johnniet
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 12, 1999
- Messages
- 4,687
I got one of the Goldeneye mini-monoculars on Ebay. The type I got is 6x and you can still find those sometimes (Tasco imported a bunch of them). The ones usually available are 8x. They look very similar.
The remarkable thing about this gadget is its size and weight (the 8x might be slightly larger). It's just under 2" long and the diameter of the main chamber is about 1". You could fit it into a box 2" x 1.25" x 1.25.
I haven't weighed it, but the package says it weighs under an ounce, and it's believable. It is very easy to carry in a shirt pocket and forget about.
So how well does it work?
For things dozens of yards away it gives a very clear image. At longer ranges it is still clear.
It's comfortable to look into. Focusing is easy.
The main drawback is of course the angle of view--pretty narrow. This makes it easy to get lost if you're looking at something far away.
I went small-bore shooting a few days after I got it. We were shooting from 50 feet at the standard targets (2" diameter?) I didn't use any optics to shoot, but it can be nice to have something that lets you see where you shot.
With the Goldeneye it was very easy to find the right target, see the holes, and check the groupings.
It was not good enough to assign scores to the hits.
I got this on ebay for $8 ($13 after shipping) and I definitely got my money's worth. I wouldn't even have minded paying the $30 retail price, although they still have some (6x and 8x) and ebay and elsewhere for less.
The original idea was to take it kayaking, because all extra "stuff" you have out with you is such a pain. I haven't tried this yet and I'm frankly a little bit worried now that I know more about optics (this monocular is not waterproof). But at some point I'll take it out with a case or a couple of Ziplocs and see how good it is for recognizing landmarks onshore.
The remarkable thing about this gadget is its size and weight (the 8x might be slightly larger). It's just under 2" long and the diameter of the main chamber is about 1". You could fit it into a box 2" x 1.25" x 1.25.
I haven't weighed it, but the package says it weighs under an ounce, and it's believable. It is very easy to carry in a shirt pocket and forget about.
So how well does it work?
For things dozens of yards away it gives a very clear image. At longer ranges it is still clear.
It's comfortable to look into. Focusing is easy.
The main drawback is of course the angle of view--pretty narrow. This makes it easy to get lost if you're looking at something far away.
I went small-bore shooting a few days after I got it. We were shooting from 50 feet at the standard targets (2" diameter?) I didn't use any optics to shoot, but it can be nice to have something that lets you see where you shot.
With the Goldeneye it was very easy to find the right target, see the holes, and check the groupings.
It was not good enough to assign scores to the hits.
I got this on ebay for $8 ($13 after shipping) and I definitely got my money's worth. I wouldn't even have minded paying the $30 retail price, although they still have some (6x and 8x) and ebay and elsewhere for less.
The original idea was to take it kayaking, because all extra "stuff" you have out with you is such a pain. I haven't tried this yet and I'm frankly a little bit worried now that I know more about optics (this monocular is not waterproof). But at some point I'll take it out with a case or a couple of Ziplocs and see how good it is for recognizing landmarks onshore.
