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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Opticron SR GA 8x32 poros (1 Viewer)

gweller

Well-known member
Anyone got any experience with these? I'm looking for a good pair of light 8x32 poros and these looked like they might be worth considering.

Cheers!
Gaty
 
gweller said:
Anyone got any experience with these? I'm looking for a good pair of light 8x32 poros and these looked like they might be worth considering.

Cheers!
Gaty
Gaty, I have a pair on order and I'll post my first impressions when I've tried them. In the meantime, have you seen this thread?

Michael.
 
MacGee said:
Gaty, I have a pair on order and I'll post my first impressions when I've tried them. In the meantime, have you seen this thread?

Michael.

Thanks Michael. Very useful thread! Look forward to hearing your comments as well.

Gary
 
Well, my first impression is pretty favourable. Comparing them to my Kyonon 8x30 porros (think Zeiss Deltrintem), which I've got quite fond of, the view through the Opticrons is more comfortable, more contrasty, and better against the light (of course). They're smaller, but heavier and chunkier and feel more robust. Setting the IPD involves a bit of strength because the central hinge is very stiff. The focus wheel works smoothly and there's less than 180° of travel from lock to lock, though it works the opposite way to all the other binoculars I've used. I guess I'll get used to it. The closest focus, which Opticron says is 4m, is less than that. Probably the Norwegian reviewers got it about right with 3m. That's a bonus. Eye relief is short, at 13mm; I don't like using binoculars with glasses, but these seemed better than most I've tried.

Dislikes were the horrible case (zip-top type) and the rain guard (I'd much rather have proper caps).

I'm quite pleased so far - and relieved. Being ex-display, I was worried they might be a bit tired-looking, but in fact they're indistinguishable from new. I'll post more when I've had them out in the field.

Michael.
 
I took the SRs out for a walk round Airthrie Loch today, so here are my second impressions. Round the neck, they're not exactly elegant; they toe-in in a very determined way. They're only 80g heavier than the Kyonons, but the extra weight seemed noticeable, though not really a problem.

Optically, I have nothing but praise. Bright, sharp, contrasty, rich colours, wide FOV, good DOF, good into the light, good in heavy shade. Very pleasant and easy to look through. I was looking at a pair of mallards by the bank to try out the close focus, when they started doing their dipping beaks display. They were side on to me, but I was able to keep them both in the picture. That extra quarter of a degree on the FOV came in handy. And the clarity of detail was amazing.

Overall, I think these are excellent, especially at the price, though I'm not a connoisseur and can't give an appraisal based on a familiarity with the top bananas. The binox that gave me the most wow! factor (WF) when I tried them out were the Zeiss 8x32 FLs. The SRs certainly have a WF, but how close they approach the FLs I can't say. Probably not very. But there are plenty of models I've tried that are much more expensive and don't have a WF at all.

Michael.
 
MacGee said:
I took the SRs out for a walk round Airthrie Loch today, so here are my second impressions. Round the neck, they're not exactly elegant; they toe-in in a very determined way. They're only 80g heavier than the Kyonons, but the extra weight seemed noticeable, though not really a problem.

Optically, I have nothing but praise. Bright, sharp, contrasty, rich colours, wide FOV, good DOF, good into the light, good in heavy shade. Very pleasant and easy to look through. I was looking at a pair of mallards by the bank to try out the close focus, when they started doing their dipping beaks display. They were side on to me, but I was able to keep them both in the picture. That extra quarter of a degree on the FOV came in handy. And the clarity of detail was amazing.

Overall, I think these are excellent, especially at the price, though I'm not a connoisseur and can't give an appraisal based on a familiarity with the top bananas. The binox that gave me the most wow! factor (WF) when I tried them out were the Zeiss 8x32 FLs. The SRs certainly have a WF, but how close they approach the FLs I can't say. Probably not very. But there are plenty of models I've tried that are much more expensive and don't have a WF at all.

Michael.

Hi Michael

Sounds like a nice pairs of bins. Think I will seriously consider getting a pair. Ok, as you say, it may not have the "wow factor" of the Zeiss, but on the other hand it also does not have the "gulp factor" that goes with the Zeiss's price tag!

Gary
 
gweller said:
Hi Michael

Sounds like a nice pairs of bins. Think I will seriously consider getting a pair. Ok, as you say, it may not have the "wow factor" of the Zeiss, but on the other hand it also does not have the "gulp factor" that goes with the Zeiss's price tag!

Gary

ive just bought a pair to use whilst my leicas are being repaired. i chose them because they had a wider fov and are lighter than the leicas. having tried them out for a week and a half, my verdict is that these are an excellant pair of bins and may even consider selling the leicas when they come back from repair. my only problem was the focus wheel being a bit stiff but that my be a problem with new bins. they aren't as comfortable as the leicas but the overall impression is top bins and well recommended.
Paul
http://www.birdlist.co.uk
 
I have just bought a pair. They are excellent and far surpassed any I compared with them in the £200-£300 bracket. Then i got to a pair of 8x42 HG Roofs. I looked loads of times between the two and there was no difference in the image quality to speak of (the Nikons were £750). The appraisal was done looking over marsh so plenty of plants to view (i find this is the best way to compare bins- stationary objects plenty of fine detail and colour shades to check contrast. The Nikons were very heavy less FOV, were
marginally brighter because of the larger objectives, no marked difference in
colour fringing away from center of field, close focus same about 2.5 metres
Here is the big difference and I have never come across it mentioneed!. It is in my own opinion the most important difference between porros and roofs.
Long distance or flat objects it is unimportant but for me very important for birdwatching, YOU GET FAR BETTER 3D VISION with porros. Try it, look at trees or plants up to say 100 metres and you will notice the difference, another way is to close one eye so there is no 3D then use two, it will be a more dramatic effect in the porros and more representative of naked eye site of the object if you were to move 8x closer, as magnifying flattens the 3D effect (telephotos in photography whereas wide angle lenses there is a negative magnification which increases 3D). The reason is simple the objectives are about twice as far apart in porros (analogous to better stereo sound when speakers have more distance between them. Pocket porros are even worse than roofs because the objectives are closer than your own eyes. I realised this when once i compared porros and roofs the same quality and there was something better about the porros that wasnt resolution, brightness or contrast..then it dawned! . This is my first posting on this site so hope it helps...Doug
 
Best value going?

Sherwood Photo have Opticron SR.GA 8x32s for jus £135.00. Mine arrived today and I'm seriously impressed: satisfying fov (144m), very sharp across most of the field, bright, good colour rendition. Tried them for astronomy this evening through gap in the clouds: pinpoint stars until you get to the outer 10/15% of fov.
Not pretty or fashionable, but very pleasant to hold: fingers wrap round nicely & can reach the chunky rubber focussing wheel from above or below. No good if you wear glasses - eye relief very short - but by the same token very comfortable if you don't, as they come nicely to the eye with no hint of black outs. I don't think they'd suffer in comparison with the top Nikon porros, & you'd have to pay an awful lot of money to match the performance with a roof. The sort of binocular you might buy as back up & then never use your "best" ones again.
Too good to miss!
 
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Srga 8.5x50

Hi all,

just purchased a pair of SRGA 8.5x50 from Sherwoods for £160, and they are
brilliant. the extra .5x does make a difference to the magnification and 50mm
objective means image is very bright. FOV although not huge is very comfortable with no tunnel effect. Colour rendition is superb as is definition
i've got more expensive opticron binoculars but these are the best.....
chromatic abberation = nil. Always wanted something more than 8x for not
as much as 10x (because of shake) and these really deliver, cannot recommend them enough.

Steve
 
I have had a pair of 8x32 SRGA s for about a year and they must be the most underated binoculars you can buy. I presume its because then aren't fashionable roofs but they are very good and I would recommend them to anyone.
 
Optical quality of the Opticron SRGA 8x32

I'd like to add my voice to the growing praise for this model. I am researching a book on the history of binoculars (Binoculars: a social history, published December 2008), and have assembled a large reference collection of binoculars to test the peformance of various models (over 500 binoculars!).

I have tested the Opticron SRGA 8x32 alongside about 30 other 8x30 and 8x32 Porro and roof prism models from other makers, including all the high end brands. Its performance is outstanding for the price. Very bright, sharp and with excellent colour reproduction. The only 8x30/32 Porro prism binoculars that are better optically in my view are the Nikon EII and SE, but there is not a lot in it really. The Opticron even beats many expensive roof prism models in several respects, though it can't compete on edge to edge sharpness.

I would conclude that the sub £200 price for the Opticron SRGA 8x32 represents outstanding value and is well worthy of consideration by users who do not place a premium on waterproofing and fogproofing. It could just be the best value for money in binoculars currently being offered.

By the way, the 10x42 SRGA model is also a gem (though seemingly no longer made) with a wide field of view and the same high quality optics of its smaller cousin.
 
How are the build quality of the Opticron SRGA 8x32?
Is the bridge sturdy? It doesnt look very sturdy. Eyepieces comfortable?
In the past I bought 2 opticrons ( a Taiga and another model I have forgot) and both were lemons! How is quality control with this SR GA line?

Thanks,
Carsten J
 
In my experience the Opticron SRGA 8x32 is well made (Japan), is excellent optically and ergonomically, and has smooth focusing. Its compact, solid, rubber-armoured body sits comfortably in my smallish/medium hands and inspires confidence. The rubber fold-down eyecups are fine for me, as I always have them down. The bridge seems sturdy enough, and doesn't have the niggling problem suffered by my Imagic 8x42 TGA which, although a delightful binocular in many respects (just hold one) has a tendency when focusing to change the position/plane of the eyepieces relative to each other, so the dioptre needs adjusting again, and you can 'hear' the grease on rotating the focus wheel. It's such a shame, because the TGA fits my hands probably better than any binocular I've ever had. So far my SRGA has performed flawlessly and has been outstanding value for money...
 
Made in Japan - Great! Thought all cheap Opticron were chinese. Have anybody compared them with any other more commonly known binocular? Nikon monarch, Bushnell Legend (porro) or swift audubon non-ED or Nikon action EX and so on. I understand its good "for the price" , but that is bit relative. Does it/porros easily get knocked out of collimation?
Carsten
 
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Made in Japan - Great! Thought all cheap Opticron were chinese. Have anybody compared them with any other more commonly known binocular? Nikon monarch, Bushnell Legend (porro) or swift audubon non-ED or Nikon action EX and so on. I understand its good "for the price" , but that is bit relative. Does it/porros easily get knocked out of collimation?
Carsten

In my opinion they are streets ahead of the Nikon Monarch 8x36, which has a much narrower field of view, and in my experience sufferes terribly from colour fringing. However they are clearly not as good as my Nikon 8x30 EII, which has a sharper, brighter and wider view, but of course they cost over twice the price of the Opticron.

As to durablility, the main downside is that they are not waterproof. They are very well made though, with a good stable bridge, and unless they are dropped I don't think you will have too many worries about them going out of alignment.

Regards
Gary
 
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