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Asahi Pentax 8x40 Wide Field

Mfr: J-B21, J-E25

Date: circa 1970's?

AFOV: ~76 degrees

TFOV: 9.5 degrees

Eye Relief: ~13mm

Prisms: low index

pen8x40s.jpg (40352 bytes)pen8x40f.jpg (29655 bytes)

This binocular appears to be made for Pentax by another optics firm (J-B21=Kokisha Co. Ltd.)  This is one of the models featuring the infamous gold coatings on the eyepieces.  While some may argue that the gold coatings increase contrast in certain conditions, it seems like a marketing gimmick to me.  The coatings result in a bluish image and cause strong reflections in a bright environment, making the eyepieces difficult to look through.  I have heard of owners of these type of Pentax binoculars who have deliberately polished off the coatings on the eyepieces.   The objectives have normal blue tinged coatings.  These binoculars have a fair wide angle view, with vignetting from the low index prisms, some prism leakage, and noticeable distortion.  On the positive side, the eye relief is better than usual for this type of wide angle binocular.