Opticron Flat Compact Binos

[william j clive]

Having recently asked for opinions of flat compact binoculars on this forum, I have just tried Opticron's Sopera. This is on promotional offer at www.warehouseexpress.com. The rrp on this model, that I had never previously come across was £99. It is now available for £19!

The Sopera is about the size of a packet of 20 cigarettes. It measures 90mm wide, 85mm long and 23mm thick. It is a zoom model 5-15x17. It weighs less than 7oz. and has a 5.2 degree FOV at 5x. Close focus is around 6 feet. There are levers for zooming and focussing and a tiny wheel for diopter adjustment. The body slides open for ocular adjustment. The instrument comes with a case and strap. Unlike the similar models offered by Pentax, Minolta & Canon, images are round and not oblong.

It is surprisingly bright and sharp at 5x. It remains quite usable up to around 7 or 8x, though obviously brightness and field of view diminish dramatically as it is zoomed in. By the time it is at maximum zoom, 15x, the image is very narrow and dark, difficult to focus, and sharpness is quite difficult to achieve.

At £19 it does seem to be something of a bargain, if you need to have optics with you at all times.

Clive

[Richard D]

I tried a pair at the local camera shop where they're now selling for under 50. Image wise they seemed fine at 5-7x but got very dark towards the end of the range. I found the fixed width of the lenses a problem for my eyes - mine seem to be spaced differently to whoever the binoculars were designed for :) .It was a pity because as you say otherwise they're not a bad carry everywhere set of optics. I ended up with a pair of the little Opticron Piccollo's - image wise they're didn't seem anything much to choose between them and the £50 compact Opticrons and at £20 I'm happy to leave them bouncing around in the pack I use for commuting/shopping etc. I can now confirm on my walk to work that the unusual looking duck on the creek is yet another Mallard hybrid ;)

[Henry B]

Richard, I also have a pair of these compacts and think there great especially at 20 quid, you can adjust the width if you slide them apart.hope this is of help.

[Andy Ledger]

I bought a pair of these the other week, and although they took a little getting used to, I've found that the image is more than acceptable. I had an old pair of Minolta 7x50s as my 'office' bins, which have been made redundant by this lovely little pocket glass.