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Opticron DBA Oasis S-Coat 8x42 (1 Viewer)

T

TomW

Well-known member
Has anyone tried these yet. There's an offer on at the moment; buy these and get a free pair of the DBA Oasis 8x21 compact, which are getting good reviews.

I am after a compact, but also looking to replace my trusty optolyth 8x40 alpins which are starting to show their age.

The 8x42 does seem a bit on the heavy side at 691g ( the alpins are only about 430g), but I can't find any reviews of them.
Thanks
Tom
 
TomW said:
Has anyone tried these yet. There's an offer on at the moment; buy these and get a free pair of the DBA Oasis 8x21 compact, which are getting good reviews.

I am after a compact, but also looking to replace my trusty optolyth 8x40 alpins which are starting to show their age.

The 8x42 does seem a bit on the heavy side at 691g ( the alpins are only about 430g), but I can't find any reviews of them.
Thanks
Tom
Click to expand...

Hi Tom,
I haven't used these extensively but I have tried then in shops a couple of times (the 8x42s not the compacts). Last time was a bout a month ago when I bought some new bins.
I like them but I didn't buy them. I went for Meopta 8x32s but they don't come with a free compact pair so probably not of use to you.
I think the DBAs are a good weight for 42s. Many others are over 800g.
The only thing I would say the DBAs are lacking in is field of view which is only 7 degrees or 122m at 1000m.
Optically I found them fine but nowhere near as good as the Meoptas which cost £550 which is about what the DBAs cost.
The Meoptas were optically better (to my eyes at least) than all the bins I tested then- Swarovski SLC 8x30s which cost about £750 as well as the DBAs, some s/hand Leica Bn 8x32s and my own Vortex Razor 8x42s.

Good luck with your binocular hunt,
Martin.
 
TomW said:
Has anyone tried these yet. There's an offer on at the moment; buy these and get a free pair of the DBA Oasis 8x21 compact, which are getting good reviews.

I am after a compact, but also looking to replace my trusty optolyth 8x40 alpins which are starting to show their age.

The 8x42 does seem a bit on the heavy side at 691g ( the alpins are only about 430g), but I can't find any reviews of them.
Thanks
Tom
Click to expand...

Sorry Tom, i forgot to say that the Meoptas weigh 560g and I guess whether the DBAs are worth it all depends on how much you want the compacts that come with them.

Whatever you think, always try them before you buy them.
 
Hi Tom
I recently tried the Opticron DBA 8x42 at Martin Mere but having also tried the Imagics 8x42 could not see much difference in fact i preffered the Imagics . Also tried the DBA 8x21 compacts and was very impressed and am hoping to purchase some compacts in the near future .Opticron are not the best but they are very good and no where near the prices of the Alphas.
yi have an opticron mm2 with sdl eyepiece and am very pleased with it . Harold
 
Hi there mucka! I am not an expert birder but I already own a pair of opticron BGA Classics 8x42(2/3 yrs). I recently tested the NEW DBA OASIS S & the NEW AURORA- both 8x42- against mine @ In Focus in Egleton.
Both were easier to use & had more clarity than mine, & I have always found the handling of the DBA's to be ideal, with the so called "extra weight" not an issue for me- in the same way that Swarovski's top ones may be "heavier" compared to their competitors, but the ergonomics of them cancel this out ie heavier does NOT mean bulkier NB!
Price wise,I would say the Aurora's do NOT justify the extra outlay & I struggled to see any improvement over the DBA Oasis! However, with the offer on the compacts, I am very tempted. I could always sell you my BGA Classics!
The caveats for me are that if you want a pair of compacts too, then this seems like a good deal. However, bear in mind you can pick up a pair of the old DBA's for much less & on Opticron's own site, the reviewer found little discernable difference between the old & new models!Also your p/ex price must come in to the equation too. Some other members have had probs with loose bins too!
On the positives, I am impressed with opticron's service- & they are very helpful & honest etc on the phone too.The 30 year warranty is not to be sniffed at either & some other models may seem better new, but would they be as good in a few years! A 30 yr warranty gives me a bit more reassurance.
Try as many models out as you can- each bino is personal to you ie I had my heart set on some new Zeiss but when I tried them I found them much too bulky & far too fiddly to focus, even compared to the former DBA oasis!(The 8x32's were a different ball game though!)
Good luck. I will let you know if I buy them- I am tempted as they ARE better than my CLASSICS- especially easier to use for me. On the "looseness" of the compacts, I would trust Luton to sort that as they have been of excellent service in my experience. If not, I would try to get some sort of deal sorted out!
Cheers.
 
Went to SW Optics today to look at some 10X bins. My 2005 Imagic 8x42s have served very well in daily use, but I regularly find that a lttle bit more magnification would be useful. As a specs wearer I like the long eye relief offered by many Opticron bins. I am reluctant to pay very high prices (£1000+) for bins since I want to focus on looking through them rather than looking after them, which might be the downside of buying something very expensive.

I expected to leave with the BGA SEs or maybe the Veranos. Tried a few different models including BGA SE and Aurora but, having tried the DBA S-coat 10x42, I just didn't want anything else, even though the price was a bit more than I had intended to pay. The image was very bright and sharp, the focus super-smooth, the 18mm eye relief is fine and everything else seemed dull beside the DBAs, so bought them on the spot. There is a £50 cashback offer during November which I believe makes them very good value.

The FOV is only 6 degrees but this doesn't seem to be a problem in practice. The depth of field seems good for a 10x bin. One minor gripe is that the rotating eyecups feel less robust than those on the BGA. As a specs wearer, they will always be retracted so that doesn't matter very much.

I'm no expert, but I have looked at Leica, Swarovision and Zeiss 8/10x42s a few times over the last year to see if spending the extra cash is worthwhile. The Swaros were great but too expensive, Zeiss were OK and Leica were disappointing and, from my admittedly limited experience, the DBAs seem to approach the optical performance of the alphas at a fraction of the price. For anyone looking for great optical performance at a moderate price they are certainly worth a look.
 
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