Being a huge Opticron fan, I am delighted to write this short review of the Discovery 8x42 which sits just below the Explorer at the top of the Chinese range (the more expensive models being made in Japan).
The Opticron Discovery 8x42 has a light weight magnesium alloy body and weighs in at 703g. It feels solid and well built. As you would expect, it is waterproof and fogproof. The rubber armouring is quite grippy, but soft to touch at the same time. It has a very comfortable feel in the hand.
The focussing knob is well positioned and is quite grippy too. The grooves are just about right. It focusses from right to left, from close focus to infinity in about one and a half rotations. The focussing is smooth, but the unit that I have has a little bit of "play". However, I find it very easy to obtain a sharp image.
The eye pieces are large. Eye relief, at 22mm is excellent for those who wear glasses. For those who don't, the eye pieces extend out smoothly. There are intermediate stops and when fully extended they stay in place well.
The field of view is an impressive 131m at 1000m. Close focus is an outstanding 1.5m although I could focus to about 1m which is really quite phenomenal. What's more, the image at close focus is very sharp and is really the outstanding feature of this binocular.
The image provided by the Discovery is just about right for the price point. It's bright and sharp. It's certainly not the sharpest binocular around and I have my doubts as to the sharpness at distance, but as I said, I think it's acceptable. I estimate the sweet spot is around 75%, after which the sharpness deteriorates quite rapidly. The outer 15% is unusable.
The Discovery is listed as Fully Coated as opposed to Fully Multi-coated and it is phase corrected. The colour seems quite neutral but perhaps a little "washed out". Chromatic Abberation appears to be well controlled. It's good in the centre but can be quite high out to the edges. Stray light management is good.
I think if the Opticron Discovery provides a good value binocular for someone on a tight budget. Given the excellent close focus ability this is also a good butterfly or insect binocular. My experience with the 8x42 has made me keen to try others in the Discovery range.
The Opticron Discovery 8x42 has a light weight magnesium alloy body and weighs in at 703g. It feels solid and well built. As you would expect, it is waterproof and fogproof. The rubber armouring is quite grippy, but soft to touch at the same time. It has a very comfortable feel in the hand.
The focussing knob is well positioned and is quite grippy too. The grooves are just about right. It focusses from right to left, from close focus to infinity in about one and a half rotations. The focussing is smooth, but the unit that I have has a little bit of "play". However, I find it very easy to obtain a sharp image.
The eye pieces are large. Eye relief, at 22mm is excellent for those who wear glasses. For those who don't, the eye pieces extend out smoothly. There are intermediate stops and when fully extended they stay in place well.
The field of view is an impressive 131m at 1000m. Close focus is an outstanding 1.5m although I could focus to about 1m which is really quite phenomenal. What's more, the image at close focus is very sharp and is really the outstanding feature of this binocular.
The image provided by the Discovery is just about right for the price point. It's bright and sharp. It's certainly not the sharpest binocular around and I have my doubts as to the sharpness at distance, but as I said, I think it's acceptable. I estimate the sweet spot is around 75%, after which the sharpness deteriorates quite rapidly. The outer 15% is unusable.
The Discovery is listed as Fully Coated as opposed to Fully Multi-coated and it is phase corrected. The colour seems quite neutral but perhaps a little "washed out". Chromatic Abberation appears to be well controlled. It's good in the centre but can be quite high out to the edges. Stray light management is good.
I think if the Opticron Discovery provides a good value binocular for someone on a tight budget. Given the excellent close focus ability this is also a good butterfly or insect binocular. My experience with the 8x42 has made me keen to try others in the Discovery range.