Gear
We test Kite’s APC Stabilized 12x42 binoculars
There are two models in Kite’s new APC Stabilized 42 range, a 12x42 and a 16x42. These are imagestabilised binoculars – loaded with electronics to reduce the shake. I was sent a 12x to review. This is more magnification than most birdwatchers would contemplate – largely because of the difficulty of holding it steady. But what if the stabilisation actually works...?
The basics
This binocular produces a very good (though narrow) image – brightness is good, and sharpness is good at distance, though didn’t seem quite so good close in; and there was a bit of edge-softness, but nothing distracting. Sometimes, there was some colour fringing, but again, it was not a big issue. Low light performance was good with some colour differentiation 12 minutes after sunset on a reasonably bright day. Close-focus is quoted ( pretty accurately) as four metres.
The dioptre ring stayed in position when adjusted and the eyecups (click-stopped with two intermediate positions) stayed up. I did find the eyepieces steamed up a bit, sometimes – letting a bit of air in helps them clear.
It works
The point of this binocular is a stable, relatively high magnification view. The image-stabilisation (IS) works. Sometimes the image wobbles initially and then settles, but the IS makes a big difference. A number plate at 200 metres was much easier to read with the IS on – it was barely possible with it off. The electronics don’t remove all traces of movement – but they make the view usable. I was impressed with what it does tracking a bird in flight – a view of a Great White Egret on the wing seemed particularly stable – it was perhaps even more impressive than the added stability given to birds on the ground. I tried the APC in a slow moving car (imagine a safari experience) – it revealed more detail than a wide-angle 8x (with no IS). I took it out in a canoe. When the canoe was more or less still the APC delivered a more stable view than the 8x. From a moving canoe the 12x view seemed about as stable as the 8x. But that’s not just comparing IS with non-IS – the IS bin has a substantially higher magnification and much narrower field of view. It has “military grade capacity”, providing a 2° correction angle, two or three times more correction than other consumer stabilised binoculars.
It’s different
This does not look or feel like a conventional binocular. It takes a bit of getting used to – including the two-finger wide forward positioned focusing wheel. Be gentle with the focusing – I sometimes found myself ‘hunting’ to achieve the very best focus. The wheel moves very smoothly with moderate resistance, through about one revolution, anticlockwise towards the horizon. In normal birding you won’t be moving it more than a quarter to half a turn.
This binocular takes batteries! There are two battery chambers – one beside each objective lens. Each holds two AA cells. One side provides the power, the other holds a spare set. One set provides 60 hours of use – quite a lot of birding. The stabilisation is switched on by turning an 18mm diameter wheel on the front of the
binoculars. binocular When you’re out in the field, switch it on and leave it on. APC is “angle power control”. When the binoculars are vertical they go to sleep. Lift them to your eyes and they wake up. That saves a lot of power. A green light tells you they’re awake. It flashes red when they’re dozing. I did sometimes see it briefly green when they really should have been resting! Remarkably, even with all the electronics, without the batteries this binocular only weighs 720g.
The blurb says it is one of the lightest 42mm stabilised binoculars ever. Its build quality seemed very good; it is waterproof (including the electronics) and nitrogen-filled.
Not so good
At 67m@1,000m the field of view is narrow. Mostly though, I had no problem getting ‘the bins on the bird’. I’ve been using binoculars for decades, however – someone with less experience may find this trickier.
So…
This binocular gives you handheld 12x detail you can actually use. If you have a tremor, spend a lot of your time birding on boats, from moving vehicles, in a howling gale or watching birds in flight, or if you simply wanta hand-held higher magnification, then check out this Kite APC stabilized binocular.