Ravis
Well-known member
Thanks very much for all that important and helpful info David. I have a pair of Opticron Discovery 8x32 and they are very good for their size, weight and price. The focus wheel is ok, but not as easy and smooth as some. The field around the centre starts to get a little blurred too. But they are not ED in any case.
I could end up getting the very bright wide angle Hawke Sapphire 8x43 and the Vanguard ED IV 10x42, both of which are good in their own way. I heard that the Vanguards have a sharp field of view at the expense of width and they are probably not as bright as the Hawke ... ?
I've sort of ruled out the Monarch 7 now and narrowed it down to the two mentioned here. I was considering leaving the ED IV just in case they come out with an ED V with dielectric coatings next year ... ?
The other bins, such as top ones like EDG, SV EL, Victory are too expensive. The SV EL 8.5x42 is about £1800. If it was £800 like the older used basic EL then i'd get it. I am willing to pay £400 for a good Chinese one though. I think Vanguard could be a Chinese company and Hawke is just based in China, but is English design and engineering?
I could end up getting the very bright wide angle Hawke Sapphire 8x43 and the Vanguard ED IV 10x42, both of which are good in their own way. I heard that the Vanguards have a sharp field of view at the expense of width and they are probably not as bright as the Hawke ... ?
I've sort of ruled out the Monarch 7 now and narrowed it down to the two mentioned here. I was considering leaving the ED IV just in case they come out with an ED V with dielectric coatings next year ... ?
The other bins, such as top ones like EDG, SV EL, Victory are too expensive. The SV EL 8.5x42 is about £1800. If it was £800 like the older used basic EL then i'd get it. I am willing to pay £400 for a good Chinese one though. I think Vanguard could be a Chinese company and Hawke is just based in China, but is English design and engineering?