Brunton Eterna Compact 8X25 (1 Viewer)

Greetings!

I've been considering the purchase of a set of lightweight "compact" binoculars for several weeks now, thinking how nice it would be to have something I could leave in the glove box of the car for quick daytrips or unexpected birding opportunities when I'm away from my beloved Nikon HG 8X32's (my "preciousssssss" ). Up to this point, I've considered several possible options in compact glass, and evaluated every model available locally (which amounts to just about every model on the market!).

I have been VERY tempted by the Zeiss 8X20 and Nikon HG 8X20 models, but I've been hesitating because, while both models surpass everything else in their class I've seen so far, neither really "grabbed" me and yanked the cash out of my wallet and both have a 2.5mm exit pupil, which seems more than a bit inadequate for low-light viewing situations.

Today, I had an opportunity to view the new Brunton Eterna 8X25 compact binoculars. I say "new" because of one major difference - the most recent models now have phase coating, whereas the original Eterna's did not. I had not considered these to be a serious contender for compact binoculars up to this point mainly because of that fact, and when I initially looked through the display model at a local camping store I couldn't believe how bright and clear the optics were considering the lack (or so I thought) of phase coating. Only after setting them down after being VERY impressed did I notice that the features tag included "phase coated" as one of the listed items.

I looked again for a few more minutes, then purchased them on the spot. Finally - a compact binocular that has excellent optics, a nice 3.1mm exit pupil, and a low price as well! I'm in compact binocular heaven! I don't understand why more binocular companies don't make 8X25 roof prism models - everyone is making either 8X20 or 10X25... I think there is a serious market segment being overlooked here for 8X25 models!

My ONLY complaint about these marvelous binoculars is the rather restricted field of view (270 ft. at 1000 yards, quite a bit smaller than the typical 350 ft. found in most other binoculars of this type and power). It is like looking through a smaller tunnel when compared to other compact binoculars of the same power, but WOW.... what a bright, clear, contrasty and distortion-free tunnel it is! Absolutely beautiful.... other than the smaller field of view, these are EASILY equal to (if not better than) the Nikon and Zeiss compact offerings at less than half the price. Is the smaller FOV a deal breaker for most of us? Maybe... but I've been watching birds the rest of the afternoon after buying these, and I don't even notice that the view is smaller than the Zeiss and Nikon offerings.... I just see the birds in all their beautiful, crystal clear, distortion-free beauty!

Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend that anyone on this forum who is looking seriously for a compact 8X binocular give these a look before making your final decision. You might just be surprised... I was!

Best wishes,
Bawko

What is your opinion of the carrying case. I saw it on picture and thoght it looked kind of cool.

By the way. In Europe Brunton binoculars are sold under the name Silva.
http://www.silva.se/outdoor/products/bino_start.htm

Take care. O

O Uzel,

I think the carrying case is pretty neat... it is a two part system. The first part is a "binocular glove" which fits over the body of the binocular, which can be kept on the binoculars all the time. It has cutouts to allow focus adjust without removing it. However, you still have to remove part of it using a velcro flap in order to access the diopter adjustment... but that isn't a big deal because once you set the diopter, it shouldn't need to be re-adjusted unless you are letting someone else use the binoculars.

The 2nd part of the case is a snap-on, snap-off outer "bag" which covers the entire binocular, binocular glove, etc. and completely surrounds the entire thing. It has a set of carry strap connections to attach the strap to, or you can attach the strap straight to the binoculars themselves. The carry strap is very nice, one of the best I've seen on any size binocular.... it is soft, rugged, and looks good.

Hope this information helps! I'm still enjoying these binoculars immensely!

Best wishes,
Bawko

O Uzel said:

What is your opinion of the carrying case. I saw it on picture and thoght it looked kind of cool.

By the way. In Europe Brunton binoculars are sold under the name Silva.
http://www.silva.se/outdoor/products/bino_start.htm

Take care. O

Click to expand...

Hmmm, couldn't find the Epochs among their bins.

They're not widely sold in the US. Got my hands on a pair briefly, they seemed very light and compact for a full size bin. Would like to examine them further, and had been hoping to see some Birdforum discussion.

Greetings!

An update for all of you, regarding my recent Eterna binocular purchase.

After using these fine binoculars for a week now, and continually comparing them to my other binoculars (Nikon HG 8X32 and Pentax SP 10X50), I am still VERY impressed with the image quality, brightness, and overall ergonomic design of the Brunton Eterna binoculars. I would recommend them without hesitation to anybody who is looking for a low cost, compact, weatherproof roof prism binocular.

Having said that, I've grown more and more dissatisfied with the only shortcoming of these otherwise excellent optics - the overly narrow field of view. The first two days of use made me forget about this due to the excellent quality and brightness of the image, but after the initial "rush" of excitement at finding such clear optics at such a low price, the FOV really began to bother me. No matter how much I tried to focus on the brilliant image of these binoculars, I always found myself comparing the overall "quantity" of image to my other binoculars and it just felt.... well.... restricted. Like looking through a long, dark tunnel at the bright scene just beyond... always wishing I could go just a bit farther toward the tunnel exit to see more of the view on the other side. I kept saying to myself that the image quality MORE than made up for the lack of image quantity, but I could never quite convince myself that this was completely true.

A few days ago, I decided to do a bit of mathematical calculation, comparing the total AREA of the field of view of the Brunton (270 ft. at 1000 yds.) compared to the total area of the typical 8X20 binocular (350 ft. at 1000 yds.). Using the "Circular Area = Pi x Radius Squared" formula, I came up with the following figures:

Brunton: 57,256 square feet
Typical: 96,211 square feet

This is a very significant difference... no wonder the Brunton optics give a "tunnel" effect!
In any case, I digress...

Today, I was at a local camera and optics shop looking through other binoculars (a relatively common occurence for me recently!), and I noticed that they were having a sale on their Zeiss binoculars. I asked the salesman why they were discounted, as I have never seen Zeiss on sale ANYWHERE, for ANY reason. He told me that the store was expecting a new shipment of Zeiss FL optics next week, so the store manager decided to try and move some of the older Victory II optics thinking they might not sell very well once the newer models were available. Surprisingly, I noticed that the same discount applied to the compact models as well - surprising because the new FL series does not (at least to my knowledge) include a compact model. Rather than question the salesman about this and possibly lose what was potentially be an EXCELLENT deal on these fine optics, I kept my mouth shut and purchased a pair of Zeiss compact 8X20 Victory binoculars at the 20% off sales price.

I went to a local creek where I occasionally watch ducks, and compared my new Zeiss glass to my Bruntons on the resident flock. I found that the image quality is almost IDENTICAL in every respect, except that the Zeiss had a nice wide field of view that didn't make me feel like I was in the middle of a long tunnel looking out the entrance. I thought about it for a while, and took my Brunton's back for a refund on the last day of the 7-day store return policy. I will miss them, but I will also enjoy my new Zeiss binoculars as well... I guess like so many things in life it is a tradeoff.

Would I still recommend the Brunton Eterna compact binos after all of this? Undoubtably. There are so many positive things to say about those binoculars... and the price is so low... it's hard to NOT reccommend them. For a manufacturer to create optics that are as good as Zeiss for half the price is quite an accomplishment, and the ergonomic design of the Eternas is still one of the best I have ever seen. However, the narrow field of view eventually really did get to me, and I would STRONGLY recommend to anybody considering purchasing these binoculars that you first take a good LONG look through these optics and see if the narrow field of view will eventually bother you before buying... for many people this will probably not be an issue at all. For those of you who don't mind the narrow field of view, there just isn't currently a better option for low-cost, high-quality optics than the Bruntons.

Best wishes,
Bawko

last day of the 7-day store return policy.

Click to expand...

I have not found stores like that. Maybe a few camera stores if I look hard enough. But those stores never have any sale prices.

Tero,

I find that VERY fascinating.... almost unbelievable!
In this area (Utah), every place I have ever shopped for binoculars, cameras, and scopes has some kind of return policy. Most stores give you at least 7 days, 10 days is more common. I purchased my Nikon HG binoculars at a sporting goods store, and they have an amazing 30 day return policy with no restocking fee. The very WORST place in this area in terms of optics is a high-end gun store that specializes in Leica and Swarovski, but even they allow returns of optics within 10 days if you are willing to pay a 10% restocking fee.

I've used local store return policies twice in the past, once on Friday of last week to return the Brunton Eternas this thread is about, and once about 2 months ago when I was evaluating a pair of Pentax SP 10X50 binoculars (I found the identical binoculars at another store for $100 less, and happily returned the original pair to take advantage of the savings).

Of course, all of these stores require that the optics be returned in new condition, with all the original packaging, no dings or scratches, etc. and with the original receipt. If you "try out" a binocular and drop it or scrape it on a tree branch then you pretty much own it at that point... which is only fair and reasonable.

Best wishes,
Bawko

I checked and camera stores do have some return policies.