Kevin Purcell
Well-known member
I have all three and have compared them.
Executive summary: the SE is a bit sharper and a bit "cleaner" than the Hawke or the Promaster. Would anyone have expected a different outcome
The "cleaner" bit is that slight ... "haze" or "fog" is way too strong a word ... but the bins have a particular view that I've come to associate with roof prisms (though I've not owned the very top 4 roofs so I don't know if they have that problem). I've seen a worse version of this same sort of view less expensive bins. And this sort of feeling seems absent in less expensive good porros (e.g. my Celestron Ultima DX 8x32).
That said both the Hawke and the Promaster are very good bins. I also have a Bushnell Elite 8x43 (the revision before the current one without the 4 stop eyecups). In comparing the Hawke or the Promaster view to the Elite I give the Hawke or the Promaster the edge: they're sharper, have (much) less CA and a generally slightly better view. And given the common review ordering is Euro 3 + Nikon top bins then Bushnell Elite that puts the Hawke or the Promaster just behind the top 4 (which is remarkable but true).
When I compare SE, Promaster and Hawke for stray light issues e.g. how close can you get to the sun before the image degrades or rather how much does the image degrade 20 degrees away from the sun (one full hand span at arms length ... easy to measure in the field). The Hawke is worse that the Elite or the Promaster with stray light though (they really should have small FOV). The Promaster is reasonable with stray light but starts to have problems at 20 degrees out. From other reports I've seen it's not as good as one of the top 4 bins. The SE seems much more resistant to close to the sun stray light issues.
One other point on Hawke and the Promaster is the coatings aren't quite identical. Using a mini Maglite in candle mode as a small bright target in the dark I can see more ghosting in the Hawke than in the Promaster I have. Same with diffraction spikes from the roof prism: the Hawke has more pronouced diffraction spikes (and I suspect that is at least part of the cause of the "haze"). Promaster has very small (and in some cases no) diffraction spikes with this test. The SE doesn't have diffraction spikes (it's a porro) and the AR coatings are excellent with no ghosting. So this leads me to believe that perhaps the component quality in the Promaster is a bit better than the Hawke (and I presume other similar ED but we need to test that).
One thing to keep in mind is this is a small sample but the differences in the two pairs is noticeable and consistent (it's not like one has better AR and the other has better diffraction spikes).
So in order of optical quality: SE, Promaster and Hawke.
Of course optics aren't the only consideration when picking a bin. Some people have problems with the SE and it's eye relief (which seems to be a combination of too large ER and not very adjustable eyecups: if you wear glasses increase the vertex distance if you are having problems i.e. adjust the nose mount to move the glasses away from your eyes).
Ergonomics are another issue. This could go both ways. The SE is compact and light weight but wider (it is a porro) but I find it easy to grip comfortably in my quite large hands. The Hawke and Promaster are open-bridge and it's easier to wrap small hands around them. I like the grip I get from both of them. But they're heavier. I even find the focusing knob slightly easier to use (though slower) on the roofs than on the SE. But I could use either.
The other problem is lack of waterproofing in the SE. This is perhaps the biggest reason I don't use them as much in rainy Seattle. I suspect I'm being overprotective
Finally the service and warranty. Nikon seems to be pretty good (after perhaps a bad patch) in service. They can repair and refurbish older bins. For the other two I think the standard mode of operation is replacement.
