippy, green rubber armouring. The polycarbonate body cuts down on weight and is perfectly adequate for most observing schedules. Both instruments fit very easily in the palm of your hand. They are both very lightweight; the 8 x 42mm weighing at 350g and the 15 x 50mm just 100g more. In this capacity, both the Sprite Midi 8x 42 and Plus are no heavier than the average compact binocular. Both instruments come with a rubberised rain guard and a tethered objective cover, which means you’ll never lose it in the field.

In a previous blog, I commented on my great fondness for the quality of the focusers on a number of Barr & Stroud binoculars. And these binoculars are no exception. Both instruments have silky smooth focus wheels, which are large and easy to negotiate with just one finger.  They do however have slightly different textures; I found that I preferred the less expensive Midi Sprite focus wheel over the larger 15 x 50 Sprite Plus. It was just slightly easier to grip and engage with throughout its travel.

Both monoculars are equipped with pull-up eyecups that lock rigidly in place. The smaller 8 x 42 Sprite Midi has very generous eye relief. I was easily able to observe the full field with my eye glasses on. The larger Sprite Plus however, has considerably less eye relief, but if push came to shove, I was just able to engage with the full field but it was certainly challenging!

Both Barr & Stroud monoculars come with a screw thread which enables you to mate it to a tripod or monopod for extra visual stability.

Both monoculars come with a padded case and a carry strap that you can easily affix to the instrument.

Optics

Both Barr & Stroud monoculars feature fully multicoated optics and BaK4 Schmidt Pechan roof prisms. The less expansive Sprite Midi 8x 42 is not phase coated however, unlike the higher power 15 x 50 Sprite Plus. The Sprite Midi 8 x 42 appears to have the same specifications as the 8 x 42 Sahara binocular with a field of view of 129m@1000m or 7.35 angular degrees but has a noticeably longer close focus at 2.59m(as opposed to just 1.98m for the Sahara binocular). Intriguingly, the Sprite Plus 15 x 50 monocular has a significantly better close focus of just 2.2 metres, which is also considerably less than the 2.5m advertised.

Looking at the exit pupil of both monoculars showed a significantly better result for the larger Sprite Plus 15 x 50. Although both presented with nice round pupils, the 8 x 42 Midi had more stray light close to the pupil, as the images below show.

These results were also somewhat reproduced in my tests for internal reflections, by directing a bright beam of my IPhone 7 torch into the monoculars from across a room and inspecting the images visually. The Midi 8 x 42 did show significantly more internal reflections and diffused light around the beam than the larger 15 x 50 Plus unit. That said, these stray light artefacts were not terribly injurious to the image and both gave passable results when directed at a sodium street light after dark, and also on a bright Moon.

The daylight images served up by the 8 x 42 Midi monocular are bright and sharp. Contrast is good and chromatic aberration is very well controlled, with only the outer part of the field showing a trace. The 8 x 42 has a large sweet spot covering perhaps 60 per cent of the field but beyond that astigmatism and pincushion distortion increase gradually towards the field stop. I was also able to confirm these findings under the stars.

I judged the larger Sprite Plus 15 x 50 to be better optically than the smaller 8 x 42. Despite its higher power, the images it served up had higher contrast than the latter, a consequence I suppose of its phase corrected roof prisms. The field of view was flatter and better corrected in the 15 x 50 too. Star testing showed that most of its 3.78 degree true field was very well corrected, with only the outer 15 per cent showing significant distortion. Chromatic aberration was more conspicuous but never to an unacceptable degree. High contrast objects against a bright over cast sky background does show some but that’s just par for the course and most folk can easily ignore it and just get on with observing.

I found the 15 x 50 unit more versatile than the 8 x 42. With its substantial magnification, I enjoyed employing it as a mini spotting scope, either mounted on a monopod or simply by finding a suitable branch or fence post to rest it on. If you’re observing from a car, a small beanbag also works wonders stabilising the view. The 15x is just right for bridging the gap between a standard binocular view and a larger spotting scope. For example, I was able to make out nice, high-resolution details on a Grey Heron that were quite invisible in 8x and 10x binoculars. The 15 x 50 is a nifty instrument for studying the phases of the Moon; all the way from slender crescent to full on full Moon. Crater fields and maria show up sharply and in very high contrast; a true refractor image. The Plus proved to be a rather good, low-power, rich field telescope too, delivering up very impressive views of larger deep sky objects such as the Pleiades, the Beehive Cluster, the Andromeda Galaxy and the Double Cluster.  Views of the Sword Handle of Orion also proved very compelling through the Spite Plus.

In addition to its higher magnification, the better close focus on the Sprite Plus 15 x 50 made it a rather good, long distance microscope, affording crystal clear views of leaf litter, bark, rock formations, fungi and tree branches. Indeed, if coupled to a digi-scoping adapter, it works well as an ultraportable telephoto lens.

In summary, both the Sprite Midi 8 x 42 and Plus 15 x 50 represent excellent value for money. They are well made, small, lightweight, easy to use, weather resistant and serve up very decent optics for their modest price tags.  If your outdoor activities are in need of a magnification boost, give one of these monoculars a try. You won’t be left second guessing!

 

 

Neil English is the author of seven books on amateur and professional astronomy, including Choosing and Using a Refracting Telescope.

 

De Fideli.