HR WP vs Countryman BGA PC Oasis 8x42 (1 Viewer)

Hi All,

Narrowed my choice down to the above given budget to £250, anyone care to comment on the relative merits of each? I'm assuming the porro will be optically superior, not averse to owning a porro again, not owned one since the Swift Audubon when I was a teenager! Of course I will try both out before coming to a decision, choosing Opticron due to past experience & customer service reputation. Perhaps our resident Opticron staff can chip in with their opinions?

Cheers,

John.

JohnnyH said:

Hi All,

Narrowed my choice down to the above given budget to £250, anyone care to comment on the relative merits of each? I'm assuming the porro will be optically superior, not averse to owning a porro again, not owned one since the Swift Audubon when I was a teenager! Of course I will try both out before coming to a decision, choosing Opticron due to past experience & customer service reputation. Perhaps our resident Opticron staff can chip in with their opinions?

Cheers,

John.

Click to expand...

Hi John

Personally I would go with the HRWP, but then again I feel the extra 61 grams in weight and their larger size are made up by the fact that, optically the HRWP are so much sharper and brighter than there roof prism counterparts.

I have also always found that porro prisms give you a more 3D viewing effect over roof prisms, and the same applies between these two models. This is due to the fact that the OG glass of the porro prisms are further apart on the HRWP compared to the roof prism Countryman's.

Here are a few facts between the two models.

Countryman BGA 8x42;

Field (m) 109
Min Focus (m) 2.9
Eyerelief (mm) 19
IPD (mm) 56~74
HxW (mm) 138x126
Weight (g) 654

HR WP 8x42

Field (m) 112
Min Focus (m) 3
Eyerelief (mm) 20
IPD (mm) 56~73
HxW (mm) 126x183
Weight (g) 715

But at the end of the day, try them out and see what you feel more comfortable handling and viewing through, because although they are around the same price point, they are a totally different binocular.

If you are available, we will have both models to compare at the Birdfair this year, we are in tent OD10.

Hope this helps,

Rob
Opticron

Thanks Rob,

I'm hoping to get to the BF on the Friday, will there be any special deals available?

Cheers,

John.

Have not got a clue, all I know is that we will have both models there to compare. You also have a few shops who are Opticron stockists near to you.

Lce Guildford
Lce Winchester
Kay Optical (Morden)
Astronomia (Dorking)

Although if you want to view them at any of these shops you will need to contact them first, to make sure the models you are after are in stock.

Regards

Rob
Opticron

Hi

I have also been thinking about buying the HR WP tried them at In Focus and thought how good they are! At the mo Kay Optic appear to be selling the 8x42 for £180 which I think is a very good price.

Hope this link works:


http://www.kayoptical.co.uk/product.asp?cat=Binoculars&catid=1&manid=64&man=Opticron&id=458&prod=Opticron%208x42%20HR%20WP%20Porro%20Prism%20Binocular

If not go to Kay Optical an search for Opticron under Binoculars

Lee

Cheers for your help Rob / Lee,

Hopefully see you at BF for some serious testing.

Regards,

John.

I've been using my new HR WP 8x42 for about a month now, had a pair before but sold them because I found the slow focus bothersome...however beggers can't be choosers these days so decided to order myself a pair. I'll not bother going into how good I think the optics are...I'll simply say I compared them to a Zeiss 8x42 victory over the weekend and they appear an even match. The Zeiss had a wider field of view and slightly brighter but had a much reduced depth of focus compared to the plucky Opticron....no way could I justify the extra £1000 over the Opticrons, which is a pity cos I have pennies saved and wouldn't mind having some top end birding bling to flash around on my next trip to Titchwell!!

Will have to compare them to those Swarovsions!!!!:-O

Matt

Might be able to stretch the budget to £300 ish. How do the HR WP's compare to the next level of roofs in the Opticron range - Veranos & Imagics?

Cheers,

John.

Question for Opticron staff

One for the Opticron boys, will you have all the binocular accessories at Birdfair? I fancy some of those stay on og covers & perhaps an upgraded neoprene strap if I go for the HRWP.

Thanks,

John.

Yup - everything on the price list plus a few things that aren't will be there to buy John

Unless we have a radical change of plan, the accessories will be on a rack to the right of the payments desk which is at the right hand end of the marquee. Anything not strung up on the rack will be available on request from one of the many boxes of stock!

Cheers, Pete

Excellent thanks Pete!

Cheers,

John.

Matt hi

You say the slow focus is ‘bothersome’ just wondering how ‘bothersome’? The only two criticisms I have found of the HR WP’s is the narrow field of view and the slow focus. I have looked at a pair of 8x42’s and the fov was fine for me, and whilst I did try the focus and I thought it would be OK I was just wondering how it is in the field?

Thanks for your help
Lee

Opticron HR WP Focus Speed

Hi there,

Don't worry about the apparent slow focus of the HR WP. The binocular has an excellent depth of field and in practice and after a little familiarisation, you will find that much of what you need on almost all occasions is within a sweet spot of a fraction of a turn of the focus wheel.

I also found a similar experience on a previous pair of Nikon SE 8x32 which had an alleged slow focus and it does take a little getting used to for anybody used to a 'fast' focussing instrument . My last binocular was a Nikon HG 8x32 which had a very fast and overly sensitive focus and I found that to be much more of a nuisance than a so called 'slow' focus.

I love the HR WP for it's superb image and porro 3D effect. The only real downside of this excellent instrument for some people will be the relatively narrow depth of field. At the price point though, this binocular is an absolute steal and a very satisfying way to look at birds. The image is so good that many people will only notice the narrow FOV if they go looking for it.

Edited to add that my Wife's Opticron DBA's needed some minor servicing in 2008 after several years use and we found the service and speed of return by Opticron to be first class.
Additionally, I notice that the Opticron Verano's are mentioned above - my Sister has a pair of these and my own view is that from a purely optical standpoint, they are not in the same class as the HR WP's.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your input, how would you say the HRWP's compare with the Nikon HG's as I've owned these in the past also.

Thanks,

John.

Hi John,

Well of course the Nikon 8x32 HG's are great glasses and I was generally happy with them over the 4 - 5 years that I owned them. The focussing mechanism on the Nikon is beyond reproach from an engineering point of view, depth of field and field of view are excellent and of course, there is that great Nikon glass that gives such a nice natural colour and contrast. (I still use a Nikon ED 78A scope and love the view).

However, having previously owned a Nikon 8x32 SE binocular, the HG never quite matched up, particularly with that special 3D view that you get through a good porro. In particular, the HG focus is very 'fast' and it is easy to rack past the sweet spot, particularly if you are viewing against a busy background such as in foliage. I also found that, partly because the DOF is so good, that the bird would fail to stand out from the background in the way that they had with the SE - maybe the small distance between objectives on the HG contributes largely to this. My eyes are fairly close together and I seem to need a porro to give me that 3D separation.

I was keen to go back to a good porro and tried the HR WP by chance while on holiday on the Algarve and was absolutely amazed by the view, especially at the price. They gave me that 'standout' 3D view that I had missed in the HG and as the focus is 'slow' (as is the Nikon SE), I found that I was able to consistently settle quickly on the target without fidgeting to find the sweet spot. It would be nice to have a wider FOV but the HR view is pretty sharp to the edges and as any habitual user of 10x bins will tell you, technique and practice will prevail.
They have the apparent advantage over the Nikon SE of an internal focus and being waterproof, plus I know that Opticron service is of the highest order should I need them.
The HR WP's are Japanese made and seem to be very well put together indeed.

I have had my HR WP's about 18 months now and am very happy with them and still get them out occasionally simply to enjoy the great view. I enjoy using them much more than the Nikon HG's and the only other binocular that would challenge it for me is the superb Nikon SE.

Sorry to bang on a bit. I'm no 'expert' on optics but binoculars are like beer - you don't need to be a heavy drinker to recognise a first class pint! B

Steve

Thanks again Steve, just need to try out a pair now at the Birdfair this weekend!

Cheers,

John.

LeeJohnson said:

Matt hi

You say the slow focus is ‘bothersome’ just wondering how ‘bothersome’? The only two criticisms I have found of the HR WP’s is the narrow field of view and the slow focus. I have looked at a pair of 8x42’s and the fov was fine for me, and whilst I did try the focus and I thought it would be OK I was just wondering how it is in the field?

Thanks for your help
Lee

Click to expand...

Apologies for the late reply!!

In practice, the slow focus is only a real bind when trying to focus on insects at close range...once you are watching targets from mid range to the far distance less spinning of the wheel is needed and seldom need to make more than one adjustment to the focuser. As has already been said the brilliant depth of focus helps in this respect. Curiously the narrow field of view isn't really that noticable with me.

Why any of the other top bin makers haven't come up with this design before amazers me...these bins are simply awsome for the price!

Matt

Just bought the HR WP's from Astronomia in Dorking, excellent service by the way! First impressions are these are excellent bins, very sharp & bright with excellent DOF. Close focus on my pair is nearer 2m which is a bonus & they are very well put together with a nice smooth focus. Looking forward to putting them through their paces over the weekend.

Cheers,

John.

Hi

I have also finally brought a pair of HR WP 8x42 from Kay Optical (very good service would recommend!) As John says very bright and very sharp, the DOF is really good and using them for a while today I understand what people mean when they talk about the 3D effect which I also really like. So all good so far, now looking forward to using them properly over the weekend!

Lee

Further to my last post after using the HR WP's for a week, I have returned them & exchanged for the Countrymans. Sadly the porro handling just did not work for me despite the excellent optics. The Countrymans are very close optically but are very compact for an 8x42, very well made, focus is a tad quicker & closer. I guess roofs just suit me better, great service again from Astronomia high recommended dealer!

John.