Hawke Frontier PC 10x32 any good? (2 Viewers)

Hi, I am very tempted to buy these and I have found many places that sell them under £100.

http://www.bestoptics.co.uk/shop/archive/hawke-10x32-frontier-pc-phase-762814.html

Anyone tired/bought them? Would these Hawke's resolve as much detail and brightness as a 10x42 WITHOUT PC or is that just wishful thinking that a more compact model can outperform a model with a higher objective lens ?

Thanks for all the replies and advice for this...

Sorry MJ, I've been away for a few days. I've only compared the PCs to the Hawke Frontier ED fairly briefly. Probably an unfair comparison as the Frontier ED is very good, even for it's £300 price tag. I could list a bunch of points where the Frontier ED does a whole lot better, but at less than £100 for the PC I'd say that was a very good deal. PC means phase coated, which is pretty rare at that price and can improve brightness by up to 30%.

David

PS. I suspect you might find the 8x32 a more versatile option if you can find it at the right price.

A friend of mine has a pair of 10x42's as a backup and they seem fine for the money. A bit of colour fringing and a yellow cast, but wide(ish) FOV and generally very usable.

I posted this thread (hoping for some advice before purchase) and a few days later decided to buy them. They arrived today and I like them a lot, I haven't noticed any colour fringing and brightness is better than expected for a 10x32. I am a 8 power kind of guy but do like having a 10x just for backup.

I would recommend to any other amatuer birdwatchers looking for a lighter more compact binocular than the more common 42's. I guess the low price for a phase coated model is due to them being discontinued.

One other note to point out is the weight is just right, not too light. The neck strap and case are really nice.

I thought about responding but I have never tried these Hawkes so I did not.

I have 4 different 10 x 32 roof prisms and after using them I came to the conclusion that the only really good ones were expensive Alphas; specifically, in my case, the Nikon EDG (which is superb!) and Nikon LX L, an excellent binocular, now discontinued, which I used for years. These are really 1st rate binoculars. The older inexpensive Eagle Optics Ravens and Minox BD BR Aspherics were not nearly as good. FOVs are not wide, edges are not as sharp and they are not as bright, etc.

That is not to say that some of these less expensive ones have not improved. It would be interesting to see reviews of how a Sightron 10 x 32, if one exists, or your binocular performs.

A 10 x 32 roof prism can be a very good binocular but the only ones I have seen get good reviews are the Alphas. And, additionally, they do not sell very well.

Bob