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Hey everyone,
During the exam yesterday I noticed that virtually everyone around me was using the BA II instead of the 12C. I’m assuming that my test center was not unusual and that the BA II is more popular in general. So I’m just curious as to why it’s the more popular choice. Can anyone clue me in? Thanks
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HP12C is more powerful and better built (powerful is subjective, better built is obvious). BA II is extremely cheap, like $1 in materials cheap. Also, if you type two numbers relatively fast, only one pops up, you always need to type slow and double check everything. None of the HP calculators have this issue. They are superior quality and feel great to use. They are also more expensive. People use BA II (including myself!) cause it is cheaper, and has a less steep learning curve (12C is hard to wrap your head around). HP has a BA II-esque calculator (10bII) and imo it is the best financial calculator out there (easiest to use, great quality) but for some reason CFA institute does not allow it. I would have used the 10bII if it was allowed, but my next best option was BA II for the reasons mentioned above.
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I use the HP 12C calculator and love it (been using it for years). Agree with @justinturner on just about everything above, and I heard somewhere that using the sequence of steps in the 12C for a given calculation, the number of needed keystrokes is always the same or less than for a more “normal” calculator.
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