In my hunt for something small and light to carry around in my bag, I narrowed down my search to these two models from the Opticron range. I tried near enough every compact binocular within my budget and found most of them disappointing. Either the eye relief was too short or the ergonomics didn't work for me. So, I spent some time comparing these two models.
The Discovery 8x32 is listed as costing £169 with the Savanna being listed as £99.
Ergonomics
The Opticron Discovery 8x32 is a very light roof prism weighing in at only 391g. It feels good in the hand and is perhaps the smallest 8x32 around. It has a rather large focussing wheel, which turned very smoothly, although the model I tried had a little bit of "play".
The Savanna 8x30 is a small porro prism which weighs 485 grams. It is very well balanced and feels really good in the hand. The focussing wheel moved fairly smoothly. One model I tried had a little bit of "play" but the other didn't. I found the focussing wheel difficult to get going, but once you started focussing it was easy to use.
Build Quality
This is difficult to judge from a short trial. The Discovery is made from "lightweight ABS plastic" with a tuber armouring. I can't find what the body of the Savanna is made from. The Savanna felt more substantial and solid. Both are waterproof.
Stats
Both models have a field of view of 131m, which is very good. The close focus on the Discovery is an excellent 1.2m, but I could get it down to just under 1m. The Savanna has a much longer close focus at 3m. I wear glasses and both models work well for me (Discovery 17mm eye relief and the Savanna has 18mm), but I felt the extra 1mm in the Savanna made a difference.
Optics
The Discovery is fully coated with phase correction. The Savanna is listed as being "multicoated" (phase correction not being required in porros), but it states on the Opticron website, " the optical set-up delivers brighter, sharper more three dimensional images compared to similarly priced roof prism binoculars. In addition wide field eyepieces and a large depth of field make for easy focusing and tracking of wildlife."
The View
I tried out the Discovery first. It has an average view, with decent sharpness and contrast. The sweetspot is relatively large - I estimated up to 60%. The view is probably about right for its price point (although I have seen better for cheaper).
However, despite being quite a bit cheaper, the Savanna proved to be a real gem. The image was much clearer, brighter, sharper (with a larger sweetspot - circa 90%), contrast was excellent and the 3D aspect of porros is quite pronounced. It was excellent depth of field, I found only a little focussing was required.
Conclusion
Being a huge Opticron fan, I liked both models. The Discovery's real strengths are the size/weight and "fun factor". They are really cute and I found them much easier to use than the numerous compacts I tried. Truly these could fit in your pocket. They have a wide view and great close focus. I don't think anyone would be disappointed with them. The view is quite average but I would echo what someone said on this forum a few years ago, optically it has no real strengths but no real weaknesses. I think they are possibly slightly overpriced for the view you get.
However, the Savanna was the clear winner. It is still quite small and light, you would need huge pockets from these to fit in, but they are quite snug. They are very well balanced in the hand. Optically, these are superb for the money. The image is very sharp with great contrast.
In the end, I bought the Savanna 8x30 but if I had had the money I might have bought them both.
The Discovery 8x32 is listed as costing £169 with the Savanna being listed as £99.
Ergonomics
The Opticron Discovery 8x32 is a very light roof prism weighing in at only 391g. It feels good in the hand and is perhaps the smallest 8x32 around. It has a rather large focussing wheel, which turned very smoothly, although the model I tried had a little bit of "play".
The Savanna 8x30 is a small porro prism which weighs 485 grams. It is very well balanced and feels really good in the hand. The focussing wheel moved fairly smoothly. One model I tried had a little bit of "play" but the other didn't. I found the focussing wheel difficult to get going, but once you started focussing it was easy to use.
Build Quality
This is difficult to judge from a short trial. The Discovery is made from "lightweight ABS plastic" with a tuber armouring. I can't find what the body of the Savanna is made from. The Savanna felt more substantial and solid. Both are waterproof.
Stats
Both models have a field of view of 131m, which is very good. The close focus on the Discovery is an excellent 1.2m, but I could get it down to just under 1m. The Savanna has a much longer close focus at 3m. I wear glasses and both models work well for me (Discovery 17mm eye relief and the Savanna has 18mm), but I felt the extra 1mm in the Savanna made a difference.
Optics
The Discovery is fully coated with phase correction. The Savanna is listed as being "multicoated" (phase correction not being required in porros), but it states on the Opticron website, " the optical set-up delivers brighter, sharper more three dimensional images compared to similarly priced roof prism binoculars. In addition wide field eyepieces and a large depth of field make for easy focusing and tracking of wildlife."
The View
I tried out the Discovery first. It has an average view, with decent sharpness and contrast. The sweetspot is relatively large - I estimated up to 60%. The view is probably about right for its price point (although I have seen better for cheaper).
However, despite being quite a bit cheaper, the Savanna proved to be a real gem. The image was much clearer, brighter, sharper (with a larger sweetspot - circa 90%), contrast was excellent and the 3D aspect of porros is quite pronounced. It was excellent depth of field, I found only a little focussing was required.
Conclusion
Being a huge Opticron fan, I liked both models. The Discovery's real strengths are the size/weight and "fun factor". They are really cute and I found them much easier to use than the numerous compacts I tried. Truly these could fit in your pocket. They have a wide view and great close focus. I don't think anyone would be disappointed with them. The view is quite average but I would echo what someone said on this forum a few years ago, optically it has no real strengths but no real weaknesses. I think they are possibly slightly overpriced for the view you get.
However, the Savanna was the clear winner. It is still quite small and light, you would need huge pockets from these to fit in, but they are quite snug. They are very well balanced in the hand. Optically, these are superb for the money. The image is very sharp with great contrast.
In the end, I bought the Savanna 8x30 but if I had had the money I might have bought them both.
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