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hawk Frontier ED 8x36 (1 Viewer)

D

daveyt

Member
hello,

could anyone give me some advice on these binoculars please, i need a pair which are rugged, waterproof, not too heavy and can be used in low light levels for spotting fish.i have heard some good things about these binoculars, and feel they would suit my needs. is there any i others i should look at before taking the plunge and buying these? i have around 200 pounds to spend.

thanks very much

dave
 
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Hawke ED bins

daveyt said:
hello,

could anyone give me some advice on these binoculars please, i need a pair which are rugged, waterproof, not too heavy and can be used in low light levels for spotting fish.i have heard some good things about these binoculars, and feel they would suit my needs. is there any i others i should look at before taking the plunge and buying these? i have around 200 pounds to spend.

thanks very much

dave
Click to expand...

Dave,
I've been using the 10 x 43 recently in Cyprus and am very impressed at the depth of field and close focus. The focusing wheel does require a little getting used to, because it takes about 2 whole turns to go from one extreme to another, which some people don't like, but it is easy to get used to. The eyepieces adjust well for spectacle-wearers. It does seem rugged, too. The grip is Swarovski-like and is good whether wearing gloves or not (it can be cold in Cyprus at 5 am). These bins are significantly lighter than Swarovski, but seem to have comparable performance in poor light.
The pair I was using actually belong to my good lady, but she tried both these and the pair you mention at Cley Spy. We felt that both represented excellent value for money, but the close focus of the 10 x 43 to just under 6 feet was the clincher, the extra magnification being a bonus. Check with Cley Spy or other retailers just in case anyone has traded-in or upgraded to more expensive bins; you might just get a good bargain.
MJB
 
Well, how opinions can differ! I tried these today and was very dissapointed. The first pair had a problem where the left barrel wouldn't focus clearly. The optics looked fine on inspection but when put up to the eyes the left seemed cloudy and adjusting the diopter to compensate did little. For such a wide field of view the view looked very narrow and only the centre 50% or less of the image was sharp. The image degraded heavily further towards the edge. I found these very poor indeed. Not worth the money.
I was impressed with the image of Pentax DCF HS 8x36 but the field of view was poor at 6.5%. I then tried Opticron Imagic 8x32 SE and was instantly stunned by the huge, wide, bright and sharp image. What a pleasure these were to look through.
Do not buy Hawke binoculars without trying first, you may be very dissapointed.
 
Having owned 7 pairs of Hawke ED's I can honestly say they are worth every penny and more. I have yet to come across any Opticrons that offer the clarity of them including the imagic's. Surely there was something wrong with the ones above so to claim they are not worth the money is premature. As you say, how opinions can differ!
 
I bought the 8x43 hawk frontier ed's,i tried them against some zeiss at well over £1000,and in the poor light i was trying them in they easily compared and the image was not any better in either.they looked the same.
I have also very good eyes without glasses.
the focussing was spot on too,ok it takes a couple of turns to go from one end of focus to the other but the focus knob is big and smooth,with zero play in the mechanism.
stunning bins.
RECOMMENDED.
 
I am contemplating getting the 8x36 ED but will be sure to test them out first at In-Focus, Martin Mere. So much better to be trying them in the field than in a shop doorway. I already have the Frontier PC 10x32 and the Endurance CF 8x32 so should expect a more sparkling performance from the EDs?
 
Swifty49 said:
I am contemplating getting the 8x36 ED but will be sure to test them out first at In-Focus, Martin Mere. So much better to be trying them in the field than in a shop doorway. I already have the Frontier PC 10x32 and the Endurance CF 8x32 so should expect a more sparkling performance from the EDs?
Click to expand...

Hi

How do you find the PC compares to the CF allowing for the different mags of course.

I had a PC now getting a CF. A little Hawke birdy told me the CF were actually a bit of an optical upgrade but I'm not sure if there are various CF's i.e some phase coated as claimed advertisd on ebay and referred to as CF PC and all the others which don't appear to be i.e. just CF???
 
CliveP said:
Hi

How do you find the PC compares to the CF allowing for the different mags of course.

I had a PC now getting a CF. A little Hawke birdy told me the CF were actually a bit of an optical upgrade but I'm not sure if there are various CF's i.e some phase coated as claimed advertisd on ebay and referred to as CF PC and all the others which don't appear to be i.e. just CF???
Click to expand...

The 10x32 Frontier PC are okay and were £176 reduced to £79 at Uttings. Probably not a popular combination of power/objective, hence the discount.

The 8x32 Endurance Close Focus are a better pair of bins, IMO. However I would expect the Frontier ED's to blow them out of the water but I will certainly test before buying.
 
Swifty49 said:
The 10x32 Frontier PC are okay and were £176 reduced to £79 at Uttings. Probably not a popular combination of power/objective, hence the discount.

The 8x32 Endurance Close Focus are a better pair of bins, IMO. However I would expect the Frontier ED's to blow them out of the water but I will certainly test before buying.
Click to expand...

I have a Sapphire 8x43 ED and Prostalk 8x56 ED which are both very good. Once had a 10x36 Frontier but it was so soft off centre that I sent it back although it was excellent in the centre 50%. I expect the 8x36 should be better and I believe they are only a little less bright than the Sapphire.

My 10x32 Frontier turned out to be faulty so I'm getting a replacement Endurance 10x32 tomorrow hopefully. If its better then the Frontier I will be well happy but I've got enough other bins now that it doesn't really matter much but I'm still curious. I did find the 10x32 Frontier very handy and not bad at all.
 
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I have bought the Frontier ED 8x36 and am delighted with them. The image is crisp and clear, the colours spot on and the FOV is great - 140yds @ 1000. The price was right too - £194 + p&p from Carmarthen Cameras via Amazon.
 
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