MINOX BN 7x50 DCM Binoculars white with multifunction digital compass

Having spent weeks and months trawling the internet, checking forums, and watching videos on YouTube, I finally took the plunge, and splashed out on these very binoculars. And I’m superglad I did!The box includes: the binos. Front and rear lens caps. Replacement fold-back eyecups. TWO batteries, one to use, one as a spare. A soft case. A soft (non-floating) strap. Instructions.Two things photos can’t show you here, are the weight, or ‘heft’ of the binoculars. And the general feel of build and materials quality. They are not lightweight, but nor are they heavy. They are perfectly balanced in the hands. They feel so smooth, solid, and well engineered. Very ‘German’. For example, bending the binoculars to fit your eye distance, the central hinge feels stiff, strong, and perfectly engineered. You could doubtless adjust these babies night and day for a hundred years, and they would still feel as good as they do now.The rubber armouring is soft, yet strong. The finish blemish-less, and grippy.The features offered are quite mind boggling. I doubt I’ll need many of them, although the temperature and barometric pressure might come in useful. The timer (stopwatch with lap memory) function is a fun addition, but I’m not short of clocks and timing devices on my boat already.The compass function is the feature I bought these binoculars for. Taking bearings, and recording them for transfer onto a chart, is a piece of cake. (Mmmm.... cake!). It’s just a case of point and press. Then you have the luxury of going below and transferring the bearings you’ve taken to your chart, without having to scribble stuff down. I’ve tested the accuracy of the compass against bearings taken on gps based devices, and it is spot on. As one would expect, for safe navigation.But all this would be irrelevant, if the optics were not up to par. But I can assure you they are truly breathtaking. My old binos are a pair of Cold War era West German 7x50s. Until now, I thought them extremely good, optically. But these Minox lenses blow them away. The clarity is pin-sharp, all the way to the very edge of the field of view. The colour rendition is spot on. There’s not even a hint of prismatic rainbowing. And somehow these lenses seem to pull in light in such a way that brightens images even in very low light situations. Not just at dusk and dawn, but when looking into shaded areas, such as under bridges.Optically, these bad boys are easily as good as any of the premium German or Japanese brands. They look good, and feel good in the hands. And considering that you’d have to spend well over a thousand pounds to get a pair of Steiner binoculars with a digital compass, rather than the troublesome analogue jobbies, these are a steal. PLUS I got mine on 5 months interest free credit from Amazon...... I’m chuffed to bits!Now all I have to do, is avoid dropping them overboard........

Wow! It does help of course if I had ordered the correct model the first time. There are two models in this range, the 7x50 DC and the 7x50DCM. The DCM is the better and more expensive model and has extra features over the DC version, such as:-● Barometer with history function (previous 8 hours) (DCM only)● Thermometer with history function (previous 8 hours) (DCM only)● Digital altimeter displays the current altitude above sea level (DCM only)● Digital stopwatch and clock (DCM only)Obviously the DCM version also has the digital compass and the tilt function as well.These binoculars are designed as marine binoculars and are fixed focus from about 12m to infinity.Each eye has its own objective diopter adjustment. The image is very bright, super sharp and large. It comes with two CR2 batteries but uses just one, so it starts with a spare which is great. For folks who wear glasses, Minox has two methods to change the length of the binoculars from your eyes. Fitted as standard are twistable eye cups, which change the barrel length when turned. Alternatively, also in the box are foldable rubber cups, which can be unfolded to give increased length.Apparently these are waterproof to 5m and if you register them on day of purchase with Minox, you get a 30 year warranty. No, you didn't misread that!

This is generally a very good product - great optics, good to hold, look great. However the compass on mine has konked out, the white “armoring” has developed some weird blue marks, and the left lens has a bit of mould in one of the inner optics (due to the fact that the glasses live on my sailboat!). You would think all should be easily fixable with some replacement parts and some servicing. However upon emailing the company in Germany I’m told nothing can be done. No repairs, no parts and no service whatsoever. Not even a referral to a loca servicing agent. Shocking.For a rather expensive pair of binocs this is surely completely unacceptable. Last product from Minox I’ll be buying. Clearly a company that doesn’t stand by its products or customers. Terrible!!!!

I bought these to replace my older Fujinon 7x50 binos with built in analgue compass. Although I have not tried them on my boat yet. I have viewed the LED digital compass and borometric pressure etc. Having a digital display is certainly an improvement. The 3volt battery to power the display is larger than the two button batteries in my Fujinon binos which tended to have to be replaced at least once per season. The current drain should be less. Th eprice compared to the Steiner equivalent is quite a lot less. I am very pleased with them so far.I think maybe the addition of a flotation strap to assist floating if they fall overboard would be a good idea!!

These are expensive binoculars. However, they are great quality - Minox has an excellent reputation for its optics, and using these one can see why.For boat use, 7x50 is the optimum spec - not too much magnification, and a wide field of view. They are superbly bright, even at dusk - and the built in compass and rangefinder make taking bearings a breeze. The 3 - memory function is excellent too - no need to scribble down triangulation bearings!And I am assured that they float when the strap is fitted. I have not tried this, but can attest to their waterproofing, having used them in some torrential downpours off Scotland!If you can afford them, buy them.

Easy to set up and use, very bright crystal clear image, nearly bought £1200.00 Canon, so glad I didn’t.Go to Minox website and have a look at the video.

These binoculars are amazing. The clarity and stability are great, along with the navigation functions

The best pair of marine Binoculars I have ever handled in 50 years