Canon 15x50 IS Review
These 15x50s are among the largest
aperture and highest power stabilised binoculars that Canon make. They’ve also
been around for decades and are widely used for astronomy and spotting. I
haven’t reviewed them before because they’re overshadowed by the similar
18x50s. But I personally use the 12x36s just because the they’re so much more
user-friendly and general-purpose.
So are the
15x50s really an also-ran to the 18x50s, or a good compromise of the capability
of the 18x50s and the usability of the lower powered models? Let’s find out...
At A Glance
|
Magnification |
15x |
|
Objective Size |
50mm |
|
Eye Relief |
~11mm measured |
|
Actual Field of View |
4.5° |
|
Apparent field of view |
60° |
|
Close focus |
5m |
|
Transmissivity |
? 90% |
|
Length |
193mm incl
eye cups |
|
Weight |
~1100g |
Data from Me/Canon.
What’s in the Box?
Design and Build
Canon’s
range of image stabilised binoculars now (early 2022) has no less than five
different lines sold here in the UK. All share a similar design and look, but
different types and generations of IS technology under the hood:
· Large,
high-power binoculars of semi-waterproof design, with ED lenses: these 15x50s
and the identical-looking 18x50s
· A new line
of 32mm models featuring a different type of I.S. derived from their camera
lenses, including a 10x32, 12x32 and a 14x32 (see below)
· An older line including 8x25, 10x30 and 12x36,
which share a similar non-waterproof design, are light weight and fairly cheap.
The 12x36s are a Scope Views Best Buy for astronomy
· Premium
10x42s which are fully waterproof, have special red-ring lenses and are mainly
aimed at birders
· Recent
small and light-weight ‘pocket’ binoculars in 8x20 and 10x20 sizes
Two smaller high-powered Canon I.S. models – 14x32s and the 12x36s
which are a Scope Views Best Buy for astronomy.
Body and Ergonomics
Like most I.S. bino’s, the need to house the electronics mean
they don’t have a ‘normal’ binocular body. There is no hinge – the body is just
a unitary plastic ovoid with thin, smooth armour. Their look is more like a
camera than other high-end bino’s, with a button on top and a battery
compartment underneath.
Even if they remind me a bit of an old Sony Walkman, both
external and internal build quality is very high, much like my Canon DSLR in
fact.
At 1100g, these are heavy compared to the smaller models -
almost twice the weight of the basic 10x30s - but slightly less than the
18x50s.
Unlike those 10x30s, Canon claim that these are ‘All Weather’,
but given the potential for water ingress through the battery compartment and
button, these won’t be submersion-proof like the best roof-prism birding
bino’s. You should be able to use them safely in the rain, though.
Unlike most binoculars, the non-hinged body incorporates a standard
¼-20 thread underneath for attachment to a photo tripod, no adapter required.
These regularly appear on EBay in a
very worn state, so they’re clearly up to extended use, though eventually
they’ll fail like any other consumer electronic device.
The 1/5-20 thread on the underside allows easy mounting on a
photo tripod.
Focuser
The focuser is not super-fast and the knob is quite small,
but the action is light, precise and free of any kind of image shift or
backlash.
From close-focus of five metres to infinity is just under one
and a half turns. There is plenty of focus beyond infinity, to accommodate
different peoples’ eyesight, too.
In order to make these waterproof, the focusing mechanism is
(unusually for porros) internal – the focuser moves the objectives in and out
behind a sealed optical window.
You adjust dioptre (the difference in focus between your
eyes) by the traditional method: twisting the right-hand eyepiece to focus it
independently. In this case, it works smoothly. It isn’t stiff as so many are,
but that does make it all too easy to shift accidentally when folding down the
eye cups.
Optics - Prisms
Like most stabilised binoculars, these have traditional porro-prisms.
That’s the same as Grandad’s bino’s (though they don’t look like it). But if
you think that’s a bad thing, it’s not: porro prisms generally perform a little
better than roof prisms because they don’t need mirror or phase coatings.
Optics - Objectives
Canon claim that these objectives have a four-element design,
but that may include the optical window they’ve added to the front. That window
may sound like a bad idea, but with modern coatings it won’t absorb much light
and does make these waterproof. It potentially makes them easier/cheaper to
repair if they get scratched too.
Both these 15x50s and the 18x50s feature objectives containing
one element of special dispersion glass high in fluorides that gives better
resistance to false colour fringing around high contrast parts of the view
(chromatic aberration). This is a major improvement over the cheaper models
which don’t have it.
Canon refer to this technology as ‘UD’ (ultra-low dispersion).
Some manufacturers use labels like ‘ED’ or ‘SD’ to describe much the same thing,
whilst others confusingly call their binoculars ‘HD’ because those special
lenses give a higher definition view.
The objective coatings are deep blue/purple in hue (not the
more neutral tone you get with high-end German bino’s these days), but they are
very dark and of high-quality. Combined with the inherently lower-loss
porro-prism design, these should give very good light throughput for a bright
view, though I did notice at least one uncoated surface somewhere inside.
The insides of the barrels are machined with lots of fine
baffles to kill stray light.
Overall optical quality is very high. There is none of the
softness you get with some high-powered binoculars. Canon make a lot of quality
optics (including the objectives for Takahashi telescopes) and that experience
shows here. In terms of sheer optical fabrication quality, these give
nothing away to the likes of Swarovski, Zeiss and Nikon.
Optical windows make these waterproof and give the objectives
an unusual appearance.
Barrel internals are well baffled to kill stray light.
Optics – Eyepieces
The eyepieces are a complex design that Canon state has seven
elements, including a doublet field flattener. That multi-element eyepiece
design delivers a wide (for binoculars) 60° apparent field of view, that
translates to 4.5° true field width.
Canon claim 15mm of eye relief (exit pupil distance),
measured from the eye lens. But the eye lens is deeply recessed in the eye cup
and so the effective value is much less - more like 11mm. This means a greatly reduced field with glasses on and just isn’t up to
industry-leading standards these days.
With no bridge,
these have moveable eyepieces to accommodate different inter-pupillary
distances. That’s fine, in theory, but the big eyepieces and cups will squeeze
your nose if your IPD is small, like mine.
Most premium binoculars these days have twist-adjustable eye
cups with several settings. These have the old-fashioned fold-down rubber eye
cups with just two positions. They will probably eventually perish and split at
the fold point. The eye cups are very high quality for their type, but the rubber
is sticky and a magnet for dust. They are, however, easy to fold and provide a
good ridge to rest your glasses on.
Optics – Image Stabiliser
A magnification of 15x is high for bino’s
and it amplifies your shakes too, blurring the view and making it harder to see fine details.
Hence the need for stabilisation.
This type of I.S. uses sensors to detect the shakes and a microprocessor
to control what Canon describe as a ’vari-angle prism’ to counteract them in real time.
It’s a mature and reliable technology that really does work.
Most
of Canon’s I.S. bino’s work this way, but not all. Canon’s most recent models,
like the 14x32s, have a dual-I.S. system that changes the offset between lenses
instead of the flexible prism. This new system is derived from their cameras
and is supposed to be higher fidelity, though my review of the 14x32s didn’t
convince me it was significantly better.
Other
manufacturers have image stabilising binoculars which use different systems,
like gyros to simply resist the shaking, or with gimbled prisms (Zeiss 20x60s).
Like
other Canon stabilised binoculars, you activate the I.S. system on these 15x50s
by pushing a button on top. A click and a green light confirm the I.S. is
active.
Unlike the cheaper models, the button has two modes. With a
firm push it’s on until you release. Give a lighter push and the I.S. remains
active until you push it again. This is a great feature, but it’s all too easy
to leave it active and run the battery down.
Early versions of these high-powered models had pretty nasty I.S. with lots of unpleasant side effects.
These are much better. The image just steadies very positively and effectively.
There is little noise and panning works smoothly too.
You might just notice a faint jitter of the view and slight changes in the focus that I didn’t find too troublesome.
The lower power means these 15x50s suffer less from unpleasant IS artefacts than the 18x50s.
Overall, the I.S. works well. Hold
them steady and you are rewarded with an impressively sharp and stable view;
rest on something and the view is telescope-steady.
Unlike cheaper Canons, the 15x50s
have a stay-on mode when the button is released.
Power is provided by a pair of AA
batteries in a compartment underneath. You need a coin or broad screwdriver to
open it.
Accessories
The 15x50s get a plain fabric bag, with thin padding and a
rather fragile buckle, that’s similar to other Canons. It’s the same basic
strap with webbing only marginally wider than the cheaper models get: binoculars
this costly (and heavy!) deserve better. The broader strap from a Canon DSLR
fits and looks fine, works better.
No objective caps are provided, just a push-on rubber
eyepiece one.
In Use – Daytime
Ergonomics and Handling
Handling is one area where these are noticeably worse than
most current premium binoculars. That fat, bridgeless body is harder to hold
than nicely sculpted barrels and the armour feels thin and less grippy than the
best.
Weight is similar to most 50mm binoculars, although they do
get tiring to hold after a while when compared to some of the smaller models,
such as the 12x36s and 14x32s.
The focuser is excellent and the dioptre adjustment simple
but effective.
I found the dual-mode button a great comfort upgrade over the
cheaper models because it allows the I.S. to stay on without keeping the button
pushed if you want: less tiring, it reduces shakes too.
The main problem for me are the eyepieces. Uncomfortable with
my specs off and balanced on my nose (or squeezing it), they don’t have enough
eye relief to show much more than about half the field with my glasses on.
If it matters, these are not an attractive-looking pair of
binoculars to be seen wearing, in my opinion.
The View
Compared to a similarly-priced birding binocular, the view is
an unpleasant surprise at first look. But that’s mainly down to the poor eye
relief and shakes. Roll down the eye cups (even for use without spec’s!), push the magic button and you find that these give
a very bright, sharp, high-contrast daytime view.
The field is quite wide for the power, sharpness and focus
snap excellent, though the depth of field is very shallow (something to be
expected with a high magnification) and so you do need to use the focuser a
lot.
But as with other I.S. binoculars
here’s the bottom line: the view may seem less aesthetically pleasing, but the
combination of high magnification, superb optics and stabilisation mean that
these 15x50s resolve much more than ‘normal’ hand-held binoculars, even ones of
similar magnification.
That high power and steady view allow you to identify birds
at extreme range. I managed to ID a Buzzard soaring in the far distance, just a
speck with the naked eye. Similarly, I identified a Gold Crest at a distance
where I’d have thought it was a Wren with normal bino’s.
Like the 18x50s, the 15x50s’ capabilities don’t stop with
birding either. I can distinguish Boeing from Airbus, spot the orange tail of
EasyJet in the airway high overhead. These would work very well for plane
spotters.
For other kinds of daytime spotting, marine use, or nature
viewing, these again show you more than any normal hand-held binoculars. Watching
a muddy post-Christmas football match down in a village below the fell, I could
tell my friend hadn’t bothered to turn out among the players.
Flat field?
Both 50mm Canon models are advertised as having field
flatteners and the field is very flat for binoculars, one of the very flattest
I have tested - largely free from astigmatism and curvature and with just a
little distortion for comfortable panning. Even the field edge is completely
usable. You can see this in the phone snap taken through them below.
The Canon 15x50s have a very flat and well-corrected field of
view.
Chromatic Aberration
False colour fringing worsens at higher powers. So, yes,
there is false colour: you can easily see it on silhouetted birds or branches,
especially when focusing through - a purple tinge one side of focus, yellow the
other. These are worse than the best (Swarovski’s 15x56 SLCs) in this respect.
In general use, that false colour fringing isn’t really a problem,
but might be under a few specific conditions: if you’re watching wildlife in the snow (or
over bright water) for example, as I found out when testing the 12x36s (which
have only slightly worse fringing levels) in Yellowstone during the winter.
Stray Light and Ghosting
Using
these at dusk under a bright sky generated no significant flare and a full Moon
no ghosts.
In Use – Dusk
Their 50mm objectives, high magnification, steady view and
bright porro-prism optics mean these penetrate dusk shadows well.
In Use – Observing the Night Sky
The precise focuser and snappy optics mean getting perfect
sharpness for astronomy is easy. The stabilisation steadies fast, after which
it’s a telescope-like view and the stabilisation makes a huge difference in
resolving detail.
Panning with the IS on seems more fluid than the 18x50s, with
no jerky view or clicking noises from the IS. The lower power made it easier to
avoid getting lost when panning, too.
The ability to leave the IS enabled is a great feature for
astronomy, where there’s no need to re-focus when panning about.
Observing a star confirms a very flat field, with no
significant astigmatism and very slight field curvature in the last 20%. This is a
big plus point when viewing star fields and extended clusters.
The wider field given by the lower power does make finding
things a bit easier and there’s plenty of room for most DSOs.
The only downside for me was that the tight eye relief made
them hard to use with glasses, same as the 18x50s and worse than the 12x36s.
The 15x50s’ 4.5° field overlaid on Orion’s sword
region.
The Moon
If you
have nowhere to set up a scope, higher-powered IS binoculars like these make a
surprisingly good way to explore the Moon. 15x may not sound like much compared
to your telescope, but with binocular vision you can easily find most of the
features on (the Earth-facing side!) of a Moon globe.
Just
before full, all the major features were easy to find, including weird and
ghostly Reiner Gamma in Oceanus Procellarum,
dramatic Sinus Iridium near the terminator and brilliant Aristarchus too.
Venus
They
surprised me by showing a clear and clean crescent Venus, without flare or
false colour.
Just
after New Year 2022 I took them up the fell one afternoon at dusk to spot Venus
through a break in the cloud, low (just six degrees) above the sunset. It was a
perfect view of the thinnest crescent I’ve ever seen – just a dazzling silver
arc with the horns pointing away from the Sun. An example of the sort of serendipitous
view you’d never get if you had to carry and set up a telescope.
Jupiter
Jupiter
showed as a perfect disk, with just a little too much unfocussed light to see
the NEB or SEB as in almost all bino’s. The changing positions of the Galilean
moons – Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede - are super-easy to track with these.
Saturn
Stabilised
at 15x, it is just possible to see the rings as ‘Galilean’ handles, rather than
the usual solid oval most bino’s show.
Deep Sky
The 15x50s work very well for deep sky. With the IS enabled,
views are generally like a small astro’ telescope with a rich-field eyepiece.
Surprisingly for a stabilised binocular, I enjoyed sweeping Milky Way star
fields looking for clusters.
Views of small DSOs are a bit less punchy and involving and
they stand out less than through the 18x50s, but I still easily found and
enjoyed the Crab and Ring Nebulae.
The 4.5° field is as much as the widest-field
small astro’ telescopes can manage with 1.25” eyepieces and it’s plenty. The
whole of Orion’s belt fits in and the outer stars Alnitak and Mintaka remain
almost distortion-free due to the flat field.
I had superb views of the Great Orion Nebula, including its
extended arms of nebulosity and the central ‘spike’; the knotty dark lane too.
I was just about able to resolve the four main Trapezium stars.
Extended clusters looked wonderful and I had great views of
M35 and the smaller clusters running up from it through Auriga. All were easily
resolved into their component stars and the Starfish and Pinwheel showed their
characteristic forms and arcs of stars. The Pleiades showed masses of fainter
stars in among the main five.
The Double cluster looked great too – big and populous. The
surrounding clusters, big and small, were easy to find and identify.
I found globular cluster M13, even with dawn light starting
to bleed into the sky – a more interesting sight than with lower powers.
The 15x50s make a wonderful deep-sky binocular. The 18x50s
may go deeper and show more, but these 15x50s make finding things and panning
easier, are better for sweeping star fields.
Canon 15x50 IS vs Canon
12x36 IS
If you want a pair of stabilised
binoculars with a middling magnification that’s more general purpose than the
18x50s, you’ll probably consider these two options. Let’s compare them point by
point:
·
The 12x36s are much smaller and lighter to carry or
travel with
·
The 12x36s are a lot cheaper
·
The 12x36s use ‘ISIII’ which feels more fluid and
less intrusive
·
The 12x36s have more eye relief for spec’s wearers
·
The 15x50s claim waterproofing, whilst the 12x36s
are just splash-resistant
·
The 15x50s have an ED element in their objectives
and suffer (slightly) less from false colour fringing
·
The 15x50s have a very useful permanently-on mode;
the 12x36s don’t – you have to keep the button pressed
·
50mm objectives do capture a lot more
light for deep sky than 36mm ones
If you own other bino’s and just want a single-minded extreme
distance viewer, buy the 15x50s (or the 18x50s). For general use, the 12x36s
are much more user friendly – I regularly travel with them and use them as my
only bino’s, taking them hiking and sight-seeing as well as to dark sky sites;
I wouldn’t do that with the 15x50s.
Summary
Like most high-power bino’s, these
15x50s seem a bit constricted in their view and uncomfortable to use compared
with say similarly-priced 10x42 birding bino’s.
But the plain fact is that their
stabilisation will allow you to resolve way more detail: be it of
birds, wildlife, aircraft; DSOs or the Moon. I’ve said it before – this is not
a subtle effect. If you need binoculars purely for functional reasons (i.e. rather than to enjoy the aesthetics of a beautiful
view), you should try a stabilised pair like these.
The view may not be as beautiful as
a pair of premium 10x42s, but resolution is very high thanks to top optical
quality, even without the stabilisation. Again, they may not have the heirloom
construction of a pair of European birding bino’s but build quality is
excellent too. They’ve been around for many years and they’ll likely be rugged
and reliable.
For general purpose use I’d
continue to recommend the lighter, cheaper, more user-friendly 12x36s. If you
need the highest resolution possible in hand-helds,
I’d suggest the 18x50s.
But if your main use case needs the
highest resolution (plane spotting, astronomy, long-range birding without a
scope), but you also want to be able to use them more casually sometimes, these
are indeed an excellent compromise.
Canon’s 15x50s are amongst the highest-resolution hand-held
distance viewers you can buy and I can recommend them despite some eyepiece
comfort issues. More powerful than the 12x36s, they are more general purpose
than the 18x50s.
You can buy Canon's 15x50s from Amazon here:
Or from Wex here:
