Opticron Aurora reviews? (1 Viewer)

mikfoz said:

Is the ED a big leap over the old Frontiers as there's the occasional S/H old style Frontier cropping up on eBay (just missed one that slightly strayed from my post-Xmas budget)?

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It is. Check the Hawke thread for another UK poster who had the previous version. Not very good in his opinion.

The dimples are thumb indents ... they work rather well.

In general I don't care too much what the bins look like (so long as they don't look like they have a disease ... like the blue/green bumps on one of the Swift roofs). It's the view through them that counts.

postcardcv said:

I'm not a particular Nikon fan, I have owned a pair of HGs and must say that they were the sharpest bins I've ever had... but the egronomics were not quite right so now I use Swarovski ELs. Indeed Nikons RRP is higher than the Aurora, but they can be bought for the same price (which as a consumer is surely the important bit) but have you compared them optically? I have and IMO the Auroras are not at the same level, they are a level below the top end.

All that said if you're looking for good value optics check out the new ED Hawke 8x43s - optically very good, nice in the hand, smooth focus and all for under £300.

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Aurora is a compromise between optical quality and small size. However, they are excelent, I have tried them up against Zeiss, Leica and Swaro EL and they are about the same 98% of the optics in 2/3 of the package.

If you can handle 50 more grams I would go for the Imagic BGA se, they are better than ZEISS Victory FL 8x42 and as good as Swaro EL and Leica Ultravid 8x42 HD, but if a hefty pricetag gives you satisfaction don't listen to me, I have tried them all and my family have had Zeiss and Swaro for many years and many modells!

Northern Viking said:

If you can handle 50 more grams I would go for the Imagic BGA se, they are better than teh ZEISS Victory FL 8x42 and as good as Swaro EL and Leica Ultravid 8x42 HD, but if a hefty pricetag gives you satisfaction don't listen to me, I have tried them all and my family have had Zeiss and Swaro for many years and many modells!

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I want to believe this, but what I don't get is why, if it is true that Opticron's best binocular are the Imagic BGA SE, they are selling them in the middle of the range, and selling apparently worse binoculars for more money - it doesn't make business sense?

NorthernViking said:

If you can handle 50 more grams I would go for the Imagic BGA se, they are better than ZEISS Victory FL 8x42 and as good as Swaro EL and Leica Ultravid 8x42 HD, but if a hefty pricetag gives you satisfaction don't listen to me, I have tried them all and my family have had Zeiss and Swaro for many years and many modells!

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I have some iMagic BGA SE's, and yes they are superb but I would pick the Zeiss's every time. I would be interested to know in what way you think they are better.

Northern Viking said:

Aurora is a compromise between optical quality and small size. However, they are excelent, I have tried them up against Zeiss, Leica and Swaro EL and they are about the same 98% of the optics in 2/3 of the package.

If you can handle 50 more grams I would go for the Imagic BGA se, they are better than ZEISS Victory FL 8x42 and as good as Swaro EL and Leica Ultravid 8x42 HD, but if a hefty pricetag gives you satisfaction don't listen to me, I have tried them all and my family have had Zeiss and Swaro for many years and many modells!

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If you are satisfied that the optics in the BGAs is better than the Zeiss then you're very lucky as it will save you a lot of money. I've spent time testing most of these bins and haven't seen any Opticron model that can compete optically with the big four. To my eyes the best Opticron is the DBAs, but even they are a step below the big four.

Chris Galvin said:

Geez, they are the ugliest pair of bins I've ever seen, especially with their unique heel scraper dimples on the armouring

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I use my binoculars for looking through so I can't see what they look like at that point...

Reasons......

postcardcv said:

If you are satisfied that the optics in the BGAs is better than the Zeiss then you're very lucky as it will save you a lot of money. I've spent time testing most of these bins and haven't seen any Opticron model that can compete optically with the big four. To my eyes the best Opticron is the DBAs, but even they are a step below the big four.

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Which Imagic BGA have you tried? Imagic BGA se are better than DBA and have a tougher construction.

Aurora is a compact modell, it has the size of 8x32 in a 8x42 package and that vil cost you.

ColonelBlimp said:

I have some iMagic BGA SE's, and yes they are superb but I would pick the Zeiss's every time. I would be interested to know in what way you think they are better.

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ZEISS Victory FL 8x42 is not as good as Swaro EL 8,5x42 or Leica Ultravid 8x42 HD, based on its price-tag I was disapointed bye the FL.

Each of this bins have areas were they are excelent but overall I belive the Opticron Imagic BGA se will be just as good as all of them I mentioned, one of the reasons why they are cheaper could be a combination of labor-cost and a optical factory with a higher and cheaper production-line.

Leica decides which price a retailer should charge if they want have the brand, Zeiss and Swaro have a very loyal buyer-croup, and they get good products but for the price there is other brands which are more unknown and in a position were they must be less pricy to attract consumers.

The best bins I ever have tried is the Swaro slc 8x56, but they will stay at home or in the car.