has530
Well-known member
As promised in the "binocular bargains" thread, here is a mini-review of my new Athlon Ares 8x36.
Mechanics and ergonomics:
No major complaints. Hinge tightness is good, diopter works well although it is not locking, is pretty fast, and has no "center" marking. Armor is pretty slick but patterned in a way I am not worried about losing my grip. One slight disappointment was the size and weight. Although these have only 36mm objectives, they are nearly as big and as heavy (24.9 oz) as a full sized bin (see the attached photo of a size-by-side with my vanguard endeavor EDii 10x42). My focuser seemed perfectly fine and did not has excessive slop as another user reported in their sample. It is slightly stiff for my preferences (I like to be able to move quickly through the focus range with one finger) and not completely silent but seems mechanically solid. It takes about 450 degrees to focus from about 3 feet to infinity, and has another ~120 degrees past infinity. Included accessories are fine but I prefer a harness anyways so will not use the padded neck strap.
Optics:
I like these very much for their sub-$200 price. Chromatic aberration (which I am quite bothered by) was very low in the center (almost imperceptible) and low on the edge as well. Center sharpness was fine, not a "wow" factor by any means but I could make out fine feather detail from 10-15 feet. Seems to be some amount of astigmatism when looking at stars. Color balance seems neutral as far as I can tell and contrast is good (although it is overcast so nothing really pops in any of my bins today). Sweet spot is large and FOV seems correct at 7.7 degrees. These are not sharp to the edge and display both some field curvature and coma starting about 75% of the way out but even on the edge it is not horrible. This was expected for me as these are Athlon's second highest line and their selling point of their top of the line "Cronus" is their edge to edge sharpness. Overall I would wholeheartedly recommend these based on optical performance and their current price.
P.S. While testing these out in my yard I saw my first white throated sparrow!
Mechanics and ergonomics:
No major complaints. Hinge tightness is good, diopter works well although it is not locking, is pretty fast, and has no "center" marking. Armor is pretty slick but patterned in a way I am not worried about losing my grip. One slight disappointment was the size and weight. Although these have only 36mm objectives, they are nearly as big and as heavy (24.9 oz) as a full sized bin (see the attached photo of a size-by-side with my vanguard endeavor EDii 10x42). My focuser seemed perfectly fine and did not has excessive slop as another user reported in their sample. It is slightly stiff for my preferences (I like to be able to move quickly through the focus range with one finger) and not completely silent but seems mechanically solid. It takes about 450 degrees to focus from about 3 feet to infinity, and has another ~120 degrees past infinity. Included accessories are fine but I prefer a harness anyways so will not use the padded neck strap.
Optics:
I like these very much for their sub-$200 price. Chromatic aberration (which I am quite bothered by) was very low in the center (almost imperceptible) and low on the edge as well. Center sharpness was fine, not a "wow" factor by any means but I could make out fine feather detail from 10-15 feet. Seems to be some amount of astigmatism when looking at stars. Color balance seems neutral as far as I can tell and contrast is good (although it is overcast so nothing really pops in any of my bins today). Sweet spot is large and FOV seems correct at 7.7 degrees. These are not sharp to the edge and display both some field curvature and coma starting about 75% of the way out but even on the edge it is not horrible. This was expected for me as these are Athlon's second highest line and their selling point of their top of the line "Cronus" is their edge to edge sharpness. Overall I would wholeheartedly recommend these based on optical performance and their current price.
P.S. While testing these out in my yard I saw my first white throated sparrow!
