I own the Fujinon FMTR 7 X 50 and I owned the Steiner New Commander with open bridge three times and all three I sent back. The first one I bought from B&H Photo and sent it back due to defective coatings in between the glass elements in the left eyepiece. B&H exchanged them for a new pair except the replacement Steiner Commander had to be sent back because apparently the German's are very sloppy in their manufacturing because these Commanders had a glue smudge on the rubber armor (this is the one I tested against the Fuji). I sent them back and bought a third pair this time from Amazon. I sent those back due to an defect in the left eyepiece installation where I could never get the whole image into focus on the left side no matter what diopter setting I used. Now as far as optics comparing the Steiner 7 X 50 at $1500 vs the Fujinon FMTR-SX2 at $700; the Steiner very obviously loses. Yes the Commander has an 8° field of view vs Fuji's 7.3° but only the very center of the Steiner's field of view is useable. I would say that only about 4° of the field of view is mostly sharp. Farther out towards the edges upwards of 4°, the Steiner is totally un-useable and blurry. The Fujinon is totally sharp all the way to the end of its field of view. Also the Steiner display's a very mild fisheye effect which is absent on the Fujinon. Color correction is great on both binoculars but again the Fuji's are just sharper. There is really no comparison here. The fuji costing half of the Steiner easily beats the Steiner especially with the numerous quality issues with the Steiner. For the $1500 that Steiner is asking, that's an embarrassing sum of money for such an inferior product.
Fujinon FMTR-SX2 is a comparable model to these for Marine use. It would be very Interesting to have a comparison between the two Marine 7x50 Porro binoculars?
Optically FMT has two distinct advantages: 1. Over-sized complex eyepieces ensure even better edge correction and longer eye relief. 2. Longer objective barrel implies the objectives have higher f ratio, hence less prone to various kinds of optical aberration. Also, it also helps to keep stray light at bay.
It doesn't mean Steiner is not worth buying. Clearly Commander 7x50 is more complex, very sturdy and has more interesting looks. However, to my eyes they are not the best Steiner offerings. I much prefer the sadly discontinued 7x30 model. It has wider FOV, nice view and very handy. 8x56 Nighthunter/Shadowquest is another great choice.
Hello! Many thanks for great review. Thinking between old 2015 version of Commander 7x50c or 2023 Navigator 7x50C… Difference is in 500eur. Is Commander 2times better and worth to pay more?
I bought a predator 3-12 x56 to put on my rifle and from day one it would not hold zero. My gun was shooting great before I put the scope on. I checked everything reinstalled it and same thing happened. I sent the scope back to steiner. The day they receive the scope they sent it back and said nothing was wrong with it. I put old scope back on and its back to shooting great. I paid $900 for it so you can see why I'm a little bit upset.
I have a Steiner Commander 7x50 Pilot S HD-STABILIZED COMPASS binocular but have never seen a review about this particular one. Can you throw some light on it please?
this is not argued statement. Why? what do you mean? I find steiners to be the best bang for the buck , nothing short of zeiss and leica , for less money.
I own the Fujinon FMTR 7 X 50 and I owned the Steiner New Commander with open bridge three times and all three I sent back. The first one I bought from B&H Photo and sent it back due to defective coatings in between the glass elements in the left eyepiece. B&H exchanged them for a new pair except the replacement Steiner Commander had to be sent back because apparently the German's are very sloppy in their manufacturing because these Commanders had a glue smudge on the rubber armor (this is the one I tested against the Fuji). I sent them back and bought a third pair this time from Amazon. I sent those back due to an defect in the left eyepiece installation where I could never get the whole image into focus on the left side no matter what diopter setting I used. Now as far as optics comparing the Steiner 7 X 50 at $1500 vs the Fujinon FMTR-SX2 at $700; the Steiner very obviously loses. Yes the Commander has an 8° field of view vs Fuji's 7.3° but only the very center of the Steiner's field of view is useable. I would say that only about 4° of the field of view is mostly sharp. Farther out towards the edges upwards of 4°, the Steiner is totally un-useable and blurry. The Fujinon is totally sharp all the way to the end of its field of view. Also the Steiner display's a very mild fisheye effect which is absent on the Fujinon. Color correction is great on both binoculars but again the Fuji's are just sharper. There is really no comparison here. The fuji costing half of the Steiner easily beats the Steiner especially with the numerous quality issues with the Steiner. For the $1500 that Steiner is asking, that's an embarrassing sum of money for such an inferior product.
Fujinon FMTR-SX2 is a comparable model to these for Marine use. It would be very Interesting to have a comparison between the two Marine 7x50 Porro binoculars?
Optically FMT has two distinct advantages: 1. Over-sized complex eyepieces ensure even better edge correction and longer eye relief. 2. Longer objective barrel implies the objectives have higher f ratio, hence less prone to various kinds of optical aberration. Also, it also helps to keep stray light at bay.
It doesn't mean Steiner is not worth buying. Clearly Commander 7x50 is more complex, very sturdy and has more interesting looks. However, to my eyes they are not the best Steiner offerings. I much prefer the sadly discontinued 7x30 model. It has wider FOV, nice view and very handy. 8x56 Nighthunter/Shadowquest is another great choice.
Hello! Many thanks for great review. Thinking between old 2015 version of Commander 7x50c or 2023 Navigator 7x50C… Difference is in 500eur. Is Commander 2times better and worth to pay more?
I bought a predator 3-12 x56 to put on my rifle and from day one it would not hold zero. My gun was shooting great before I put the scope on. I checked everything reinstalled it and same thing happened. I sent the scope back to steiner. The day they receive the scope they sent it back and said nothing was wrong with it. I put old scope back on and its back to shooting great. I paid $900 for it so you can see why I'm a little bit upset.
I have a Steiner Commander 7x50 Pilot S
HD-STABILIZED COMPASS binocular but have never seen a review about this particular one. Can you throw some light on it please?
What happened to the 15 x 80?, I had mine stolen. Cheers Carl
do these have a grid like the military steiners?
No, they don't.
What a “global” commander and with “laser”?! 🤔
Model Steiner winner WW,i have but not find details
Steiner scopes are trash. Don't buy them.👎
this is not argued statement. Why? what do you mean? I find steiners to be the best bang for the buck , nothing short of zeiss and leica , for less money.