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Hello Adrian,
I bought a pair of Pentax 8x42 DCF WP (waterproof)
about 5 years ago for $900. I decided to pay an extra $300 to get these
over the non-waterproof Pentax as I was living in Cairns where the himidity is
high and I had dropped the last pair out of a canoe. They had a 12 month
guarantee.
However, last year I went on the pelagic trip to
the sub-Antarctic islands and got salt spray on them. No problem I thought
as they were supposed to be waterproof with a sticker on the front showing a
running tap. In fact I was told you could take them into the
shower. So I quickly put them under the tap to wash off the salt spray and
next morning I could no longer open them out to a wider setting. The
mechanism or the surrounds had seized up. The Rangers at Macquairie Island
sprayed them with WD40 to no avail. I even sent them back to Sydney to the
distributors who said there was nothing they could do. Of course the
warranty period had expired. Luckily they were seized at the spacing
at which I use them so it is not a problem for me but if I lend them to someone
else they cannot change the setting to suit their eye width.
If I had spent $2000-3000 on a pair of Leica or
Swarovski with a 30 year warranty, would they have been covered? It would
be interesting to find out.
I do agree with Peter Madvig that the binoculars
hav e to feel right for YOU.
Jan
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