Review of ED 8×42 Countryman – BGA 8×42 – Natura BGA 8×42 – HR WP 8×42 BCF GA. (1 Viewer)

Hi from Italy
During the month of September i've had the possibility to use some Opticron binoculars:ED 8×42 Countryman – BGA 8×42 – Natura BGA 8×42 – HR WP 8×42 BCF GA.
Here's my impressions
http://www.binomania.it/wordpress/?p=4957

Nice review of these four models. I have had the chance to compare these four extensively as well and my impressions tend to mirror yours for the most part. A couple of comments though....

In all honesty I never checked the reflectiveness of the coatings (assuming you did with the objectives) in comparison to one another or by themselves. I actually found three of these four models to be the sharpest binoculars that Opticron has to offer...at least in the center of the field. The Countryman 8x32, in particular, always brings a smile to my face not only because of its optical performance (wide field of view and excellent center sharpness) but also because of its overall ergonomics.

The HR WP was one that I always manage to get my hands around though. The centerfield performance is simply excellent in so many areas and the 3D effect is so pronounced.

The Natura was a bit of a surprise. Yes, the narrower field of view is noticeable but I found the centerfield amazingly sharp and the overall viewing experience extremely pleasing.

HI Frank.Thans for the attention and for comments.Opticron has done a great selections for their customers

FrankD said:

The HR WP was one that I always manage to get my hands around though. The centerfield performance is simply excellent in so many areas and the 3D effect is so pronounced.

Click to expand...

I briefly stopped by an Optics festival with representatives from several major binocular makers including Leica, Zeiss, Swarovski, Nikon, Celestron, Opticron and a few others. It was so sad: Almost no 7X binoculars nor any porro prism binoculars were present! For porros, one nice exception was Opticron with their HR WP 8X42. I was very impressed with the center field performance--it was better than all the similarly-priced chinese roof models, and most of the mid-priced roofs costing twice as much. They also get high marks for making it waterproof, providing good eye relief, smooth focusing, good feeling in the hands, and keeping the price reasonable at under $400. I really hope Opticron continues to offer the HR WP and keeps improving it. All it needs now is a little wider field and maybe some field flattening in the eyepiece (although not too much--don't give us too much "rolling ball"). Good job Opticron!

--Dave