Sightron "Blue Sky" II 8x32 (1 Viewer)

[black crow]

Great, I'm excited to finally get a real report on these.

Looks like JSturr took the challenge too. Now that mystery will be revealed.

 

[SivaL]

I was led to believe that the local store had the Nikon Premier SE porro in stock, but when I got there they only had the Nikon Premier roofs. I half expected this and wasn't very disappointed as I could try other bins there.

I took the Nikon Action Extreme 7x35 outside and was impressed with the FOV. That was the only thing impressive about it. The view looked hazy and the eye-pieces were not comfortable. Also the vehicles moving across me in the street ahead were behaving strangely. Just as they got to the edge of the view the cars and suv's and minivans seemed to dive into the street like the Apollo 13 being sling shot around the moon. I again told myself that I will not buy a pair of binoculars without looking through them however impressive the Amazon reviews are.

As I was looking, the manager walked outside with two older porros in hand and asked me to try them. I believe one was an 8x32. I don't remember if it was a Swift or Celestron. It wasn't comfortable to me and not that great to look through either. He then handed me a 8x42 Swift Ultralite (Model 761). It had a few scratches and looked ancient, but as soon as I looked through them the haze lifted. It was twilight and I still could read a street sign (with some effort) at 500 yards. The FOV was quite narrow compared to the Nikon 7x35, but the image quality was quite good. It was very relaxing to view through and easy to hold. The eye-cups were comfortable around my eyes. It took me two minutes to make the decision and $85 later I was happy to own a good pair of porros.

I tried them this morning and was again impressed with the clarity. 80% of the view is very sharp and then the image softens. The IPD adjustment is just perfect for me. It's light weight, perfectly balanced and I don't feel the minor shakes that I had with some roofs I tried. The 3D view is quite something to look at.

The negatives I noticed are that even a slight touch moves the focus wheel. If the bins are held against the brow or the cheek bone the right diopter setting changes willy-nilly due to the fact the eye-piece moves in and out during focusing. I can live with those two minor irritants as the view is quite good.

 

[BrightIdea]

Anyone have the 10x32 want to swap for the 8x32's for a little while?

I am itchin to try the 10's.

 

[brocknroller]

I think that allbinos 75% transmission of the Swift Audubon 828 isn't correct, like many others.

I've only A/B:ed them extensively against the Opticron SR.GA 8x32, (which is supposed to have very good coatings and, since being a porro, doesn't have any mirror coating loss) and I find them only slightly dimmer. Haven't seen much complaint about that in other reviews either.

(Read: don't diss my main bino!)

Guess I have to buy a photospectrometer and come up with some evidence...

vop,

According to posts on BF, Swift changed the diopter setting from the left to the right EP. There was some speculation that when they made that change they also made other changes (perhaps upgraded the coatings?), but nothing has been confirmed.

Here's the thread:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=2207765

Even if they did increase the light transmission with upgraded coatings w/out fanfare, the 828 would still not interest me because of the modest FOV and counter clockwise focuser.

But if they ring your bell, that's all that matters. Certainly the centerfield sharpness is up there with the best costing egad$ more.

bop (B.O. Plenty)

 

[lilcrazy2]

Any new thoughts, comments, reports on the Sightron?

I have put mine aside for the last couple weeks while trying out other models. I plan on using it this weekend for a few activities and wonder if I am still going to find it as appealing as I originally did.

Will be sure to post something.

As long as I have been reading this thread, and with as many people who have reviewed and commented on this 8x32 Sightron and griped about the focuser, I'm surprised no one has even noticed or commented on what I find the oddest thing about this bino.

Namely that this is the only roof I have ever used where the top of the focuser doesn't move in relation to the focusing mechanism, but is static, and everything else beside and below it moves.

Or is it just my 8x32 and 10x32 that does this? When I was just spinning the focuser away from my eyes for drill, I noticed this and thought there was something wrong with the focuser and the rubber sleeve was slipping. But it seems thats the way it is designed. And I do not find the focusing on mine overly stiff FWIW.

Just one of my many observations on this bino.

Tom

 

[Stet]

Sightron "Blue Sky" II 8x42 (Big brother shows his stuff)

Big brother has finally come out to play and all I can say is "He's Awesome"!
He has all the charm of the little guy and more.

Most of the review for the 8x32's apply to the 8x42 version, which I was hoping would be the case when I ordered them, but it is not always a given.

I've only had a day with these bins but I am very impressed. They share all the qualities that make the 8x32 great and also the ones that are not so great. I actually prefer them optically. They seem to resolve detail a little better and have a more comfortable viewing experience for me. The edges and sweet spot are very similiar and they are very sharp. The great color bias and contrast are all there.

They also share great ergonomics, even though they are not an open bridge. The armor plating is a softer rubber that feels great. Thumb indents on the bottom fit my thumbs perfectly. There is also some indents on the top of the bin by the hinge that are made for your fingers to fit into and they feel great. My fingers naturally fall into them. I think they are a great idea. You can see them in the pictures. They are light and compact for a 8x42. Not as light or compact as the 8x32 but very good for a 8x42. I am making these comparisions by memory because I do not have the 8x32 in hand right now. They have a center diopter adjustment which worked well, but doesn't evoke much confidence in the quality of this method. Sightron still has a thing for angles too, as instead of the barrels being round they have some sharp angles along the top and side, which viewed from the front appear to be half of an octagon. I don't find they hinder the feel for me though, which these are just as much of a joy to hold as the 8x32's.

The one area they unfortunately do also share is the stiff focuser. The sample I recieved is slightly stiffer out of the box than both of the 8x32's I had. In fact when I unboxed it, it had been out in high 30 degree weather all day and intially the focuser was very hard to move. Once it warmed up it was fine. One other thing that does bother me with the focuser is that the ridges are very shallow and the rubber material a little slick, that I find when I'm trying to focus quickly from near to far my finger tends to slip on the focusing wheel. I know that the focuser will loosen up with use as my 8x32's did. I actually prefer some resistance to my focuser and only find this a minor quible on a fantastic bin for me.

For the $173 I spent on these they are one of the best deals out there for a 8x42. They do give my Nikon Premier 8x42's a run for their money, the Nikon wins but not by much. More later as I use them.

John

 

[black crow]

Hey you have fulfilled a great dream for me. An actual review. I spent many hours on other forums trying to find one. Thanks and I'm glad they are what we were hoping they would be. Too late for me to buy one unfortunately but I'm more than happy with what I got instead although it cost $100 more.

 

[FrankD]

I just got back from spending a few hours with Stet up at Hawk Mountain comparing a variety of bins that we both had on hand.

I got to try out the new Sightron 8x42s. John's review is spot on. Optically they are more alike than they are different. The two key differences that struck me when comparing my 8x32 with his 8x42 were in the areas of color representation and edge performance.

The 8x42s don't have quite the same color bias that the 8x32s do. The 8x32s always appear just a little "reddish"/warm to me. The 8x42s are still warm but are more of a color neutral to yellow in color representation. They certainly aren't as biased into the yellow end of the spectrum as some of the others I have commented on previously but they aren't the "reddish" of the 8x32s.

Second, the sweet spot is of equal size in both models...85% or better in my experience. The difference here though is that in the 8x32 the out of focus area appears to be predominantly field curvature. In the 8x42 it is just a bit of field curvature but shows notably more pincushion distortion.

Lastly the 8x42 does, and should, have easier eye placement.

All in all I would say that everything else was pretty much equal optically. Ergonomically they are notably different. I tend to prefer the open bridge but certainly enjoyed handling the 8x42 as well.

 

[Stet]

Here's a pic for size comparison with Frank's 8x32's. Length wise only about a half inch bigger, but slightly bulkier.

The color bias difference did become apparent up on the mountain and when comparing them with Frank's 8x32's. It is very slight, but enough that you could not say that they were exactly the same. Close but not the same. Yet in normal use they have the same great view and it's easy to say that they appear to be the same.

John

 

[eitanaltman]

funny but if Sightron's website wasn't there to confirm I would never believe you that these were from the same product lineup. They don't look a thing alike externally. Open bridge vs. closed.. totally different diopter setup... different color.... different fonts.... even the focus knobs are different!

the 8x42 does look signifcantly heftier. and, I hate to say it, but that's a pretty fugly lookin thang. The 32mm versions ain't exactly lookers but dayumm.... what's with those wierd black glossy rings below the eyecup?

anyway, back to the important stuff; how did they compare to other "bang for the buck" competitors? are those 8x42 versions approaching Zen ED2/ED3 optically for 1/2 the price? sounds like they are better than the Theron Wapiti LT?

 

[black crow]

I think they're purty.

 

[FrankD]

Eitan,

The one area that I don't the Sightron 8x42s compete with the ED3s is in apparent brightness. Assuming silver vs dielectric here. In terms of apparent brightness I would rate them at the level of something like the Nikon Monarch (original, not updated). Apparent sharpness and contrast are better than Monarch level though plus the field of view is notably wider than the 330-somethings.

 

[JSturr]

Just my luck -- these 8x42's are all on back-order with no real ETA.

ugh..

 

[FrankD]

Not all of them. I think Jon found a store that had them in stock. I forget which so he will have to chime in. I think it something like Adventure post or Trading post or something along those lines.

 

[eitanaltman]

Eitan,

The one area that I don't the Sightron 8x42s compete with the ED3s is in apparent brightness. Assuming silver vs dielectric here.

too bad, I'm getting addicted to that super bright clarity of the dielectric prism... B

 

[Stet]

Wholesalehunter.com had 2 in stock. Also an eBay search for these brings up quite a few at that price point and a few more at the $267 price, which adoroma also has them in stock for.

John

 

[[email protected]]

funny but if Sightron's website wasn't there to confirm I would never believe you that these were from the same product lineup. They don't look a thing alike externally. Open bridge vs. closed.. totally different diopter setup... different color.... different fonts.... even the focus knobs are different!

the 8x42 does look signifcantly heftier. and, I hate to say it, but that's a pretty fugly lookin thang. The 32mm versions ain't exactly lookers but dayumm.... what's with those wierd black glossy rings below the eyecup?

anyway, back to the important stuff; how did they compare to other "bang for the buck" competitors? are those 8x42 versions approaching Zen ED2/ED3 optically for 1/2 the price? sounds like they are better than the Theron Wapiti LT?

They ARE ugly but heck if they work the birds don't care what they look like.

 

[black crow]

I don't get this ugly stuff. This must just be a matter of tradition or something. They look cool to me. The only bins that look ugly to me are the old Porros. I keep envisioning some Nazi General holding one and can't get that image out of my head.

 

[FrankD]

Aaaaa, your both wrong. Neither the Sightron nor classic porros are ugly.

Neither looks like a classy, traditional black roof of course but ya gotta be more open-minded.

As for ugly, I can't think of a truly ugly looking binocular. It is almost an oxymoron.

Now that Subaru half truck/half car that looks like a converted El Camino is ugly.

 

[black crow]

Actually it's my neighbor that's really ugly. And politics.