Pentax 62216 Papilio 8.5x21 Porro Prism Binocular Review

These binoculars are light and easy to carry, they feel solid in your hands and they supply a superb image quality and brightness. Many people have used them for sporting events, concerts, the theater, ocean viewing, watching wildlife and at 8x magnification they are adequate for bird watching at a distance.

But where these binoculars excel is their ability to focus in close... you can zoom in on objects as close as 18 inches! Many people described them as being more like a microscope than binoculars and they could get really up close to birds, flowers plants, butterflies and all types of insects to get spectacular stereo close-up views.

The rubber coating is easy to grip and the focusing is an absolute snap according to the majority of users.

The only complaints seem to be that the strap that comes with the binoculars is a bit thin, there were some comments about chromic aberration up close but that is to be expected unless you spend a lot more money on a pair of binoculars. And one user found the exit pupil to be quite small and required a little bit of patience to get everything adjusted to his liking but the end result was excellent.

Overall, a great pair of binoculars with spectacular up close views for this price point.

Convergent Lens Optical System

This system allows you to focus the binoculars down to 1.6 feet to get amazing close up views few other binoculars can deliver.

UV Protection

The fully multi-coated optics to eliminate harmful UV [ultraviolet rays] to protect your eyes while also improving light transmission for high contrast images with no glare or flare. A great feature for the health minded individual.

Features and Specifications:

Type: Porro prism, center focusing
Objective Lens: 2 elements in 1 groups
Eyepiece Lens: 5 elements in 5 groups
Magnification: 8.5X
Objective Lens Diameter: 21mm
Real Field of View: 6.0°
Apparent Field of View: 51°
Field of View at 1000m: 105m
Field of View at 1000 Yards: 315 ft.
Exit Pupil: 2.5mm
Eye Relief: 15mm
Relative Brightness: 6.3
Diopter Adjustment: +4
Eye Width Adjustment Range: 2.2-2.9 in. (56-74mm)
Focusing Range: About 1.6 ft. (0.5m) to infinity
Eyepiece Ring: Helicoid type
Body Color: Black & Dark Gray
Height & Width: 4.6 x 4.3 in. (116 x 110mm)
Thickness: 2.2 in. (55mm)
Weight: 10.2

Tough rubber covered exterior provides a sure grip and protects the internal mechanisms & the revolutionary dual-axis, single body housing with synchronized eye-piece adjustment to assure correct optical alignment for comfortable viewing

Amazon Customer Score:

There are in 60+ reviews in Amazon

"I needed a light weight small size binocular for bird and concert viewing and these worked for me. I was also amazed to be able to see tiny insects on flowers that were not really visible without using the binoculars. I read many reviews on Amazon before purchasing these and am very happy with my purchase."

"Carrying one of these in the field is like having a long-distance dissecting microscope in your pocket. I purchased mine prior to a hike to Paradise Park on Mt Hood in Oregon, and I could not be more pleased with its performance."

"This is one of the most useful devices I have purchased for aiding my close-up photography. I use it to scan a close up scene and pick out objects or features that I want to photograph. It works exactly as advertised. This means that it can be used to view objects from much closer than is possible with conventional binoculars. Of course, it also doubles as the latter, too. Strongly recommended." 

Retrevo Customer Score:

There are in 80+ reviews on Retrevo

"The Pentax 62216 Papilio 8.5x21 Porro Prism Binocular is the best in class choice for observing different types of objects and subjects..."

B&H Photo & Video Customer Score:

There are in 19+ reviews B&H

"First I'm a tough critic so 4 stars. Perfection is hard to find. However for a little more than 1 Franklin bill I think this is as close as you can come for binoculars."

"It focuses so close, it's unbelievable. The 8x is good for distant subjects too but I should have chosen the smaller magnification. This binocular excels at closeup and you don't usually need 8x for closeup. Stick with the smaller magnification and you'll also get a slightly larger exit pupil and more light in. All in all though, I am very happy with this product. "

"Great for bird watching. Light to carry."

"I have other more expensive binoculars but these are by far the far the most used. So versatile a butterfly or the small details of flowers just fill the view with such clarity."

"This binocular originated for viewing butterflies and other insects. As a botanist, I purchased them to view plants, especially small flowers without having to crawl on the ground to see them. They are light and one hardly realizes that they are around ones neck until you call upon them to see that miniature flower growing close to the ground. As with other Pentax products, this one is of high quality."

Pentax 62216 Papilio 8.5x21 Porro Prism Binocular

Conclusion

These are great for watching butterflys, birds, insects or any other object you want to see up close once you've moved in...they focus down to 18 inches!