hopster
Well-known member
I have narrowed it down to the HT or Habicht as my upcoming 10x purchase, with good second hand examples of both on offer. Unfortunately I cannot compare them side-by-side in the shop and, even if I could, I'm sure I would learn more out and about in nature afterwards.
I understand that the focuser will be nicer on the HT and the eye positioning somewhat easier (I wear glasses but always take them off to use bins except in particular circumstances like e.g. walking around a city with the VP 8x25 sometimes). What I am interested to ask here from those who have owned or spent significant time with both is a comparison of the optical performance. I have seen them compared in various different threads but it's not always easy to go back and find them, so I thought gathering together the distilled knowledge of the group in one place would be nice if anyone wants to participate. The qualities I would like to know about are inevitably at least partly subjective, but when a significant proportion of people agree on it that is evidence of something even if it can't be measured with the usual optical tests. I say that as a lifelong engineer, scientist and mathematician. For example:
I understand that the focuser will be nicer on the HT and the eye positioning somewhat easier (I wear glasses but always take them off to use bins except in particular circumstances like e.g. walking around a city with the VP 8x25 sometimes). What I am interested to ask here from those who have owned or spent significant time with both is a comparison of the optical performance. I have seen them compared in various different threads but it's not always easy to go back and find them, so I thought gathering together the distilled knowledge of the group in one place would be nice if anyone wants to participate. The qualities I would like to know about are inevitably at least partly subjective, but when a significant proportion of people agree on it that is evidence of something even if it can't be measured with the usual optical tests. I say that as a lifelong engineer, scientist and mathematician. For example:
- transparency or immediacy i.e. the feeling that you are in the same space as the object being watched as opposed to it being a 'synthetic projection'
- 3D (cue flame war, but some binoculars do give more of this and not just because of wider objective spacing IMO. prisms? field curvature?)
- colour balance (so far it seems to me that Habicht is completely neutral and HT might be losing just a little bit of red by comparison)
- size of sweet spot (I am not too bothered about edge-to-edge sharpness and the different compromises that can come with this, especially if the other image qualities in the centre are improved as a result, but I would like at least 75% of the centre to be sharp and easily usable and hopefully more)
- contrast in (1) bright daylight and (2) twilight
- brightness (both seem excellent to me with Habicht maybe a touch ahead)
- sharpness (both seem very good in the centre with the HT the best I have yet seen in any x42)
- glare control (from the front, I almost always use winged rubber eyecups with my bins as it gives improved handling and IQ almost for nothing in my experience)
- CA seems basically absent in both which is important for me
- other?