Rough and dirty Hawke 8x42 APO review (2 Viewers)

[Ratal]

Right. First let us get the bad out of the way.

The objective covers are okay for protecting in transit. They have internal plugs so yeah, they work. In the field with any wind you will curse their name and salt their fields.

Eyepiece rain guard. Works. For transportation. In the field they are too tight to remove quickly and worse, too flexible to remove at all in a hurry. You will curse their name and salt their fields.

Travel pouch. Nice magnetic closure flap over the zip. But. And this is a huge but - the pouch is so soft it won't protect the bin from anything bar scratches. Totally crushable and an absolute no from me.

Now - that's the bad. Let us get to the good. First off the view.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!

I have a cherry Opticron MM4 50ed with SDL V2 zoom. At 13x mag, pointing at the same tree in good sunlight, the Hawke APO made me pause. I went back to the scope, re-checked , and as luck had it, a buzzard was alighting. So scope to the buzzard. Looked terrific. Went back to the APO and again I was blown away. The 13x mag was outclassed in every aspect. Contrast, colours, it wasn't even a contest. I then got out my Hawke 85ED. Bang to rights. Outgunned.

*Let me be clear - the Opticron is a complete cherry. I have had it on the beach and even seasoned Swaro users who I bird with have remarked that the image is stellar. It isn't a dud. The APO from Hawke are just outlandishly good. Blown away time.

So I took them down to the shore and for the first time in years, I just sat and drank in the day. I didn't think about the bin in my hand at all. The silky smooth focus wheel, the view, just had the bins melt away and leave me to watch the sea. After a couple of hours, I was joined by a Swaro die hard I bird with (Scope, 115 with bino adapter, the whole nine yards.) So I handed him them for a look.

*!@!#!@ mate! What are they?

And that's the view. The triplet objectives absolutely nail a zero CA scene. Gulls, crows, Cormorants, all in stark relief and zero CA. Try as hard as I could I just couldn't get the dreaded purple fringe to appear. Power lines in the distance are black lines. Fences, trees against the grey skies... I just could not get it to appear. It is intoxicating. The colours are absolutely what you see with the naked eye - there are no false enhanced colours, no popping reds or greens, just a crisp, vibrant, bright staggeringly sharp view. And after 2 weeks? I phoned the company who lent them me, thanked them profusely and paid them the money. I will not ever sell this bino. Ever. It is an absolute keeper and even as madly in love with my Sightron Blue Sky 8x32 as I am, I have a new bin that I will cherish for a very very long time. And it isnt the Swaro NL I was saving for.

Focus wheel. Silk. No play no give. Equal pressure both ways. Excellent. Focus is anti clockwise to infinity.

Centre hinge. Set and forget. It isnt going anywhere unless you make it.

Diopter. Right eye, twist to set. Set and forget. You couldn't budge this by accident. No way. Set and forget. I thrashed it around the Cairngorms for 2 weeks and it never budged once.

Freezer test was stellar. Overnight 9 hours in the home freezer. Took them out and all was very smooth still. Very smooth.

And here we get to the eye cups. They are smooth, twist out, three settings and they are big. If you have a big face with deep set eyes? You are going to love these. They are like a well worn pair of slippers. You just slide into them and sigh with contentment. Pete wears glasses and he got a full view no worries, no kidney bean no trouble. It is a set and forget bin.

My final thoughts? Hawke nailed that triplet objective. Absolutely nailed it. The image produced is a phenomenal testament to how far optics have come. You truly have to try these to understand the leaps and bounds of lower tier bins - and this is from me, a person who was putting away money for the NL 10x.

Instead, I am now a proud owner of Hawke APO, and here I will stay. Yes the Swaro are better in the field of view stakes, but I saved 1700 £ and got 90% of the performance and lost nothing in the centre resolution wise - and I humbly had to admit that the rest of what the NL delivered wasn't a price I was going to pay having looked through the Hawkes.

So, here they are. My thoughts on thrashing the Hawke APO. It truly has to be experienced - and if you are in the market for a 500 £ bin you truly owe it yourself to get hands on and get out and about with a pair. You wont regret it.

 

[Sprite1275]

Your making me wish I stumped up the extra 220 quid over my frontier ED X now. Although I am totally happy with them.

 

[Ratal]

Your making me wish I stumped up the extra 220 quid over my frontier ED X now. Although I am totally happy with them.

The ED-X are phenomenal - They are miles better than the original ED 10x43s, and those were stellar. Just goes to show how far they have come. As for the APO? Well, I just brought a whole raft of camera kit with the near 2 grand I spared. And I regret nothing.

 

[Swift802]

Hi Ratal,
Thats a great overview of the APO that you did. Far better than any advertising that Hawke could attempt because it’s real experience with the instrument.
After reading your report I want to go out and buy one. You’ve got the knack of writing it up so well that you entice people into purchasing. I love reading real life reports of the equipment.
Its also a great looking binocular, at least to my eyes. That helps!
Brilliant that you said you had the money all saved up for the Swarovski NL but this made you do a u-turn on that purchase.
The only factor that would deter me to be honest is the anti-clockwise focus to infinity. I much prefer the clockwise approach.
Thanks for your write up on this.
John.

 

[Ratal]

Hi Ratal,
Thats a great overview of the APO that you did. Far better than any advertising that Hawke could attempt because it’s real experience with the instrument.
After reading your report I want to go out and buy one. You’ve got the knack of writing it up so well that you entice people into purchasing. I love reading real life reports of the equipment.
Its also a great looking binocular, at least to my eyes. That helps!
Brilliant that you said you had the money all saved up for the Swarovski NL but this made you do a u-turn on that purchase.
The only factor that would deter me to be honest is the anti-clockwise focus to infinity. I much prefer the clockwise approach.
Thanks for your write up on this.
John.

John, the anti clockwise may be a pause for thought, but after nailing some really tricky ID in early morning mist and gloom, along with a dazzling day time view of Black Throated Divers, I can say hand on heart that I have zero regrets. In fact, rather than zero regrets, I am absolutely thrilled beyond words with my purchase.

 

[Swift802]

Thanks again. They obviously must be superb if they swayed you from the NL purchase. Every now and again you find something that, for the price paid, well and truly punches above its weight and it looks as if you found yours! I also wish that Hawke would consider bringing out this model in a 32mm format as I was recently looking at purchasing a Meopta Meostar 10x32. A 32mm Hawke APO would be a great alternative to this.
I believe that Hawke are not all that enthusiastic about releasing 32mm versions of their binoculars recently. A bit of a shame but I will continue researching the APO 10x42. I’m in no hurry and half the fun is the research and reading up on various reviews and user experiences. The Hawke does seem to have a wide FOV in the 10x42 format. Very appealing! As I stated previously, it’s a great looking binocular too and I know it shouldn’t matter but it definitely helps!
Take care and stay well. Thanks again for your write up.
John.

 

[Ratal]

Thanks again. They obviously must be superb if they swayed you from the NL purchase. Every now and again you find something that, for the price paid, well and truly punches above its weight and it looks as if you found yours! I also wish that Hawke would consider bringing out this model in a 32mm format as I was recently looking at purchasing a Meopta Meostar 10x32. A 32mm Hawke APO would be a great alternative to this.
I believe that Hawke are not all that enthusiastic about releasing 32mm versions of their binoculars recently. A bit of a shame but I will continue researching the APO 10x42. I’m in no hurry and half the fun is the research and reading up on various reviews and user experiences. The Hawke does seem to have a wide FOV in the 10x42 format. Very appealing! As I stated previously, it’s a great looking binocular too and I know it shouldn’t matter but it definitely helps!
Take care and stay well. Thanks again for your write up.
John.

If they did an 8x32 APO? I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Without pause. As for the 8x APO... Just blows me away every time I glass something

 

[dingbat29]

Hi Ratal,
Yours is the first readable review of the Frontier APOs I have come across. I've been looking at these bins since last year, hoping to find some reviews somewhere, but virtually nothing. Not even from Best Binocular Reviews. I don't understand. Is it something to do with COVID? The internet seems to be void of any useful info, apart from the usual waffle from retailers.

I am extremely interested in the Frontier APO. I currently have the Frontier ED-X, which I love, but the Frontier APOs just sound like a good progression without having to rob a bank.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the lack of info/reviews on them, and if you can suggest any further reading.

Thanks for your review

 

[spoonbill1970]

Eyepiece rain guard. Works. For transportation. In the field they are too tight to remove quickly and worse, too flexible to remove at all in a hurry. You will curse their name and salt their fields.

Hi Ratal,

Thanks for an excellent review. Would love to try a pair out someday.

I have Hawke Sapphire ED 10 x 42 and had the same issue with the rainguard.
A suitable replacement was hard to find, but I eventually found the Opticron 45.5mm BGA Rainguard fits perfectly.
Hopefully it will fit the bill for the APO too, should someone want to replace the one supplied.

Cheers.
Sp1970

 

[planetx]

I am about to trade my 8x42 FL in for a set of these, again blown away by the colour fidelity. AB comparisons and my FL have a colourcast that I never thought was there. Simply stellar set of glasses.

 

[planetx]

all change, I had the APO's delivered in store felt they were awful compared to the ED X. They had a green cast, and the rolling ball had me wanting to vomit! I took the ED X and a hefty cash top up for the Zeiss FL. These little 8 x42 ED X feel better all round than anything 3 x the price.

 

[A2GG]

all change, I had the APO's delivered in store felt they were awful compared to the ED X. They had a green cast, and the rolling ball had me wanting to vomit! I took the ED X and a hefty cash top up for the Zeiss FL. These little 8 x42 ED X feel better all round than anything 3 x the price.

What do you like better about the ED X compared to the FL ? I’m guessing ergonomics would be better. I really like the aesthetic design of the Hawke every time I’ve looked at photos online. I was also intrigued by the APO but if it has an obvious green bias and noticeable rolling ball I could not be interested. Thanks for your report.

 

[Petrus82]

Sorry Ratal, I feel like I’m stalking you but I assure you that’s not the case!

I tried an APO a few weeks ago and I wasn’t at all impressed. I wasn’t impressed with sharpness, brightness or contrast. A friend (Swarovski Man) and i spent some time trying them out and comparing them to a £379 ZEISS Terra. The ZEISS was much better in every category apart from one - smoothness of the focus wheel.

 

[Jessie-66]

Ratal, are you sure about impartiality???
Recently you were excited about a Hawke APO now about an Opticron?
Your enthusiasms are a bit strange and much written.

Quick & dirty review of 8x42 Opticron Aurora.

I can't wait for your write up when you decide to upgrade to some Meoptas.;)

www.birdforum.net

 

[gcole]

As far as Ratal having such a strange admiration for his Opticron binocular, I find this not to be strange at all. With just about every binocular I have owned over these many years, when the next best binocular came along I am sure my admiration was similar to Ratal’s when he speaks of his Opticron Aurora BGA VHD

 

[Gray C]

I have the ED-X in the 8x32 format and they are excellent

 

[yarrellii]

@Ratal Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but since I know you have had both the Hawke Frontier APO and the Opticron Aurora and think highly of them, I wonder if you could spare a minute to drop a line comparing them. Both are top of the range in their brands, the Aurora costing more. Is the APO a worthy opponent?
Thanks a lot for any comment/idea/experience.

 

[Ratal]

Sorry for the delay - wanted to get to the PC rather than type a reply on the phone/tablet.


First off then - If you cannot stand a counter-clockwise focuser (Aurora is one such beast) pick the Hawke APO. Now with that out of the way, going to have to do a little explaining about the image you see through both, as they are both exemplary, but in VERY different ways, and depending on what your preference is, will sway your choice.

View

Hawke APO: Stark. Exceedingly high center-field contrast. Business-like. There is no 'beauty' to the image, it is just a very high definition screen presenting the sharpest picture they can produce. This is for the viewer who needs an optic for work, not for enjoying the moment. Flat field is FLAT. FLAT. Like a PC monitor flat.*


Opticron: Smooth. Velvety. Seductive. Rich. Organic. This image is for sheer absolute pleasure. A binocular for the person whom is able to take it all in, and enjoy. The contrast is still exceedingly high, just not as 'stark' as the Hawke APO. Hwoever, where it wins is the colour palette that bathes the eyes in a view that relaxes the brain and pulls at the senses, urging you to keep watching. With that in mind, and although she has field flattener lenses, there is some drop off at the edges (but this is slight, ever so slight, and it negates all rolling ball). **

Ease of use

Hawke APO: My bug bear is the diopter. It is a right ocular type, and yes it is hard to move, but it does and at times where it really was needed to stay still. Also a little adjustment had to be used if closer in under the canopy you suddenly decide to scan the far distance. Not much, but still.

Focusing is smooth, controlled. Very well done. Business-like.


Opticron: Offfft. I love this binocular. The diopter is a center-wheel type, and it is a 'set and forget' - I've moved mine after letting people have a view, and once it is set to my eyes? Done. Leave it alone and done.

Focusing is one-finger silk.

One bug bear then is the eye cups IF you forget to seat them properly at their extension. If you sit them in, they stay where you put them. If you forget to do so? They can slip down.


Cold weather

Hawke APO: Below minus 8 degrees C this binocular becomes harder to use. At minus 12C it is unusable.

Opticron: I've had her on the Arctic ice shelf at minus 18C and colder, and she performed flawlessly.

ALSO NOTE: The Aurora has FAR superior lens coatings of both main lenses and ocular lenses. far, far superior at shedding falling snow / rain / sea spray. This is important as it really impacts their ability to stay at the eye in terrible weather.



* Going to have to talk about whites and water. The Hawke APO does whites in a way that is hard to explain. Yes, the white is very white, but its hyper white to the point where some richness of the view is lost a little, especially when viewing the waves on the ocean and is NOT recommended for long periods on snowy locations (Not just because of the temperature, but there is 'something' too much in the Hawke APO white that makes long periods of viewing uncomfortable.



* The Aurora is an artists dream. Colours are true, but creamy rich. Hues are delicate, presented as an ever present palette to please the eye. Browns are earthen, delightful. Greens are true but filled with life, and then there is white and water - and the reason I would never, ever sell the Opticron - Oceans become living walls of ever shifting hues that mesmerize the senses, pulling you in, inviting you to watch a while longer - An optical siren's call.

Whites are true white. Not overblow, not hyper real. They are what they are, and on snowy fields / mountains? They are a sheer naked delight to own. Snow Bunting plumage is crisp, correct, and the whites of the feathers are not drowned out by the overwhite of the surrounding snow as in the Hawke APO.


To sum it up then: If you are not on the ocean a lot, and tend not to haunt places that are exceedingly cold? The Hawke APO is a magnificent binocular that delivers an ultra-stark hyper defined view. For Africa and warmer Europe, these are a phenomenal binocular.

However.

If you are a glutton for the senses, and want to dive into a torrid love affair with a palette of colours so sublime that they defy description? The Aurora is a must - and for me? After the Hawke APO, after the Zeiss SF (Yes I chose the Aurora and sold my SF), I finally found the binocular (for me) that delivers far, far more than I had ever hoped for in a package that is both a delight to use, and a pleasure to own.


*** Seeing as there is only 100 UK sterling difference between the two - I would advocate STRONGLY to just pay that extra and grab yourself an instrument that is truly built (and performs accordingly) for hard field use in any and all environments.

 

[yarrellii]

@Ratal Wow, this is amazing, I'm really grateful. Contributions like this make this forum a wonderful place. Thank you ever so much for taking your time and writing all this in such detail and with the invaluable input of your personal view.

I think I can understand perfectly the distinction between both "personalities". Come to think about it... I am a glutton of the senses So your comments and recommendations are much appreciated. I'm going to read it again and digest it with time.
Thanks again!!

 

[Ratal]

Point in case: Bee Eaters at their nesting site.

Hawke APO delivered stark views. Cold, scientific, razor sharp view. I appreciated the absolute precision. I saw Bee eaters with great optics.

However

Swapping to the Opticron Aurora was like stepping from a cold line drawing and landing feet first into a Monet. Full. Vibrant. Alive. A colour palette not just of separate colours, but a riot of never-ending hues inside each flowing wing and flash of body. A masterclass that had me watching, studying, enveloping myself into the scene, feeling the life, living it with them.

That is why the Opticron is now my full time bin - I am not just watching a scene at stupendous resolution, I am inside it, part of it, wrapped in it. A true keeper.*


* Hues. That's what I am trying to convey. The Opticron delivers the subtlest hues, and you can see them, experience them. Whoever did the colour science and fine-tuning for these optics? Needs an award.