CloseFocus
Well-known member
You have to see these together and hold them in your hand.
They are close to the same height but it ends there because of the design of their hinges. They also have much larger eye cups which I prefer over the ones on the 8x25. I'd carry them around with me more often if the 8x25 wasn't so much more convenient in that respect.
Fully closed the 8x30 is 4 inches wide between the strap lugs. The 8x25 fully closed is 2.5" wide. The 8x30 is also 3/4 of an inch thicker top to bottom than the 8x25 is because the 8x30 has a much larger focus wheel which is the same size found on most 8x32 binoculars.
In fact, if you compare the 8x30 with 2 of the 3 new Opticron 8x32 binoculars you will find that a couple of them might be even smaller than the 8x30CL. Eagle Optics now has Opticron in stock as new items and you can review them there. They are inexpensive and likely not as good overall but may meet your criteria otherwise.
Bob
I'm not criticizing the 8x25 CL's at all. If I didn't already have my Ultravid 8x20's I would have a pair of these instead. Even a little bit of improvement makes a big difference in the mini category. I looked into the Nikon Monarch 7 and from the threads I read it seemed that some people thought they might be good enough for some, but not others. As picky as I am about optics, I know which side I would fall on. For now, the 8x30 CL is really the only option I see for what I want, which is an optically fine and user friendly binocular in a portable and not too expensive package.
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