Canon 18x50 Image Stabilization All-Weather Binoculars Review

Right out of the box, these binoculars, no doubt are one of the best pair of optics I have ever purchased. The Image Stabilization feature is what makes the bincoluars so attractive...and expensive.

They work great on the water or in situations that will reduce hand shakieness.

I own a pair of 10x30 Canon and wanted to upgrade having liked them.

With the 18x50 I got what I expected with the 10x30 model, but the weight of these bincolars is a bit of a draw back. At least they have a tripod hole for support if you need it.

The weight also creates another draw back.

**** Be aware, there appears to be a design flaw with the top eye peice portion. Due to the heavy weight of these 18 x 50 binoculars, one must be careful how you handle them.

These binoculars have a different method for their case carrying strap then the other Canon image stablization binoculars. Other models have a strap for the case and another neck strap for the binoculars themselves.

On the 18 x 50 model it uses the same neck strap, for both the bincoular and the case. Simply, the case has no strap and you place the binoculars in the case and pull neck strap out from the case, over the top case flap and use it as the case's carrying strap.

On first look, it seems like a better idea.

The neck strap attaches to the eye peice portion of the binoculars, while the other 'lighter' models have the neck strap attaching to the body itself. This causes the weight of the entire units to be supported on the eye piece portions.

Having only had these 18x50 IS binoculars less than three weeks from purchase, I pulled the binoculars out of the case when the top eye piece portion separated from the main body. This waswith little pressure and being careful everytime I handled them.

I figured it was a simple fix, perhaps snapping pieces back in place. This was not the case. On closer inspection the fastening screws, which held the eye piece portion to the main body, were still in tack, but the screw holes, which kept the main body to the eye peice in place, appeared not to be strong enough to handle extra pressure.

The outer loop of the screw holes on two of the three screw holes broke away.

The screws are set too close to the outer part of the eye peice base for strong enough support and the material supporting the screw holes are too weak to support the existing body weight and pressure exerted on it over time.

This breakage came with little effort and pressure or from abuse.

I thought about repairing them myself, but figured it still was under warranty (only 3 weeks old) and the cost of $1,100 should be enough excuse to send them to Canon Repair for a quick fix.

BOY WAS I SADLY MISTAKEN. Canon Repair charged me another $350 to repair it and it's now over 4 weeks and I have not seen them yet. I've owned them less than 8 weeks and more than half of that time is in repair!

I just wonder if anyone else has had this problem as it certainly appears it's a design flaw because of the overall weight.

So to review them I would say great binoculars but becareful on how you handle these items, if you need a good pair of binoculars, I would say go with the lower models of the Canon IS series as they are more durable!



See more reviews about: Canon 18x50 Image Stabilization All-Weather Binoculars w/Case, Neck Strap & Batteries

Digital Camera Labels: Canon 18x50 Image Stabilization All-Weather Binoculars w/Case,Neck Strap &amp,Batteries,Canon,4624A002AB,CA1850