Advice needed on Maven C.3 12x50 demo

[CA_Blacktail]

Hey guys and gals, I'm in the market for a midrange bino and settled on Maven C.3 12x50s. Got the demo in and boy are they sharp! The only issue is they seem to have a very noticeable amount of blue-yellow chromatic aberration! If you look at backlit objects like skylined trees it almost looks like those old 3D pictures that you need the glasses to correct. The right tube also seems to suffer from more CA than the left tube. I'm at a loss as what to do, did I just receive a bad pair? Should I try another set of demos? I really wanted to like these guys, the clarity, sharpness, and contrast are way better than vortex diamondbacks but the chromatic aberration makes me feel slightly motion sick. Any advice or criticism is welcome!

 

[wannakillabigbull]

I have experienced similar issues with both pairs of C1s I've spent time with (wife's and brother's). They both make me slightly motion sick regardless of what adjustments I make, as did any of the ones I've handled at shows. Like you say though, it's hard to not be impressed by the clarity, sharpness and contract for any binocular south of $1k. I can't figure out if all the others who are head over heels for the C-series are less sensitive to minor issues in the glass, or if they got better pairs. At that price point quality control can't be super high so I'm inclined to believe there's some variation in the C-series that accounts for the differing experiences. Perhaps others have a different take.

 

[CA_Blacktail]

Thanks for the reply, it gives me more perspective on how to move forward. My plan for this evening is to bring them into Sportsmans Warehouse to test them against the other binos in the same $400-500 range. Tomorrow I'll take them out to the local green space to see how that chromatic aberration affects real-world glassing. If it turns out that it doesnt bug me as much then I'll still return these and get new ones otherwise the search continues!

 

[idahohikker]

I have experienced similar issues with both pairs of C1s I've spent time with (wife's and brother's). They both make me slightly motion sick regardless of what adjustments I make, as did any of the ones I've handled at shows. Like you say though, it's hard to not be impressed by the clarity, sharpness and contract for any binocular south of $1k. I can't figure out if all the others who are head over heels for the C-series are less sensitive to minor issues in the glass, or if they got better pairs. At that price point quality control can't be super high so I'm inclined to believe there's some variation in the C-series that accounts for the differing experiences. Perhaps others have a different take.

Interesting. I'm one of the head over heals guys and everything is just perfect with it. I could see either explanation being plausible.

 

[wannakillabigbull]

Interesting. I'm one of the head over heals guys and everything is just perfect with it. I could see either explanation being plausible.

If only you were coloradohikker I could come and see if you just have an amazing pair I do hope that someday I love a pair of binoculars the way you love those C1s. The search continues...

 

[CA_Blacktail]

Alrighty just got back from Sportsman's. I matched the Maven C.3 up against Vortex Viper HD, Razor HD, Leupold BX-2 Tioga HD, and Leupold BX-4 HD. I gotta say, the Mavens did better than I expected! To make it short and sweet optically, BX-4>Razors>Maven C.3>BX-2>Vipers.

All were tested outside during sunset. The winner was the BX-4s they were just a joy to look through and enjoy a beautiful depth of field. I found that the Razors and more so the Mavens left me turning the focus wheel to move my focal plane more than the BX-4s. The BX-2's had a tad more CA and just a bit less sharpness to the Mavens but enjoy the color pop of Leupold glass and a bit wider field of view. The Vipers I did not like at all, in bright light they were okay but was unable to pick up small font in dim light inside the store that the other binos showed clearly. The Mavens sit right between the Leupolds to me and make me wonder if I should pony up the extra $200 for the BX-4s. I'm out another $40 anyway if I trade the demos for new Mavens. Hope this helps anyone else who might come across this later in the future.

 

[MuleyFever]

You looked through them all with your eyes. I don't see how anyone here can tell you what $200 is worth to you.