vkalia
Robin stroker
I know I promised this earlier, but my apologies - been ill, been busy and then been ill again. Ugh.
In any case, I put together all the compacts I owned, and decided to do a shootout.
Contestants:
- Vortex Fury 8x28
- Nikon LX-L 8x20
- Alpen Wings 10x25 ED
- Opticron Taiga 8x25
- Hawke Premier 8x25
My testing methodology: I pointed the bins at a tree set in the shade, and looked closely at the bark patterns as well as a knot in the trunk, and started comparing the view. I figured this would be a better approximation of field use than staring at resolution charts. As a benchmark, I used my trusty Zen-Ray 8x42 ED bino.
LOOKING THROUGH THE BINOS - THE VIEW
Both the Nikon and the Alpens had a view that could be best described as tunnelly. Both were a little finicky in placement - although not overwhelming so. Surprisingly, the Hawke Premier - which is a noticeably worse bino in virtually every other regard - actually had a better view than both the Nikon and the Alpens.
The Taigas were somewhat better with a very comfortable view, with less of the tunnel effect.
Not surprisingly, the Furys were significantly better than all the rest here. The view was almost as relaxed as the ZRs, although a little more narrow/tunnelly.
DETAIL & CLARITY
Compared to the Zen-Ray, the Nikon had just a little less detail in the shadows. While I could see the patterns in the bark and knot, it took me a little more time to make them out.
While the Alpens did not show any more detail than the Nikon, it was just a little bit easier to make out those details. 10x does make a difference, I reckon!
The Taigas were a very small step down from both the Nikon and the Alpens, and appeared to me to lose just a little, tiny bit of resolution in the details.
The Hawke Premiers were significantly worse and showed a lot less detail in the shadows than the other compacts.
The Fury 8x28s made shadow details a little easier to see - again, there werent MORE details to see, compared to the Nikon and the Alpens, but those details were definitely easier to see with the 8x28s.
The Z-Rs, of course, took this to another level: it was as if someone had turned the brightness up by a level. I was able to make out details in the shadows far more easily. If this were a rapidly-flitting bird, the Z-Rs would have an edge in ID, due to their ability to provide a view with easily-identifiable details.
BRIGHTNESS AND CONTRAST
I am quite used to the Zen-Ray view. This has been my birding bino for quite a few years now (ever since the ED came out originally, a bunch of years ago). A lot of people are familiar with its bright and contrasty view.
However, the contrast and "crispness" of the Nikon was clearly and noticeably better than that of all the other binos in the test, including the Z-R. Photographers will know what I mean: sometimes, you have to magnify an image to 100% to tell if it is critically sharp. And sometimes, the sharpness just jumps out at you. The Nikon had a view which can only be described as "punchy". Very nice!
The Alpen came close, but lacked that little punch/contrast of the Nikons.
The Opticron Taigas and the Vortex Furys were - to my eyes - very close in terms of contrast, and just a little bit behind that of the Alpens.
The Hawkes felt as though I was looking through a sheet of misty plastic, by comparison.
CA
I did a quick test - a branch overhanging a tree, with the sea behind it. I couldn't notice any bino except the Hawke Premier - where it was mild but not particularly excessive. Perhaps a more stringent test will reveal differences here - I can do so if people ask, but for my part, I am not too bothered about CA, so I didn't look too closely in this area.
SUMMARY
A few things emerged from this test for me:
- There is no substitute for a larger objective. Nice though the LX-Ls may be, a cheaper bino with a bigger objective would make it easier to identify details, especially with rapidly-moving birds
- I got the LX-Ls for $270, and for that price, I am ecstatic. But, as a corollary to the above, I don't see myself paying the big $$$ commanded by Z/L/S for their compacts, simply b/c of the limitations of the compact format.
- The test has been a little unfair to the Nikon b/c every other bino has had either a bigger objective or bigger mag. But it has held up very well and provided the most breath-taking view, thanks to its amazing contrast.
- I am equally impressed by how good the inexpensive Alpens are - you get performance that is very close to the Nikon, and which requires careful and repeated A/B testing to differentiate.
- The Taigas are just marginally behind the Nikon and Alpen, in terms of details and contrast, but make up for it by having a much nicer view - easy to look through and having less of the "tunnel syndrome" than the Alpens and the Nikons. I could actually see myself being very happy with the Taiga long term, simply due to its superior field of view.
- The Premier is an el-cheapo non-ED lens and it shows - to me, this bino is unsuitable for birding.
*edit/added*
- While I really like the quality of the Nikon and the Alpens, if space allowed, I'd rather carry the Fury 8x28s. They give up a bit in contrast/punch, but their improved ease of placement and the ease with which they show details are features which, to me, would be more useful when trying to ID a bird (my favorite birding is mountain birding, with lots of skulkers, offering short glimpses only).
Hope this review is useful.
In any case, I put together all the compacts I owned, and decided to do a shootout.
Contestants:
- Vortex Fury 8x28
- Nikon LX-L 8x20
- Alpen Wings 10x25 ED
- Opticron Taiga 8x25
- Hawke Premier 8x25
My testing methodology: I pointed the bins at a tree set in the shade, and looked closely at the bark patterns as well as a knot in the trunk, and started comparing the view. I figured this would be a better approximation of field use than staring at resolution charts. As a benchmark, I used my trusty Zen-Ray 8x42 ED bino.
LOOKING THROUGH THE BINOS - THE VIEW
Both the Nikon and the Alpens had a view that could be best described as tunnelly. Both were a little finicky in placement - although not overwhelming so. Surprisingly, the Hawke Premier - which is a noticeably worse bino in virtually every other regard - actually had a better view than both the Nikon and the Alpens.
The Taigas were somewhat better with a very comfortable view, with less of the tunnel effect.
Not surprisingly, the Furys were significantly better than all the rest here. The view was almost as relaxed as the ZRs, although a little more narrow/tunnelly.
DETAIL & CLARITY
Compared to the Zen-Ray, the Nikon had just a little less detail in the shadows. While I could see the patterns in the bark and knot, it took me a little more time to make them out.
While the Alpens did not show any more detail than the Nikon, it was just a little bit easier to make out those details. 10x does make a difference, I reckon!
The Taigas were a very small step down from both the Nikon and the Alpens, and appeared to me to lose just a little, tiny bit of resolution in the details.
The Hawke Premiers were significantly worse and showed a lot less detail in the shadows than the other compacts.
The Fury 8x28s made shadow details a little easier to see - again, there werent MORE details to see, compared to the Nikon and the Alpens, but those details were definitely easier to see with the 8x28s.
The Z-Rs, of course, took this to another level: it was as if someone had turned the brightness up by a level. I was able to make out details in the shadows far more easily. If this were a rapidly-flitting bird, the Z-Rs would have an edge in ID, due to their ability to provide a view with easily-identifiable details.
BRIGHTNESS AND CONTRAST
I am quite used to the Zen-Ray view. This has been my birding bino for quite a few years now (ever since the ED came out originally, a bunch of years ago). A lot of people are familiar with its bright and contrasty view.
However, the contrast and "crispness" of the Nikon was clearly and noticeably better than that of all the other binos in the test, including the Z-R. Photographers will know what I mean: sometimes, you have to magnify an image to 100% to tell if it is critically sharp. And sometimes, the sharpness just jumps out at you. The Nikon had a view which can only be described as "punchy". Very nice!
The Alpen came close, but lacked that little punch/contrast of the Nikons.
The Opticron Taigas and the Vortex Furys were - to my eyes - very close in terms of contrast, and just a little bit behind that of the Alpens.
The Hawkes felt as though I was looking through a sheet of misty plastic, by comparison.
CA
I did a quick test - a branch overhanging a tree, with the sea behind it. I couldn't notice any bino except the Hawke Premier - where it was mild but not particularly excessive. Perhaps a more stringent test will reveal differences here - I can do so if people ask, but for my part, I am not too bothered about CA, so I didn't look too closely in this area.
SUMMARY
A few things emerged from this test for me:
- There is no substitute for a larger objective. Nice though the LX-Ls may be, a cheaper bino with a bigger objective would make it easier to identify details, especially with rapidly-moving birds
- I got the LX-Ls for $270, and for that price, I am ecstatic. But, as a corollary to the above, I don't see myself paying the big $$$ commanded by Z/L/S for their compacts, simply b/c of the limitations of the compact format.
- The test has been a little unfair to the Nikon b/c every other bino has had either a bigger objective or bigger mag. But it has held up very well and provided the most breath-taking view, thanks to its amazing contrast.
- I am equally impressed by how good the inexpensive Alpens are - you get performance that is very close to the Nikon, and which requires careful and repeated A/B testing to differentiate.
- The Taigas are just marginally behind the Nikon and Alpen, in terms of details and contrast, but make up for it by having a much nicer view - easy to look through and having less of the "tunnel syndrome" than the Alpens and the Nikons. I could actually see myself being very happy with the Taiga long term, simply due to its superior field of view.
- The Premier is an el-cheapo non-ED lens and it shows - to me, this bino is unsuitable for birding.
*edit/added*
- While I really like the quality of the Nikon and the Alpens, if space allowed, I'd rather carry the Fury 8x28s. They give up a bit in contrast/punch, but their improved ease of placement and the ease with which they show details are features which, to me, would be more useful when trying to ID a bird (my favorite birding is mountain birding, with lots of skulkers, offering short glimpses only).
Hope this review is useful.
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