Bushnell Imageview 8×30 2.1MP Digital Camera/Binoculars

really, no product website yet?

This thing has HORRIBLE reviews everywhere that sells it. I think I am going to have to pass on this one. . .

I was really excited that this would be something I’d see in a James Bond Film, but turns out Austin Powers has no use for it either…

[QUOTE=cheroke55, post:16, topic:265294]
Amazon started listing these in October 2003.
These are almost 7 years old. That’s why you only get a 2.1 MP camera. That was top notch in '03
[/quote]

They’re freakin’ binoculars, not a digital camera.

[QUOTE=12milluz, post:7, topic:265294]
Amazon with rather poor reviews: Amazon.com : Bushnell ImageView 8x30 2.1MP LCD Digital Camera Binocular : Electronics

[Mod: You can learn to put this as a clickable link by checking out the post guide. ]
[/quote]

Umm… Mod, you could also include the clickable link. :wink: Amazon.com : Bushnell ImageView 8x30 2.1MP LCD Digital Camera Binocular : Electronics

Don’t waste your money if you’re expecting anything resembling quality.

There’s a reason why you can’t get good binoculars for under $100 or so - it costs to have optical quality, especially when you have to look through a pair of them.

The same thing applies to cameras and lenses. There’s a reason why quality prime (non-zoom) super-telephoto lenses (300mm and up) start at about $1000 and range up to over $10,000. Again, you have to pay for quality.

In other words, I wouldn’t expect better image quality from this than a cheap DSLR with a telephoto zoom on it. You’re better off spending $700 to get a camera and 55-200mm telephoto than wasting your money on this. If you’re really that desperate to take photos of far away things on the cheap then stick your point and shoot camera up to the eyepiece of a pair of binoculars - you’ll save $60 and get about the same results.

I think it’s safe to say, that in this year of ten, most people will already have a digital camera.
I also think it’s safe to say, that there is no practical use for a camera and binoculars ‘combo’.
It would be a totally different story, if what you see through the binocular lens is what you see on the cameras’ LCD screen.
They are two different products that don’t compliment one another in any way that I can see.

I bought this (or a very similar model exactly like this with the same specs) back in spring 2005 on clearance from target for around $30 and because of the low quality pics (think cheap 2MP camera with long zoom) haven’t used it very much.

I bought this (or a VERY similar model) from Woot about a year ago, used it for about three minutes, and got really mad.It’s junk. The whole thing is a waste of money. The camera display is so small you can’t see it, the binoculars can’t really see anything that’s too far away, and as a whole, these two things should not be marketed together because they don’t work together.

Ugh, please take my word for it. Don’t buy this.

If binocular photography is anything like microscope photography anyone who wears glasses will be very disappointed in photos taken with eyepiece focusing. However, if the focusing can be done through the display screen alone it mearly becomes very inconvienient.

My dad is a huge hunter and got these for Christmas… Junk!, thats all I can say, the images are horrible for anything past 50 feet.

Has anyone found a sample picture from this camera?

A little late in the day, but here’s a review I found that appears to be of the correct pair of nocs. Sample pictures are linked at the bottom of the review.
Thanks to Dee Fairbanks for the down-low!

http://www.deefairbanks.net/bushnell-review.html

[QUOTE=DCno10, post:21, topic:265294]
really, no product website yet?
[/quote]

These are really old and outdated. So no product support if you did not find it.

While these look cool, this is not different than if you fastened a 2.1 MP camera to your binocs. The only thing this does is build the camera into the binoculars. But they are separate devices.

I remember when these came out. About 2002-2003 as I recall, maybe 2004. There was a lot of fanfare and hype.

But like a dud movie that has a great opening weekend because of studio hype, but ticket sales plummet after word gets out, these too failed quite soon.

First, the binocs are average, nothing special. Second, the camera was lousy, even back then.

But what really doomed these was that people would buy them WITHOUT reading the description. They would get them home, use it and then realize the camera did not use the binoculars for picture taking. In other words, there was no optical zoom to the strength of the binoculars.

There was also functionality issues and defects.

Soon after the debut we saw these on eBay for dirt cheap because sellers were getting refurbs from the manufacturer who in turn was getting returns from retailers.

As I recall these things did not sell on eBay for even $40. One time I considered buying a set for about $25 but the reviews were so bad I did not even want to pay that.

IMHO these things are like a scam that rears its head every so often as people forget about the prior scam. Back then word got out that these were a fail. But six years later here they are on Woot and there’s people thinking they look cool or are asking “What are these, wow!”

IMHO at $25 these would be over priced. I’d say wait for a few months and you will see these deeply discounted because few people will be buying them.

Conclusion: A great concept and cool looking, but useless sheet that will end up forgotten in a drawer.

Bonus Comment: Think before you buy. Isn’t your cell phone camera a better resolution than this? Mine is, at 3.1 MP. Why would you want this, simply because it’s attached to a set of binocs.

If you want the same affect, tape a camera to your hair. You can tell people you have a camera built on to the top of your head. Tell em to top that, literally.

Bonus Warning: If you don’t want to be laughed at whenever using these in public, don’t buy them. People in the know will recognize these and snicker if they see you using them.

“Non-sequiter” is defined as an inference that does not follow from the premise or vice versa.

Seems to me this is a non sequiter device.

  1. With the binoculars the premise is that you are using such for their intended purpose, looking at something in the distance.

  2. The erroneous inference is that with the built-in camera you can take pics of those objects being viewed in the distance (see #1).

Seems if the manufacturer had thought of how the public would assume this product worked that they would have not made it.

I am curious how many returns they had on this.

GIT-R-DONE!!!

Shipping Update
Bushnell Imageview 2.1MP Digital Camera/Binoculars have completely shipped via FedEx Ground. All tracking has been emailed to members who purchased this item. If you would like to find your tracking information sooner, please click the following link and use your ORDER NUMBER as the reference number.

FEDEX TRACKING

Mine came today. It’s just what I need. Something to snap the eagles roosting across the river from my cabin so My mother will stop nagging me about it. The less we hear from mom, the more peaceful my household

preamble aside…I can’t find anyone else having this problem so I’m resorting to typing without my glasses on an iPhone so please be forgiving for garbled words. My LCD screen displays the menu It worked as expected in setti g the date and time. Unfortunaty that’s ALL I see on the sreen. No image from the lens. Just black. I can’t find anything that would indicate an option to disable it or not.
Before returning it, I’d like to know if anyone else experienced this.
Thanks