Brief review of Alpen Teton EDHD Abbe 10x42 (1 Viewer)

[jackjack]

Alpen teton abee is rare MIC abbe prism and possibly the cheapest Abbe prisms in market (about 400 ~ 500$)




next to the most famous 42mm abbe. Zeiss HT 10x42

Teton is even more shorter. weight is same (830g) in specs


I's lens color is deep magenta clore similer to zeiss


and it's light leakade is similar to the abbe prism Zeiss. Tfl ans HT

Teton / HT


X ray of the teton.

It's abbe prism is inverted shape compared to other abbe such as Zeiss victories...

 

[jackjack]

go straight for Pros and Cons

PROs

1. Very high brightness.

significantly brighter than Nikon monarch HG and Zeiss conquest HD.
Other bino around 500$ range may not have a chance if they compare brightness with Alpen teton.

the only bino that clearly win Alpen teton at same size and mag was Zeiss victory HT. which considered as the brightest 42mm
so. the praise that Alpen teton can match Zeiss TFL seems right just in terms of image brightness.

2. nice central sharpness

better than Zeiss terra ED, Vanguard ED2, Kowa BD2. good center sharpness for bino under 500. but not the best (lower than bushnell legend M and forge.)

3. nice 3D pop

because of the width of lenses due to abbe prism and high pincusion distortion

4. good at stray light.

not best (lower than Zeiss victory and Nikon edg) but seems very good for the price.

5. good build quality.

metal focuser with very hard rubber. again. one of the best ruggedness under 500$

 

[jackjack]

CONs

1. lots of Chromatic abberation I mean LOTs

(too high that I used it to explain chromatic abberation to members in Korean binocular forum.)

worst CA 10 power bino I ever seen, and worst CA ED lens bino I ever seen. even more CA than nikon monarch5 20x56

side CA compared to bushnell nitro 10x36

left for teton





center CA compared to Vanguard endeaver ed2 10x42

again. left for teton

Too much the it even (not always) influence resolution and comfort of the image at bright day light.

2. Steep fall of the edge sharpness

sharpness goes about 65%. not a good result but what make it worse is that the blur of the other 35% is much stronger at the price point

nitro 10x36 / teton 10x42


they both have sweet spot about 65% but teton have much stronger fall at the edge as you see. plus, CA also can influence the apparent flattnest of the fov.

3. High pincusion distortion

zeiss conquest hd 10x42


Alpen teton 10x42


also. one of the highest distortion bino at the price point. less pincusion distortion not always mean good bino but this amount may be bother some when used against straight line such as building.

4. Light leakage around the FOV at daytime

again

conquest/ teton

as you look at the upper side teton have some leakage of light.

5. too shallow depth for birders.

in addition the focuser is on the heavy side and stiffens a bit at cold climate.
the focuser may be too slow to birders.

6. Short eyecups for eye relief

again. comparing of the HT 10x42, you can see that Teton's eyecups are much shorter
it can give blackouts to some users

and it's eye relief isn't enough long for spec wearers too. Not too uncomfortable but I would rate it better in this category is it had 2~3mm more eye relief.

7. Cheap looking accessories

seems there were accessory upgrades at recent tetons. but the accessories I got is crummy.
especially the pouch. it is too small and too thin that I have to buy some other pouch.
and It's strap is too thin.
It's accessories almost the same as Bresser condor (since they are under same explore scientific?)
condor is under 200$. Teton don't deserve the same accessories....

+ the sample of mine (which is bought brand new) has some hinge friction decrease after over 6 month use.

 

[jackjack]

Conclusion.

I think Teton try to mimick Zeiss TFL at cheap price.
they have some similar characteristics.
such as

1. abbe prism
2. high pincusion distortion
3. Delicate green coloring (more vivid in tfl though)

but it is definitely not the level of TFL.
except for image bright that Teton REALLY excels at it's price point, lot falls below TFL.
such as center and edge sharpness, light leakage at day and night and of course CA.

it's significant downsides, CA, edges sharpness and flattness seems far under it's price point.
maybe Alpen don't use the lenses to correct such abberation to get high transmission for the price point.

I won't recommend Teton for birders.
it's CA, edge sharpness, and focusing style seems enough to bother majority of birders then other bino at price point.

but for night time hunter, it's brightness and build quality will nicely serve them at the price point.
If you are a brightness freak, it will be one of the best choice under 500$

Every bino have it's up and downs, but up and down of Alpen teton abbe seems MUCH steeper that others.
in overall it is good bino for it's price.
if you like it's PROs, it's price value will go straight upwards.
but if you don't like its CONs, it may be possible for you to regret the purchase.

 

[Foss]

Nice review, jackjack,
This Alpen seems to have quite a few bad habits.
~ Foss

 

[jackjack]

Nice review, jackjack,
This Alpen seems to have quite a few bad habits.
~ Foss

'many losses for one great advantage' I can say

 

[Rg548]

It's good to see the flaws at $500 or so.
It shows that we do get better optics the more we spend, albeit with diminishing returns.
I would not buy these.
Thanks for your time and review, interesting.

 

[jackjack]

It's good to see the flaws at $500 or so.
It shows that we do get better optics the more we spend, albeit with diminishing returns.
I would not buy these.
Thanks for your time and review, interesting.

all binos have it's up and down. just maximizing 'up's and minimizing downs lead to higer price....
so I don't like reviews hiding bino's flaws and just saying good things about it.

I will pursuade birder friends to buy bresser pirsh ed, nikon m7, kowa bd2 then alpen teton. but for some that puts transmission at the top of their likes, I will remind them of Alpen teton

 

[Canip]

possibly the cheapest Abbe prisms in market

Not in Europe (e.g. DDoptics Pirschler 8x56 with AK prisms is even cheaper)

 

[jackjack]

Not in Europe (e.g. DDoptics Pirschler 8x56 with AK prisms is even cheaper)

pirschler is about 600$? wonder how much alpen cost. in korea alpen can found under 400. qhich is cheaper than nikon monarch7