New ranges (1 Viewer)

squidge

Wha Whassssat

• Jul 30, 2011

• #1

I was reading the birdfair magazine and it mentions that Opticron are bringing out 8 new ranges of binoculars plus 2 new ranges of compacts including a brand new low price ed model. I was going to purchase a cheap pair for the car but I think I will hold off now and wait and see if any of the old ranges come up second hand cheap on the net. Ger.

 

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normjackson

Well-known member

• Aug 9, 2011

• #2

New models and expanding distibution to new countries... Busy times for the boys and girls at Opticron |=)|

The UK site has been updated to show some(?) of the new models. The full size models :
http://www.opticron.co.uk/Pages/binoculars_menu.htm

 

D

dipped

Well-known member

• Aug 9, 2011

• #3

So Opticron have finally jumped on the HD/ED glass bandwagon with the new Verano HD's, though there's nothing to say what the the HD actually means.

 

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normjackson

Well-known member

• Aug 9, 2011

• #4

Guess HD might just mean "high definition" however that might be achieved.
The Opticron USA website advises an ED-X model is on the way too in the price list section :
http://www.opticronusa.com/Pages/downloads.html

 

Rob Laughton

Bird, bird, bird...

• Aug 10, 2011

• #5

Well it could mean Highly Desirable, High Dividend, Healthy Dentures or maybe even Helathy Doggy, but my money would be on High Definition!

 

Last edited: Aug 10, 2011

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normjackson

Well-known member

• Aug 10, 2011

• #6

What is "Television"? :h?:

Anyways, in the context of optical glass, HD could equally stand for High Density or High Dispersion. OK maybe not the latter.

Anyone giving guesses for ED-X? Sex education perhaps? ||

Edit : I see mention of special glass technology in the prisms but not the objectives for the HD model. Hence HD not ED?

 

Last edited: Aug 10, 2011

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normjackson

Well-known member

• Aug 10, 2011

• #7

Just over a week to the Birdfair now. Wonder if Opticron will have all ten of the new ranges ready for view there?

Just another wind up BTW :-O

 

M

MacGee

Well-known member

• Aug 11, 2011

• #8

The new Savanna is another Leupold Yosemite. Looks really nice too. I've just ordered a pair of the 6x30 to replace my no-longer-waterproof Yosemites.

Michael

 

pete_gamby

Birds? What Birds?!

• Aug 11, 2011

• #9

The Verano HD has an upgraded optical system compared to the current Verano model, hence there's a price difference.

When the ED-X does arrive it will slot in to the range at the same price level as the current Verano i.e. around £330 inc VAT.

Trailfinder II is being phased out to be replaced by Trailfinder 3.

The Verano HD will be launched at Birdfair.

The new Savanna porro and the recently launched Traveller will be on show too.

And there's a new Panasonic digiscoping kit.

And David Lindo, The Urban Birder, is doing book signings.

And, um, Chris, Rob and I will all be there too along with the rest of the Opticron crew!

Perhaps we should run a competition to see who can correctly guess what HD stands for It might be tricky to get though because, as an example, our SDL zoom eyepiece is named such because someone said its the Super Duper Lens. I kid you not...

Cheers, Pete

 

Last edited: Aug 11, 2011

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normjackson

Well-known member

• Aug 11, 2011

• #10

pete_gamby said:

The Verano HD has an upgraded optical system compared to the current Verano model, hence there's a price difference.

Click to expand...

I think I understand now : it's optimised for watching television, right? 3

Thanks Pete, Rob and Chris for continuing to provide these updates. Glad to see Opticron continuing this move towards more memorable and less confusing names for their binoculars: I half recall I was still trying to memorise the name of the BGA N SE ASF WP CF T WA 7x35 with a view to a purchase when it got discontinued |^|
"Super Duper Lens" sounds good; I mean it certainly beats "Long Eyerelief Parfocal Extra Resolution".
But now I'm wondering, would it be a good idea to get a Savanna for Woodland birding ||

 

Rob Laughton

Bird, bird, bird...

• Aug 15, 2011

• #11

Another good one was Imagic BGA ASF T PC OASIS!!!

 

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normjackson

Well-known member

• Aug 16, 2011

• #12

Rob Laughton said:

Another good one was Imagic BGA ASF T PC OASIS!!!

Click to expand...

Don't tell me Rob, I think I know this one. The year was 1995 and that was a quotation from Damon in the August issue of NME magazine. I'm guessing someone at Opticron decided the response by Liam Gallagher "f*!@ing s~;t%y BLUR" was somehow an inappropriate choice as a name for a high quality binocular...

 

T

typo

Well-known member

• Aug 16, 2011

• #13

:-O :clap:

 

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devonsue

Active member

• Sep 3, 2011

• #14

New Opticrons

It would be really useful to know some more facts regarding the new Verano BGA HD and the new ED-X. I have been holding off buying the much acclaimed Hawke Frontier ED because it doesn't offer enough eye relief. To see that Opticron are venturing into the HD/ED market sounds excellent to me and I am more than prepared to wait to purchase but to help me to make the final decision more technical info from the Company would be appreciated.

For instance I have read here that the ED-X is going to be priced lower than the Verano BGA HD so presumambly the latter will perform better optically, but what are the differences etc?

Thanks.

Sue

 

H

Hallor

New member

• Sep 3, 2011

• #15

I am also in the Market for some new bins and an HD version of the Aurora or Imagic lines would be of great interest.

Having the Imagic BGA SE and the new Verano HD on the market at the same RRP is somewhat confusing as the difference in specs that I have seen so far is minimal. In fact the Imagic is a better buy as it's discounted. Makes you wonder if an Imagic HD is around the corner, would make sense.

 

B

Bogyoch

New member

• Sep 3, 2011

• #16

I have been an observer on BirdForum for a little while and this will be first post. So without further pre-amble, I will say "hello" to everyone just now.

I spoke with Opticron on Thursday concerning the new Verano HD as I had an inkling that it contained the same optics as the Imagic SE. Opticron confirmed this by saying everything was the same in both binoculars, the only difference being the bodies.

Armed with that knowledge, I decided to buy a secondhand Imagic 8x32 SE binocular. I had been considering some of the more expensive makes, but I am very glad that I opted for the Imagics. These arrived today and even a quick look through without any dioptre adjustment showed me that they are quite a special instrument. I have an Opticron 7x36 BGA PC that has always given a pleasing image, but the little 8x32s beat the older model hands down in every respect. The first thing to notice is the wide field of view in the Imagics: 140/1000 compared to 126/1000. The image is very bright indeed, no doubt down to the superior coatings, especially of the prisms. Edge sharpness and colour abberation were similar in both instruments. As with all of the BGA style Opticrons, the handling, balance and focussing is excellent. I probably prefer the older soft eyecups rather than the hard twist up ones of the Imagics, but no doubt I will get used to those.

To summarize, the Verano HD is basically an Imagic SE with an open bridge design.

 

pete_gamby

Birds? What Birds?!

• Sep 3, 2011

• #17

Whenever we plan for a smooth transition, it's never smooth

The ED-X is delayed a little and will be positioned in the range to "replace" the 2010 Verano models. The timing is a little unclear as this new model is quite a departure for Opticron and needs to 100% right before launch. The samples we showed at Birdfair received excellent feedback. As well as ED glass, the new model has a micro bridge design to cut weight and improve balance in the hand.

The Imagic will continue to be available in x50 variants in the UK with the Verano HD replacing the 8x32, 8x42 and 10x42 more or less immediately. You may see a few deals on Imagic BGA SE as dealers clear stock to make way for Verano HD.

As Bogyoch has noted, the Verano HD inherits the Imagic BGA SE optics (hence it has a slightly deeper eyecup to accommodate the larger eyelenses, thus allowing for a 'walk in' field of view).

There are no plans to update Aurora at this time.

The competition to decide what the HD in Verano HD stands for is still open....

Cheers, Pete

 

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devonsue

Active member

• Sep 4, 2011

• #18

This is disappointing. The Verano HD I assume therefore does NOT have ED glass? So other than a different body shape it is the same as Imagic. Think I will be waiting until the ED-X comes out. Any notion of what the eye relief will be? Plus I don't think that you have justified the price difference between Verano HD/Imagic and the ED-X. I would not say then that HD stands for High Definition as it does not contain ED glass. But what does this confused potential customer know!!!!

 

pete_gamby

Birds? What Birds?!

• Sep 4, 2011

• #19

You are correct devonsue - the Verano HD does not have ED glass and we've never advertised or promoted it as such. It is an improvement over the current Verano due to the adoption of the superior optics of the Imagic BGA SE.

At the moment the ED-X specification is not finalised as we have some refinements to be applied prior to final production. As always, we do not base our published specifications on those supposed at design phase but only on sampling mass production once it arrives in the warehouse.

As far as I know, ED does not mean 'high definition' by any yardstick. ED glass simply helps reduce chromatic aberration. HD is term that we've all become familiar with because of the proliferation of HD television. This did indeed offer a resolution improvement over SD or standard definition TVs. And it was easy to measure - SD had 480 or 576 lines of resolution and HD has 720 (HD Ready) or 1080 (full HD*) of resolution.

Those that chose the HD moniker in the sports optics market to promote against ED chose to do so at their own risk. We've simply chosen to use the letters to denote a change and improvement in the sharpness/resolution, colour rendition and overall performance of a particular product range.

Cheers, Pete

* As a footnote, this is the resolution that Sony is promoting for its newly introduced digital binoculars. Whilst this is a 'good' resolution, it is nowhere near what one would term 'eye limiting'. So it's a surprise to me that Sony would be satisfied to promote a digital binocular that cannot deliver a 'real world' view to the user. IIRC flight simulation systems demand in excess of 100 megapixels of resolution to get anywhere close to reality (and still way below 20/20 vision resolution) - full HD is only 2.3 megapixels.

 

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devonsue

Active member

• Sep 5, 2011

• #20

Thanks for that Pete. Very informative. I will be patient for a bit longer and see what the ED-X reveals. Eye relief being a specs wearer is important to me and the more the better hence my interest in the VeranoHD/Imagic at 22mm. I am fed up of missing the bird because I have to take my glasses off!!!!!!