Nikon Monarchs or Opticron Imagic se or Hawke frontier ed

[harold9649]

Hi
Wanting to upgrade from my 8x42 Nikon Monarchs as i have damaged them and now is a good time to upgrade .Have been considering the Opticron Imagics se either 8x42 or possibly 10x42.I wear eye glasses so would need good eye reliefe But also have heard about the Hawke Frontier EDs.I am wondering how they would compare against my Monarchs.
The opticron Imagics are about £360 the Hawkes £280.
Will i find much differance between them .
Advice needed please.

[Steve C]

This is a bit indirect. However, I do have the Nikon Monarch 8x42 and a Promaster ELX ED 8x42. The ELX ED and the Frontier ED, judging from FrankD's experience, are apparently pretty much the same glass with minor differences. The Promaster ELX ED is a very noticeable step up from the Nikon. Clearer, sharper image, better color, easier view, and a lot wider FOV. As to how the Imagic glass compares I have absolutely no idea.

[harold9649]

Thanks for that quick reply i have been looking at the reviews on the Hawke and it seems to be very good as well as the promaster.
Cheers
H

[Kevin Purcell]

I concur with Steve. I have a Hawke Frontier ED and a Promaster ED and they are similar (but a little different ... thread to come!).

In both cases they are a notch above the "normal lower mid-range" bins like the Monarch (e.g. Bushnell (nee B&L) Discoverer 7x42 and the like). So the comparision seems apt.

Read the Opticron Imagic reviews for details of those bins but I recall they're favorable (and I suspect better than a Monarch, IIRC). As they aren't sold in the US we can't make the direct comparison.

If I was a betting man I'd guess the Frontiers would outperform the Imagics in sharpness and color saturation but the Imagics might win in stray light (which is a weakness of the Frontier ED). But this is all wild speculation! But that's what I'd look for if I we're to look down the bins.

And as FrankD (and I have posted) there are more Chinese ED bins on the way.

Any chance of you trying them both out (in cold, damp, Carlisle? ;) )

[Alexis Powell]

Wanting to upgrade from my 8x42 Nikon Monarchs as i have damaged them...

I don't know Nikon's warranty for the UK, but in the USA there is a no-fault warranty--they'll fix/replace anything for $20 or so.

--AP