Oberwerk 8x32 SE (1 Viewer)

[Paultricounty]

Let's not forget the "SE" is what... a $250 binocular - and should really be compared with binoculars in the same price range, rather than models that might cost twice as much or more.

Optically you can easily compare these SE’s to $500 mid-level roof Binoculars. I’d possibly compare the optics to the Vortex vipers and Zeiss Terra’s, maybe even better. I’ll know once I get mine back and I have a chance to compare them to multiple other binoculars.

 

[Patudo]

Glad to hear they perform well optically, but focus feel/evenness (discussed in the last couple of posts) is down to build quality, and it seems harder to find binoculars that punch above their price in that respect these days. I suppose a porro is simpler mechanically than a internally focusing roof so hopefully that helps in terms of achieving bang for buck in terms of mechanical quality.

 

[Paultricounty]

Picture heavy

A little too cold to do any serious testing today, but now that I have them back with the improved focuser, and the Nikon SE’s together I wanted to throw this out there. I have good size comparisons , a bit picture heavy so I may need to post two parts. The pictures will speak for themselves concerning the size of the new Oberwerk SE 8x32. These were taken with a three year old iPhone (Brock 😜✌🏼).

My initial copy had a little bit of an issue with the focuser which Kevin from Oberwerk took care of , and had them on the way back to me in two days priory mail. The focuser is average to good , and I think in line with other water proof Chinese binos within the price point. The focus travel is smooth with the slightest amount of free play when changing directions at certain points in the travel. The focuser is quite slow and a little bit spongy, but not heavy at all for water proof porros. All and all a very usable focuser.

As stated before fit and finish is very good, they feel great in the hands, balance well, and the hinge and diopter are firm and work smoothly. Objective and ocular caps work adequately and stay on.

These are bright and sharp binoculars. I’m going to get in trouble here with some Nikon guys, but they are brighter and at least as sharp as the Nikon SE’s. Theyre more neutral in color than the Nikons and has a much wider field of view. There is no field flattener like the Nikons , so they’re not sharp to the edge. It’s a very usable FOV with fall off starting at around 75% , but no mushy edges like the Kowa BDII 6.5 and 8x and some other MIC bins. Contrast is as good as the Nikon and I couldn’t see the slightest amount of CA, clearly superior to the Nikon in that area. They snap into focus very nicely. We’re going to do more side by side with the binoculars in the pictures as well as some roofs when I get a few people together and the cold snap beakes a bit.

They are a bit large as can be seen in the pictures and on the heavy side for a 32, but it’s a unique binocular with an image quality that is superb for this price point and will match up optically with binoculars costing double or even triple it’s price. So far Oberwerk has brought us a very nice piece of optical equipment.

Picture 1 with Nikon 8x32 SE.
Picture 2 with Nikon 10x42 SE.
Picture 3 all three together.
Picture 4 Swaro Habicht & APM 6x30.
Picture 5 Swift 8.5x44 Audubon.
Picture 6 Swift 7x35 Holiday MKII.
Picture 7 Oberwerk & Nikon SE’s.

Thank you

Paul

 

[dries1]

That looks like the largest 8X32 porro I have seen, not much difference in size with the 10X42 SE. The price however will not scare folks away.

 

[Canip]

They are a bit large as can be seen in the pictures and on the heavy side for a 32

Thanks for the pictures; yes, the Obie looks a bit large in comparison.

it’s a unique binocular with an image quality that is superb for this price point and will match up optically with binoculars costing double or even triple it’s price.

Sounds interesting, and I am looking forward to confirm that assessment (just ordered an SE myself).

 

[Paultricounty]

Thanks for the pictures; yes, the Obie looks a bit large in comparison.



Sounds interesting, and I am looking forward to confirm that assessment (just ordered an SE myself).

I’m looking forward to your assessment.

 

[chris6]

Be interesting to hear what connection Oberwerk feel there is between this model and the other SE "from a well-known Japanese brand" to justify saying it is based on it. Clearly the specs indicate it isn't an attempt at a clone.

I do recall the brand Levenhuk offering vaguely similar looking Porro models in their line which had the same spec with the more expensive model offering the promise of "improved eyepieces". Maybe there has been an attempt to emulate the "field flattener" which Henry has suggested might have had a large part to play in the lack of astigmatism in the Nik.., Japanse model even if some field curvature was still present (though of course we're talking about a wider FOV eyepiece here).

Anyways indeed does seem a little optimistic to expect it to perform at the level of a model which fetches twice the price in the used market (if you can find one). Hopefully it will offer an attractive option at the price point. There was a thread here last week where someone was looking for a 10x50 Porro model for $200. A bit of research lead me to conclude that no current options above that price point.

Good stuff Norm! That's just it and I am the proud? owner of both Vixen Foresta 8x32 and Levenhuk Sherman Pro 8x42, which have excellent views and actually do also show some functional improvements over the Nikon SEs.

Trouble is that as indicated here already both of those examples had the usual stiff and sloppy focus actions, seen with less costly binoculars mostly, but the free play thing was also present in the two examples I had of Meopta 12x50. That had lovely views and colour so, having used Nikon 8x32 and 10x35 SEs but never having seen a Nikon 12x50 SE, I have high hopes for the Oberwerk 12x50 SE, especially in view of Denco's reassuring post about Kevin Busarow having personally checked 'over 30,000' binoculars.

This forum has cost me quite a few bob!

 

[henry link]

Be interesting to hear what connection Oberwerk feel there is between this model and the other SE "from a well-known Japanese brand" to justify saying it is based on it. Clearly the specs indicate it isn't an attempt at a clone.

I do recall the brand Levenhuk offering vaguely similar looking Porro models in their line which had the same spec with the more expensive model offering the promise of "improved eyepieces". Maybe there has been an attempt to emulate the "field flattener" which Henry has suggested might have had a large part to play in the lack of astigmatism in the Nik.., Japanse model even if some field curvature was still present (though of course we're talking about a wider FOV eyepiece here).

Anyways indeed does seem a little optimistic to expect it to perform at the level of a model which fetches twice the price in the used market (if you can find one). Hopefully it will offer an attractive option at the price point. There was a thread here last week where someone was looking for a 10x50 Porro model for $200. A bit of research lead me to conclude that no current options above that price point.

The "flat field" eyepiece of the Nikon SEs has already been cloned at least once. It was available briefly about ten to twelve years ago as a fixed 30XW eyepiece for the Zen-Ray 82 EDII spotting scope and possibly some other products, like the 30XW eyepiece for the original Vortex Razor spotting scope. The Zen-Ray clone had a larger AFOV than the Nikon SE original, but only because it had a wider field stop, the lenses were identical.

It would be simple for anyone with both a Nikon SE and an Oberwerk SE to compare the reflection patterns that return from the eyepieces to determine if the reflection patterns, and therefore the designs, are identical. So far that hasn't happened.

 

[normjackson]

It would be simple for anyone with both a Nikon SE and an Oberwerk SE to compare the reflection patterns that return from the eyepieces to determine if the reflection patterns, and therefore the designs, are identical. So far that hasn't happened.

Bumpity bump. Anyone in a position to action this? Anyone offering odds? 10-1 against?

 

[Binastro]

20-1 against, but £1 maximum.

Just measuring the outer curves would probably show the eyepieces are different.

Regards,
B.

 

[dries1]

The 12X50 has a different eye piece than the 8X32, also the ER is less, so unlikely they have the same eyepiece as the Nikon SE. All the SE models have the same eye piece and ER.

 

[Cest]

I just received my Oberwerk 8x32 SE. Quick report. Ergonomics good. Solid build. Eye relief very good for eyeglass wearers. FOV is very good as well. The fall off was just on the very edges. The image was clear and sharp. No CA that I can see. These are good binoculars.

 

[Paultricounty]

I just received my Oberwerk 8x32 SE. Quick report. Ergonomics good. Solid build. Eye relief very good for eyeglass wearers. FOV is very good as well. The fall off was just on the very edges. The image was clear and sharp. No CA that I can see. These are good binoculars.

It’s a shame they’re MIC.

 

[Binocollector]

It’s a shame they’re MIC.

True. This whole unsatisfying current porro market situation has me thinking whether I should take one of the really good old Japanese or German porros that I own, send it off to "Optikservice Schilling" and have the lenses and prisms coated to bring them up to current standards. I think I gotta have to call them and ask what it costs. I wanted to have my late granddad's old Hensoldt 6x24 "Grossfeld" from the 40's restored anyway.

 

[Patudo]

send it off to "Optikservice Schilling" and have the lenses and prisms coated to bring them up to current standards.

Can this actually be done for a not outrageous price? As I understand it existing coatings need to be removed and the glass repolished - might be worth it for a true classic like Flakglas or a 6x42 Sard (I recall seeing an example that looked as though it had been coated in a pic on Cloudynights) but for anything else...

 

[Canip]

It’s a shame they’re MIC.

Why is that a shame?
The traditional manufacturers, first in Europe and USA, then also in Japan, have one by one (still ongoing) either given up producing binos, or started outsourcing more and more of the work and the parts, driven by ….. all of us!!! We all want it better, cheaper, faster. And that‘s exactly what we are getting - via MIC! 😞

 

[Binocollector]

Can this actually be done for a not outrageous price? As I understand it existing coatings need to be removed and the glass repolished - might be worth it for a true classic like Flakglas or a 6x42 Sard (I recall seeing an example that looked as though it had been coated in a pic on Cloudynights) but for anything else...

Surely it will exceed the value of the bino but still ... some of those old gems are otherwise so good if it weren't for the coatings. Just those old super wide angles for example that are no longer made today. Let's take a vintage EWA 7x50 -- if I wanted anything currently produced with such a FoV in 7x50 format, I'd have to spend 6k€ for a Nikon WX. So that might make the coating of prisms and lenses not that expensive in comparison.
That being said, I have a few Japanese porros that are not that old and relatively bright even by today's standards, like two Kamakura EWA porros in 8x30 and 8x40.
And an Nikon EII or Habicht 8x30 is still below 1k€.

 

[Patudo]

Let's see what you get quoted price-wise, and what the procedure will entail - removing old coatings has the potential to alter, albeit very slightly, the shape of the lens. Also, will adding modern multi-coatings have any unexpected results? I've read that the multicoated Zeiss Jena Deltrintems were brighter, but had less accurate colour rendition and possibly less contrast (?) than their single-coated predecessors. Does anyone know if there were any changes to the optical design between the two Deltrintem versions, or are the optical components totally interchangeable? (It would be very interesting to know the same with regard to fully multi-coated vs partly multi-coated versions of eg. the Swift 804.)

 

[Paultricounty]

Why is that a shame?
The traditional manufacturers, first in Europe and USA, then also in Japan, have one by one (still ongoing) either given up producing binos, or started outsourcing more and more of the work and the parts, driven by ….. all of us!!! We all want it better, cheaper, faster. And that‘s exactly what we are getting - via MIC! 😞

On your question, if you really don’t know , you’ve been living in a cave for the last three years. Actually it goes back way further than that , but if the last three years doesn’t convince people why MIC is a shame, not much will.

On everything else you said after that first sentence , I’m in total agreement.

 

[Canip]

if the last three years doesn’t convince people why MIC is a shame, not much will.

Well, the answer is clear then - you say "not much will", I say "nothing will".
We all continue buying cars, TVs, solar panels, mobile phones, basically everything, and we love to overlook that all of these goods - or theit components - are to a large part now MIC. So we don't have to go into politics (which the BF admins don't like) to figure out that using the term "shame" is basically hypocritical, unless we all drastically change our purchasing habits. It's not done by just not buying binos that are MIC ......