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Natura ED (1 Viewer)

T

tobytayles

tobytayles
Hi all
Has anyone tried the new opticron Natura ed binoculars yet?
Are they much more of an improvement on the old ones and is it worth upgrading to them
Cheers Rich
 
Natura ED?

Haven't heard of that one yet but then sometimes it takes a bit before news hits this side of the pond. :)
 
I did have a quick look at BirdFair, but I wasn't quite sure if they were final specification samples. I left Pete Gamby with a couple of question. Just sent him a reminder. ;)

David
 
Petrus82 said:
Why do Opticron insist on sticking with 7 degrees for the FOV? It's relatively poor in this day and age.
Click to expand...

It's a question I've put to Pete more than once and even the company owner at Birdfair this year without a satisfactory answer. I'm pretty sure it's usually in order to get 22mm eye relief, but weight is probably a consideration as well.

I'm quite sure a small percentage of spectacle wearers are delighted that there are very long ER models available but I suspect it's a big turn off for the majority. Why blight most of the range this way?

I know Pete's away at the moment but he said he'd look into it when he gets back.

David
 
This question was also posed when the VHD was introduced last year. The official response was that in order to keep the size and weight down to a certain level (which are two of the main components of the company motto) smaller prisms are utilized. The smaller prisms dictate the need for a specific eyepiece design which yields a narrower field of view.

I do agree that an 8 degree 8x42 would certainly be a welcome addition but my guess is that it would compromise some of the primary goals of the company.

Of course, if a person isn't focused solely on a 42 mm sized binocular they can get wider fields of view with the 32 mm versions (assuming it is available for that model).
 
Frank,

A 60° view and a 22mm ER would need both bigger prisms and a wider eyepiece and therefore much more weight, but at least some of the models, I'm sure just changing the ER to 17.5mm would get you 60°+.

David
 
Last edited:
Petrus82 said:
Why do Opticron insist on sticking with 7 degrees for the FOV? It's relatively poor in this day and age.
Click to expand...

I take it this is in reference specifically to the 8X42 model which has a 122 m FOV. That yields an angle of view of approximately 7 degrees. (122 divided by 17.5).


Now discussing the new Natura generally, they do show an 8X32 version that has a FOV of a 131 m, which gives an angle of view of about 7.5 degrees (131 divided by 17.5).

The upcoming 8X32 Natura looks to be the almost the spitting image of the Cabela's Guide (Luepold Mojave) 8X32. Opticron shows a length of 124 mm. My Guide 8X32 measures the same and weighs out at 19.4 oz (550 grams). Other similarities are the identical focus knob, same amoring over the strap lugs, and the hinge cap.

NaturaGuikde.jpg

The Cabela's Guide has a FOV of 140 m (420ft) or an angle of view of about 8 degrees.

If the Cabela's and Natura are sharing the same housing, I would expect the same FOV. I wonder if the specs are wrong on one of these. If not, why the different FOV? The Leupold 2016 catalog for 8X32 Mojave shows an eye relief figure of 16 mm compared to 18 mm for Natura 8X32. That may explain things if true. However, the eye relief of my Guide appears greater than 16 mm to me.
 
Bruce,

If the eye lens is identical diameter then that 2mm difference in ER would perfectly account for the difference in FOV.

David
 
Last edited:
David ... Thanks for the confirmation of what I was considering.

It is interesting to compare the new 8X32 Natura BGA ED with the Opticron Countryman 8X32 BGA HD. They look similar and both are the same length at 124 mm. However the Countryman has both a wider FOV at 140 mm and a longer eye relief of 19 mm. However weight is 49 grams more. Maybe that is due to larger prisms but the Countryman also has a more massive hinge.

8X32 Natura on the left and the 8X32 Countryman on the right:

NaturaCountryman.jpg

What appeals to me about the 8X32 Natura compared to the Cabela's Guide is the ED glass. I doubt the Guide uses ED glass. However, I would rather have the wider FOV in the Guide than the ED glass in the Natura.
 
Thanks for all the information. I guess it depends on what your priorities are. I like the Opticron view, but would like a wider field of view. But one cannot have everything one wants!
 
Frank should now have one each of the Natura ED 8x32 and 8x42 for review.

Initial stock has finally arrived in the UK and will be shipping to stockists here this week - Focalpoint, Feathers Wildbird Care, Sheffield Photographic and Sherwoods will be amongst the first to take delivery.

HTH

Cheers, Pete
 
Got 'em yesterday Pete....along with the new UTA 2x (doubler) and the new Universal Phonescoping adapter. Lots to play with this week/weekend. ;)

After initial impressions I have to say that I am actually more fond of the 8x42 Natura ED than I thought I would be. With the conservative 7 degree field of view I thought it would be a bit restrictive but that isn't the case. I think that is the result of very large sweet spot and the specific style of edge performance. It doesn't feel restrictive at all plus the image is very sharp with little CA. Two thumbs up for the 8x42 Natura ED (more to follow). ;)
 
Are these Japanese ? I know they have 30 year guarantee which usually indicate made in Japan. However, there's no mention on the blurb.
 
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