Chinon Countryman 7x35 Binocular Review

The barrels are covered in a brown leatherette

In the modern world, optics are now more affordable than ever before. There are plenty of manufacturers offering good quality binoculars at affordable prices. Of course there are high end brands that still produce the very best optical tools such as Leica, Swarovski and Zeiss. All of the current manufactures of binoculars offer a wide range of optics. When I first got into bushcraft, I wanted to find a binocular that well built, had a wide field of view and was affordable. I opted to buy from the second hand market and came across the Chinon Countryman 7x35 binocular. This particular model of binocular is special as it has a extra wide angle view of 11 degrees. 

The objective lenses are coated

When buying binoculars of this vintage, it's important to ensure that you purchase from a reputable seller. These Chinon binoculars probably date from the mid 70s. That's a long time of being moved about and the potential for binoculars to have issues at this age is not uncommon. They can be out of alignment which will cause eye strain when in use. They can also be ridden with fungus and haze. I would not recommend purchasing second hand binoculars that have been found laying in the loft for 40 years and then sold on ebay. These are usually going to have issues. I purchased my Countryman's on ebay, from a rateable binocular seller that has sold many over the years and had fantastic feedback. From what I have seen online, the Countryman line of binoculars was manufactured for a fair few years. It also seems that Chinon changed the look of binoculars over the years. I believe that mine are an early model, with later models having rather drastic changes to the poroprism housings.

Rear view of the binoculars

General Handling

The Chinon Countryman's are well built, featuring a full metal housing. Only the eyepieces are plastic, however these do have aluminium banding with ridges. The barrels are wrapped in a lovely dark brown leatherette, this makes them stand out from other vintage binocular that are often wrapped in black leather. The focusing wheel is large and it extends along most of the bridge; It's easy to rest up to three fingers on the wheel for fine focusing control. Focusing is easy and nicely dampened. The diopter adjustment offers -2 to +2, and they weigh approximately 840 grams. Another thing that I would like to mention at this stage is that the text on the binocular is engraved and not printed, although a minor detail, I think that this adds to the overall quality and feel of the binocular.  The objective lenses are coated  which improves contrast and colour rendition. This will also help to lower the amount of chromatic aberration. The Countryman's are made in Japan.

Close-up of the focusing wheel

Optical Quality

These binoculars offer a fantastic extra wide angle view of 11 degrees. The optics are sharp in centre, becoming a little soft on the edges. I tested the binoculars under various conditions. The image through the binoculars is nice and bright with minimal vignetting. Due to the distance between the objective lenses, there is a fantastic "3D pop" to the image. When birding, this isolates the subject nicely from the background. The coatings on the the objective lenses do a good job creating a naturally contrasted image. Chromatic aberrations are noticeable in bright sunlight, purple fringing is noticeable on the edges that are in direct sunlight. On cloudy days, the purple fringing is much less noticeable and is practically gone. 

Front view of the binocular

Rear view of the binocular

Conclusion

The Chinon Countryman 3x35 binoculars offer ergonomic handling and a sharp image. The binoculars feel fantastic in the hand and the shape is perfect to hold onto to get a good grip. The brown leatherette provides a grippy surface, ensuring a secure grip of the binocular. The plastic eyecups provide comfortable viewing, However, these are non adjustable. Overall the Countryman's are a fantastic binocular that can found for an affordable price on the second hand market. Providing that the binoculars are clean and collimated correctly, they will provide a fantastic image for the price point.