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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Opticron 8x42 DBA Oasis (1 Viewer)

Stewart J.

Well-known member
Hi all attended an Optics Demo at Talkin Tarn nr Brampton, Cumbria this morning as in the market for new optics. Miserable overcast day with rain showers so ideal conditions for comparison with Swarovski, Zeiss FL's and Ultravids. I had set my sights on Zeiss after looking through the new 7 & 10 x 42 FLs at another demo at Lochwinnoch RSPB last weekend. I had not even considered Opticron and hoped to check out the 8 x 42 Zeiss but they didnt have a pair avaliable. Gave the Leica's and Swaro's a good looking at and the organiser suggested I checked the DBA's against the others.

I was really really impressed and could not seperate them optically from the top end marques. The close focus was better than Zeiss (Opticron claim 2.2 metres) but they actually came down to just less than 6 feet!!! Quality is right up there with the best and wearing specs the eye cups are click stopped which is a real bonus.

Googling showed them for only £599 (rrp £649) so not being a brand junkie I'm giving them serious thought.

See they were given a big thumbs up in this month's Birdwatch mag (march)

Anyone out there using them?

Stewart
 
I was also very impressed with their DBA predecessors. Don't know how different the latest model is but decided against them in favour of Swaro ELs. My three main reasons were: handled some s/hand DBAs at Kay's and they hadn't worn very well over a couple of years - which made me doubt their build quality. Secondly, the Swaro reputation for after sales. Essentially the DBAs are made in Japan and badged for Opticron so, although they come with a 30 yr guarantee, I would prefer a guarantee direct from the manufacturer. Thirdly, their potential second hand residual value. There were a pair going second hand on Bird Forum a few months back - mint- for not much more than £300 and they struggled to find a buyer.
 
Hi Stewart
Recently I almost bought at pair of the DBA's after a giving them a good test and finding them to be very good, I also tried out the new Leica Ultravids and Swarovski EL's, but I ended up with the Nikon 8X32 HGL's which I found to be the best all in all. I recomend you give them a look because price wise they are close to the DBA's but much better in every way in my opinion.
 
I took a look at the new 8x42 DBA Oasis recently and thought they were pretty good. But, what put me off buying in the end was chromatic aberration, which seemed to be only a bit better than in their predecessors. However, I seem to be especially sensitive to it, so your mileage may vary! I've ended up getting the Nikon SE 8x32 porros - but you might also take a look at the Nikon HGL which also looked pretty good in this price area.

Greg.
 
Blincodave said:
I was also very impressed with their DBA predecessors. Don't know how different the latest model is but decided against them in favour of Swaro ELs. My three main reasons were: handled some s/hand DBAs at Kay's and they hadn't worn very well over a couple of years - which made me doubt their build quality. Secondly, the Swaro reputation for after sales. Essentially the DBAs are made in Japan and badged for Opticron so, although they come with a 30 yr guarantee, I would prefer a guarantee direct from the manufacturer. Thirdly, their potential second hand residual value. There were a pair going second hand on Bird Forum a few months back - mint- for not much more than £300 and they struggled to find a buyer.

I think the DBA's you refer to being sold on BF were mine and no, i didn't find a buyer. Rather spookily i traded them in at Kay Optical so the ones you tried may well have been mine. Spooky fact number two, i traded them in for some EL's. Very nice too. Incidentaly i've just put Swarovski's customer service to the test (not regarding the bins) and they passed admirably.

Graeme
 
Jeepers....its a bit scary to think that the 'real' quality of a product is of no relevance compared to the 'Badge association' that some birders are becoming obsessed with.
No wonder that advertisers on E-Bay quote 'NOT Swarovski/Leica' to get attention. Look at any ad in any Birdwatching mag and you will see what I mean (dominated by?).
Birders, get real...look at your 'old equipment'...like I look at mine. Is my 12 year old TS601 that much worse than the latest offerings?(apart from being lighter)...and why does the 'old' TSN series keep its price on resale?...answers on a postcard to...
 
Steve Jones said:
Jeepers....its a bit scary to think that the 'real' quality of a product is of no relevance compared to the 'Badge association' that some birders are becoming obsessed with.
No wonder that advertisers on E-Bay quote 'NOT Swarovski/Leica' to get attention. Look at any ad in any Birdwatching mag and you will see what I mean (dominated by?).
Birders, get real...look at your 'old equipment'...like I look at mine. Is my 12 year old TS601 that much worse than the latest offerings?(apart from being lighter)...and why does the 'old' TSN series keep its price on resale?...answers on a postcard to...

Wise words mate!

I once read, the best scope is the one that is used and not left at home. My new kowa 613 is great! - light as a feather with pod to match. I have the ED78 with Slik tripod, obviously better (ok then, supposedly) but not as light and convenient. THe latter is my scoping kit, and will be no problem when seawatching from a fixed spot, but I resisted the temptation to purchase the Leica 62APO as a light scope for one at a substantial saving.
 
Quacker said:
I once read, the best scope is the one that is used and not left at home.

Stephen Ingrahama said something similar about the Nikon Fieldscope IIIED.

I'm not certain what this fad is for the latest model since the differences are usually small.......
 
Steve Jones said:
Jeepers....its a bit scary to think that the 'real' quality of a product is of no relevance compared to the 'Badge association' that some birders are becoming obsessed with.
No wonder that advertisers on E-Bay quote 'NOT Swarovski/Leica' to get attention. Look at any ad in any Birdwatching mag and you will see what I mean (dominated by?).
Birders, get real...look at your 'old equipment'...like I look at mine. Is my 12 year old TS601 that much worse than the latest offerings?(apart from being lighter)...and why does the 'old' TSN series keep its price on resale?...answers on a postcard to...

Steve,

I take your point - there is a lot of snobbery in birding over badges. Certainly, having a quality pair of bins does not make you a good birder. My reasons for buying Swaro was not based on the 'badge' but on the obvious build quality of the Swaros and the back up that Swaro do provide. Optically, they were better than the DBAs but probably not £250 worth! A birding friend of mine has a Kowa TS601. With respect, I think you are deluding yourself if you cannot see the obvious improvements in optical quality of the latest generation of scopes - especially if you wear specs or if you prefer using a zoom.
 
have to say one time I had to put Opticron customer service through its paces it was excellent. As was the dealer I might add.
 
Hi all managed to catch up with the Nikon 8 x 42 HGLs today at Lochwinnoch (dreary overcast day) and was able to compare with Swaro, Lieca and Zeiss and they really are good. Intend visiting another optics demo in Northumberland next weekend and whittle them down.

Stewart

PS Only got home tonight been at work last 4 days with no internet access so apologies for delay in replying.

:h?:
 
Have been using Opticron for years & bought some new DBA Oasis 8x42 prior to a visit to Norfolk in January. The weather wasn't up to much with rain lashing in from the sea & have nothing but praise for the bins.
Still, 112 species in 2 days wasn't bad was it?
 
Hi All as promised my decision, attended another Optic demo in Northumberland today and after much testing, soul searching and brand comparison chose the Nikon 8 x 42 HGL. Was fortunate enough to be able to test them alongside the 10 x 42HGL and the former suited be better, was allowed to test them for best part of an hour (at a Nature Reserve) then went for a drive to consider for an hour before returning for more testing.

Am I happy, they are awesome, birded for 40 years and for last 20 have used Zeiss 10 x 40's so had to do some serious "thinking" before deciding on 8's and all the way home I worried about my purchase. Sitting outside with a cold beer just after 19.00hrs tonight as the light was going "orangey" contemplating my purchase a couple of Buzzards got up and started displaying over the river 400 metres distant the image through the HGL's was amazing no contest with my old Zeiss so I'm now more than happy.

So thanks Greg and the others who pointed me in Nikon direction.

Stewart

:t: :t: :t:
 
Thanks!

Stewart J. said:
Hi All as promised my decision, attended another Optic demo in Northumberland today and after much testing, soul searching and brand comparison chose the Nikon 8 x 42 HGL. Was fortunate enough to be able to test them alongside the 10 x 42HGL and the former suited be better, was allowed to test them for best part of an hour (at a Nature Reserve) then went for a drive to consider for an hour before returning for more testing.

Am I happy, they are awesome, birded for 40 years and for last 20 have used Zeiss 10 x 40's so had to do some serious "thinking" before deciding on 8's and all the way home I worried about my purchase. Sitting outside with a cold beer just after 19.00hrs tonight as the light was going "orangey" contemplating my purchase a couple of Buzzards got up and started displaying over the river 400 metres distant the image through the HGL's was amazing no contest with my old Zeiss so I'm now more than happy.

So thanks Greg and the others who pointed me in Nikon direction.

Stewart

:t: :t: :t:

Hi all - I haven't contributed to this thread but I carefully considered some of the comments made by people about different binns, as I recently bought some & wasn't sure what to get. I did have the Opticron DBA Oasis but I wasn't happy with them & returned them for a full refund - maybe it was my eyes, but there sometimes seemed to be some slight doubling up of the field of view (i.e. 2 spheres superimposed on one another), & even my girlfriend's Viking Vistron (£150) were noticeably better in terms of clarity.

I didn't really have time to hunt the internet for all the different reviews, but I did find some of the comments in this thread (& a couple of others) really helpful. I went to the Lodge in Sandy the other day & tested out RSPB high grade roof prism, Leica ultravids, another Leica model (some other kind of 'vid', not sure exactly which one), Zeiss FL, & Nikon HGL - all 8x42. I didn't check out Swaro's as I don't like the look of them, + if I'm honest I think there's also an element of inverted snobbery! I very quickly whittled it down to a straight contest between the Leica ultravids & the Nikon HGL - in the end the clear winner was the Nikon HGL, mainly because with the ultravids there seemed to be some 'fogging' towards the edge of the field of view, & I really didn't want to spend £900 on them & not be 100% happy with them. I wasn't really bothered how much they cost, but the Nikon's were also over £100 cheaper than the ultravids as well.

So I just want to say thank you to the people who, inadvertently via this thread, pointed me in the direction of the Nikon HGL - I'm really happy with them, & probably wouldn't even have considered them if it had not been for this thread. So thanks!

P.s If anyone wants to buy some really good roof prisms at low cost, I highly recommend the Viking Vistron 8x42 - at a glance (i.e. through the lens) & in bog standard light conditions, it's really difficult to separate them from the main players!
 
Last edited:
ocelot said:
there sometimes seemed to be some slight doubling up of the field of view (i.e. 2 spheres superimposed on one another), & even my girlfriend's Viking Vistron (£150) were noticeably better in terms of clarity.
This sounds like your DBA's were faulty (perhaps fractionally out of alignment?).

I've had a pair for a couple of years, and been delighted with them. Agree with Stewart's original post to say there is very little difference between these and the "big names".
 
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