Audubon 820 or 820 ED? any opinions?

[mihangle]

Hi,
having read the excellent review of the Audubon 820s on Better View Desired, I was wondering whether anyone has experience of the ED version and if they are worth the £90 more than the standard version ?
thanks,
Mike

[NoSpringChicken]

Hi,
having read the excellent review of the Audubon 820s on Better View Desired, I was wondering whether anyone has experience of the ED version and if they are worth the £90 more than the standard version ?
thanks,
Mike
I don't have personal exprience of the ED version but I would think if you can afford it they are worth the extra £90 over the standard versions. The non ED ones are meant to be on a par with the roof version and the EDs are a step above that. I imagine they would be easier to sell on later if required as they have the unique selling point of ED glass.

Have a look at the comments at the bottom of this page:
http://www.eebc.co.uk/productdisplay.aspx?productid=672

I have the roof version and am extremely pleased with them. I would have bought the EDs but I personally find poros a bit awkward to use.

Ron

[etudiant]

Judging by the very positive review of the ED version of the Swift Ultra Lite also posted in Better View Desired, it would seem so.

[John P]

Hi,
having read the excellent review of the Audubon 820s on Better View Desired, I was wondering whether anyone has experience of the ED version and if they are worth the £90 more than the standard version ?
thanks,
Mike

I don't actually remember looking through the non-ED version but I suppose I must have done.

I bought the ED version. Judged purely on optical qualities I don't think there is anything to touch them at the price.

The eyecups and dioptre adjustment are a little primitive but you learn to live with it.

For me, the colour I see through the bins is exactly what I see by eye. This is not always the case (for me) with roof prism bins, they often seem to make everything look washed out.

It may be that my eyes are strange because I can't pass the Ishihara tests for colour blindness, but I can only tell you what I see.

[Tero]

For 8x or 8.5x, I can't see any reason for ED glass. I have an ED scope, but it goes up from 16x.

[mihangle]

For 8x or 8.5x, I can't see any reason for ED glass. I have an ED scope, but it goes up from 16x.

thanks to everyone for their replies ... Tero, any reason why 8x or 8.5x would influence matters?
thanks,
Mike

[John P]

For 8x or 8.5x, I can't see any reason for ED glass.

That's why I posted about the colour blindness.

I will (literally) see things differently to you, and I believe the ED glass makes a difference to what I see.

Somewhere between 12 and 20 % of white Caucasian males suffer from red/green colour blindness.


Here's (http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.html) a quick test if you're interested.

[elkcub]

Hi,
having read the excellent review of the Audubon 820s on Better View Desired, I was wondering whether anyone has experience of the ED version and if they are worth the £90 more than the standard version ?
thanks,
Mike

My greatest experience is with the previous 804 model Audubons, both the standard and the ED. There is no question in my mind that the ED design produced more subtle and beautiful color contrast at the center, and reduced color fringing to the edges of its wide field. The roof 828 HHS Audubon, by contrast, has a much narrower field and considerably more CA than even the standard 804.

The standard 820, which I have compared to the standard 804 with the latest multi-coatings, seems to have equal image quality, although the bridge assembly is less robust, being made from plastic. The eyecups are adjustable, which is an improvement over the 804, and it is advertised as "waterproof." I would rate it as optically superior to the 828 roof Audubon.

The critical question is the performance of the 820ED, which I have not evaluated. Unlike the 804ED it does not use an expensive airspaced objective along with its ED lens element. (It was originally advertised as having one.) Moreover, the eyepieces of the two 820s seem to be identical, whereas, the 804EDs were said to be "redesigned." The bottom line is that so far I've not found anyone willing to testify that the ED offers the same improvements over the standard model that have been documented with the 804ED.

Without making a comparative test, therefore, my inclination would be to save the money. The 820 is recognized as a fine binocular, — particularly for its modest cost. If the lack of ED glass is going to drive you nuts, though, the investment might be worth it.

Blue skies,
Elk

[Marys1000]

I bought the 820 ED's not long after they came out (so 6 or 7? years ago) and have always loved them, they are my favorites. (In addition to the great brightness and FOV I find roof's very cramped feeling I really can't imagine why men like them)

I have not compared with the non ED's in any meaningful way. However if my memory serves not long after buying I went birding with someone who had the non EDs and we both thought the ED's were significantly better. Long time ago memory so FWIW.
Since you mentioned pounds as your currency I imagine you're in the UK? Still it might be worth your while to call Eagle Optics and ask one of their techs what they think. Once I got someone I didn't think was that knowledgeable but usually they have looked through everything and can answer your questions. After that it becomes how much the difference in price hurts.

[elkcub]

Mary,

Nice to hear your "... long time ago memory." Are you still undecided about replacing your damaged 820ED?

Elk