Opticron Imagic BGA SE vs Vortex Viper (1 Viewer)

rubatroid · Oct 10, 2008

I know this ground has been covered pretty well so do excuse this new thread.

I'm thinking of buying one of these two. Has anybody been able to compare them side by side? What's the verdict? In London, there is nowhere where I can compare them side by side.

In the UK, the Opticron is going for £340 and the Vortex for £259. So Vortex wins on price. But which is the better a) optically b) build quality.

Thanks

Reuben

smurf.for.mark · Oct 10, 2008

i dont think i've compared the two directly but looked through dozens of pairs including the big three i settled for the opticron "imagic BGA SE 8x42's and dont regret buying them even after 6 months of hard use i still love them.
i spent a few months brousing forums and optics stores checking out various models and getting opinions, for the price i dont think you could beet them six months ago without spending twice as much and even then gains are hardly if at all noticable.
i havnt checked out the latest offerings with ED glass yet but CA in mine isnt noticable unless you really look for it at the fov edge and no worse than the swarovski 8.5x42's costing £1000.
shame you cant try them back to back in store. the opticrons have come down in price since i bought mine for £369

Allan Hobbs · Oct 12, 2008

Hi Reuben,
I've got the Vortex Vipers (so has my wife).
We have just got back from 2 weeks in South Africa and were absolutely delighted with them. We originally looked at bins up to £500 a pair, but settled for the vipers as to my eyes they performed at least as well and often exceeded models that cost twice as much.
Hope this helps
Allan

Swedpat · Oct 17, 2008

Reuben,

I am looking for a serious higher powered complement to my Swarovski SLCnew 7x42B.
I don't make the demand of 100% equal optical quality but I make the demand it shall not "fall in the shadow" in comparison to the SLCnew 7x42.
Some weeks ago I got the chance to try the Vortex Viper 8,5 and 10x50 models, and also make a comparison to the Swarovski SLCnew7x42.
My impression is that these binoculars are great glasses for the price. In a comparison side by side they will not really reach up to the class of Swarovski. But they are in such an optical class I consider to get the 10x50.

Excuse me if I not answered your question, but I don't think you can go wrong with the Vortex Vipers if the 8x42 is optically equal to the 50mm models. I suppose that the most important issue is how you like the holding of these binoculars.

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/2210675/Main/2208611

Regards, Patric

rubatroid · Oct 22, 2008

Thanks for all your replies. I didn't actually try the Imagics in the end because it was just too far to travel to try them out. I did however try out the Vortex Vipers 8 x 42 against Opticron Veranos (8 x 42 and 10 x 42) and Swarovski 8 x 42 - all at London Camera Exchange on the Strand in central London.

Its actually a very bad place to test bins, not because they're not helpful, but because it's a tiny dingy shop and the only place to try them out is up and down a busy London street. Plus, when I tried them out, there was bright sunlight! So not ideal so see how they perform in low light. I actually found it very difficult to see much difference between them all but in terms of clarity and brightness, the Swarovski was marginally better than the Viper which was marginally better than the Verano - and that was only after trying them all several times and really struggling to find any differences. And the Vipers were lighter then the Swarovskis by some way.

so I bought the Vipers. And they seem great so far.

Tero · Oct 22, 2008

Good plan and decison making skills. Forget the binoculars, go find some birds with them.

Jim M. · Oct 23, 2008

rubatroid said:
I actually found it very difficult to see much difference between them all but in terms of clarity and brightness, the Swarovski was marginally better than the Viper which was marginally better than the Verano - and that was only after trying them all several times and really struggling to find any differences. And the Vipers were lighter then the Swarovskis by some way.

so I bought the Vipers. And they seem great so far.

I agree an excellent choice (though I have the same binoculars, so I am somewhat biased

). Until you actually look through various binoculars, you do not realize how much is made of small differences on this forum. And the Vipers are famous for their low light capability, so you should have no problems in that regard.

Cheers,
Jim

smurf.for.mark · Oct 23, 2008

a word of caution... i have bought binoculars that at the time in the shop seemed fine, i would sometimes spend an hour comparing bins and with the exception of the truly awfull cheap ones found it hard to notice a great differance. i bought a pair of hawke's and it was only when i got them home and started useing them in different conditions ie poor light, overcast, bright sun light ect i started to notice little problems that may or may not have been present on the other models but i couldnt tell because it was the middle of the day and i've only spent maybe 5 or 10 mins with each bin.
it takes me a week or two before i decide if there keepers and put the strap on, i sent the hawke's back after two weeks.
i really like to take my time when buying bins and it does seem to annoy some shop keepers... well thats there problem, but it is hard to evaluate bins in those conditions stood outside the shop door looking up and down a busy street getting in everyones way feeling a little under pressure.
my opticrons survived the honeymoon period and then some... strap is well and truly on

tip of the day... rubber covered binoculars hanging around neck on strap leave black smudges on white T shirts!

cheers mark

Kevin Purcell · Oct 23, 2008

mark22c said:
a word of caution... i have bought binoculars that at the time in the shop seemed fine, i would sometimes spend an hour comparing bins and with the exception of the truly awfull cheap ones found it hard to notice a great differance. i bought a pair of hawke's and it was only when i got them home and started useing them in different conditions ie poor light, overcast, bright sun light ect i started to notice little problems that may or may not have been present on the other models but i couldnt tell because it was the middle of the day and i've only spent maybe 5 or 10 mins with each bin.
it takes me a week or two before i decide if there keepers and put the strap on, i sent the hawke's back after two weeks.

I've got to agree with Mark.

I've found that sometimes I really want to keep a pair of a bins for some feature (great ergonomics or light weight or something) but after using it for a time for it's inteded purpose (birding usually) a more unconcious evaluation kicks in.

One of the advantages local sellers have is to be able to let people get hands on the bins to see them. But, as Mark points out, the shops aren't the best place to evaluate a bin and at best I find they give an opportunity to rule out bins rather than pick good ones. And some don't seem to appreciate people trying out their bins. Very odd.

I'm finding Internet providers with good return policies best match this form of evaluation. Seven days from delivery is a minimum and thirty days is much more reasonable. I find I can usually tell in less than 14 days (or less) of receiving the bin.

BTW, the "hawkes" that Mark mentions are not the "Hawke Frontier ED" but its an earlier model bin.

Jim M. · Oct 23, 2008

I do not think just using them in the store is a concern in this instance. [EDIT: At least in terms of the model, the possibility of an individual lemon is of course another matter]. I have been happily using my vipers for a year now, and have found no unpleasant optical surprises. I do not claim they are perfect, but they work exceedingly well in a great variety of conditions.

Best,
Jim

kristoffer · Oct 23, 2008

I just love my vipers and never think about any flaws, just amazed over the image when at the same time the price is so low. Perhaps it is good to never have owned any top3s

smurf.for.mark · Oct 23, 2008

as kevin points out the hawke's i returned were an earlier 10x42 frontier model, they were being phased out and were reduced from £189 to £109... bargain i thought. the problem was a bad cats eye exit pupil on the right side which isnt indicative of good collimation! although they did appear to be? they wanted me to have another pair but they had the same problem... shame because the view through the left side was good. maybe they had a trainee in the collimation department the day mine where in?
there were several other problems with these that dont show up in store... plastic twist up eyecups went loose in the first few days, loose lens caps and badly positioned attachment points for the strap.
i get the impression the new ED version is much better...

cheers mark

Opticron Imagic BGA SE vs Vortex Viper (1 Viewer)

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rubatroid

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smurf.for.mark

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Allan Hobbs

Body in the UK, heart in South Africa

Swedpat

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rubatroid

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Tero

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Jim M.

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Jim M.

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