The APM 6.5x32 ED IF, compared to the APM 6x30 – A Few Thoughts (5 Viewers)

[Canip]

I do like the APM 6x30, but have never been a huge fan of it. I like it for its compact size, good ergonomics, nice finish, smooth focus and mechanical robustness. The optics are good, but I always found them somewhat underwhelming – despite a nice field of view, good central sharpness, good correction of CA, and decent image brightness and stray-light control, I find the sweet spot relatively small. When panning, the less than perfect edge sharpness becomes obvious in my eyes; only part of it is due to the field curvature, which is not as strong as e.g. in the Steiner Commander 7x30, but still fairly prominent.

So I was uncertain what to expect when I ordered the much lauded new 6.5x32 IF, labeled “APO”, which for me means it features ED glass (the term "APO" seems now ubiquitous, but not everything named that way is truly Apo).

I was not waiting for the CF version to come on the market; at 6.5x, IF works very well for me; even at my advanced age, I don’t have to refocus much, and IF is generally even more robust than CF.

First surprise when the 6.5x32 arrived: much bigger than expected !

See pics.

I had thought the difference to the 6x30 would mainly be in the diameter and length of the eyepieces, but everything is bigger in the 6.5x32, including the prism housing. The 6.5x32 looks and feels almost like a large 8x30/8x32 (it is roughly the size of the new Oberwerk 8x32 SE, but not as heavy as the latter).

At 747 g (including neckstrap, eyecaps and objective caps), the 6.5x32 brings roughly 22% more weight onto the scale. But in practical use, the difference does not appear too significant.

Optically, however, the 6.5x32 is a very different animal than the 6x30. Although both feature 9.3 degrees RFOV, according to specs, the field in the 6.5x32 appears discernibly wider. My measurement reveals an AFOV of 56 degrees in the 6x30, and of 59 degrees in the 6.5x32.

The image of the 6.5x32 is bright, the sweet spot wide, sharpness across most of the field is very good; CA (I could only trigger a little bit of it at the edge of the field of view) and stray-light control are non-issues, the panning experience is comfortable, the wide eyecups allow for an excellent ease of view (“Einblickverhalten”). Field curvature is present, but quite modest.

Although the 6x30 is more compact, lighter and fits a tad better into my smallish hands, I like the 6.5x32 overall much better. This could become one of my much used general purpose binos.

fwiw Canip

 

[Binocollector]

Very interesting! Thanks. It always reminded me of the Komz 7x30 BPO with those huge oculars. Can you post a comparison pic, assuming you own the Komz BPO 7x30?

 

[Canip]

Can you post a comparison pic, assuming you own the Komz BPO 7x30?

I don‘t

 

[Binocollector]

Oops, I was certain you have one. I could post a pic of the Komz 7x30 next to my APM 6x30 and that might give us an impression how they compare in size.

 

[Binocollector]

Seems comparable but the oculars are even bigger.

 

[Holger Merlitz]

My APM 6.5x32 arrived just today. I won't have much time for testing in the next few days, but I can already guess that using this new binocular will be fun! It probably looks like a Fujinon FMTR-SX would look like without its rubber armor. Slightly shorter than the 7x30 BPO.

Cheers,
Holger

 

[Binocollector]

I'm actually much more interested in this bino and especially the CF version than in the hyped Banner Cloud. I'm just a huge porro fan.

 

[Canip]

Just realize Hermann did an almost similar comparison:

„APM 6.5x32 APO - Some first impressions“

see his thread here on BF (coming to similar conclusions )

APM 6.5x32 APO - Some first impressions

I got an APM 6.5.x32 APO IF a little more than a week ago. According to Markus the APM is the same binocular as the "Moon Star" discussed in detail on CN last year. After getting it set up I did some comparisons against my APM 6x30, a recent Habicht 7x42 and (briefly) a Retrovid 7x35. I didn't...

www.birdforum.net

MODERATORS, can you please merge this thread into his?

Canip

 

[Holger Merlitz]

I'm actually much more interested in this bino and especially the CF version than in the hyped Banner Cloud. I'm just a huge porro fan.

Same here, a Porro of good performance is something that always makes me happy! I may nonetheless get the 10x50 Banner Cloud, too good to be missed out ...

Cheers,
Holger

 

[Thotmosis]

I'm actually much more interested in this bino and especially the CF version than in the hyped Banner Cloud. I'm just a huge porro fan.

Me too, i pre ordered the CF version but a few days ago got a message that they have problems with the delivery and if i would like an IF instead…they look very freaky with the huges oculars and i like that. It will be my first MIC binocular….

 

[Paultricounty]

Me too, i pre ordered the CF version but a few days ago got a message that they have problems with the delivery and if i would like an IF instead…they look very freaky with the huges oculars and i like that.

It will be my first MIC binocular….

Sacrilege! But I’ll forgive you if it’s a one off 😉✌🏼.

 

[Thotmosis]

Sacrilege! But I’ll forgive you if it’s a one off 😉✌🏼.

I will carefully inspect the bino for hidden internal spyware and communist propaganda!

 

[Thotmosis]

Just got word that the freaky Porro from China will be delivered next Friday.

 

[Binocollector]

@Thotmosis
The IF-version?

 

[Thotmosis]

@Thotmosis
The IF-version?

Yes the IF version. I ordered the CF version but they have problems with the delivery so they asked if i wanted the IF.
I like the looks of the IF.

 

[Hermann]

I do like the APM 6x30, but have never been a huge fan of it. I like it for its compact size, good ergonomics, nice finish, smooth focus and mechanical robustness. The optics are good, but I always found them somewhat underwhelming – despite a nice field of view, good central sharpness, good correction of CA, and decent image brightness and stray-light control, I find the sweet spot relatively small. When panning, the less than perfect edge sharpness becomes obvious in my eyes; only part of it is due to the field curvature, which is not as strong as e.g. in the Steiner Commander 7x30, but still fairly prominent.

I actually still like the 6x30 a lot. I think the difference between us is that I don't really care about edge sharpness. The sweet spot is large enough IMO, and the edges are still sharp enough to see if there's something I need to look at closely.

I was not waiting for the CF version to come on the market; at 6.5x, IF works very well for me; even at my advanced age, I don’t have to refocus much, and IF is generally even more robust than CF.

Well, for birding the IF only works in wide, open landscapes IMO. As soon as you try to use it for birding in the woods ... No way. IF is just too slow in the woods. As to the robustness - yes, IF is definitely more robust than any center fosusing. There's a reason why military binoculars are almost always IF.

Optically, however, the 6.5x32 is a very different animal than the 6x30. Although both feature 9.3 degrees RFOV, according to specs, the field in the 6.5x32 appears discernibly wider. My measurement reveals an AFOV of 56 degrees in the 6x30, and of 59 degrees in the 6.5x32.

The image of the 6.5x32 is bright, the sweet spot wide, sharpness across most of the field is very good; CA (I could only trigger a little bit of it at the edge of the field of view) and stray-light control are non-issues, the panning experience is comfortable, the wide eyecups allow for an excellent ease of view (“Einblickverhalten”). Field curvature is present, but quite modest.

Agreed. The 6.5.x32 is definitely even better than the 6x30. The only thing I'd add is that I find you have to set the IPD very carefully with this binocular.

This binocular is quite unique. The only similar binocular is the Komz/Baigish 7x30 with its horrible yellow tint.

Hermann

 

[Thotmosis]

Just got word that the freaky Porro from China will be delivered next Friday.

So the bino arrived yesterday, very fast…but im afraid too fast as i got the 8x32 APO IF instead of the one i ordered (6.5x32 IF). The seller responded swiftly and they will send me one i ordered right away with a return label for the 8x32. Good communications with APM so far.

Ofcourse i checked out the one they send me and prima facie i have to say that optically this is very, very nice glass…im biased because i prefer Porro’s over SP but i did some quick comparisons with my Habicht 8x30 IF and Leica UVHD 8x32 and optically you can’t go wrong with the APM. It’s tack sharp, and as i could see it -at least yesterday when the sun was shining- as bright as the Habicht. For some reason this binocular gives a very relaxed and stable view. Today its raining so will do some unscientific observations again.

What I don’t like though are the rubber eyecups….i folded them down and they came loose…bad quality but you can easily fix it. You never know how this MIC will hold after 10 years with heavy field use but so far so good. Even more curious to get the 6.5x32 now.

To be continued…

EDIT: added some quick pictures for size comparison
I really like the padded case it came with. It’s a bigger bino than the handy and trusty Habicht and UVHD.
Nice big eyepieces on the APM btw.

 

[Canip]

I actually still like the 6x30 a lot. I think the difference between us is that I don't really care about edge sharpness. The sweet spot is large enough IMO, and the edges are still sharp enough to see if there's something I need to look at closely.

Well, for birding the IF only works in wide, open landscapes IMO. As soon as you try to use it for birding in the woods ... No way. IF is just too slow in the woods. As to the robustness - yes, IF is definitely more robust than any center fosusing. There's a reason why military binoculars are almost always IF.

Agreed. The 6.5.x32 is definitely even better than the 6x30. The only thing I'd add is that I find you have to set the IPD very carefully with this binocular.

This binocular is quite unique. The only similar binocular is the Komz/Baigish 7x30 with its horrible yellow tint.

Hermann

Since Holger Merlitz noticed that the exit pupils appear smaller than they should, I measured the specifications of the APM (yes, I know, I have a pedantic bent), see

APM 6.5×32 ED Apo – Binoculars Today

One could say that this is a 6.7x31 binocular, not 6.5x32, but specs are in fact relatively close to what APM claims.
For some, the close focus distance may seem an issue, but this is a porro bino and therefore not necessarily useful for very close observations anyway (parallax!).

As I said earlier, I like this APM a lot. What a difference in image clarity, absence of CA and size of sweet spot if you compare it to another popular 6.5x32 porro such as e.g. the Opticron Adventurer, which also has over 9 degrees FOV.

 

[Thotmosis]

Since Holger Merlitz noticed that the exit pupils appear smaller than they should, I measured the spedifications of the APM (yes, I know, I have a pedantic bent), see

APM 6.5×32 ED Apo – Binoculars Today

One could say that this is a 6.7x31 binocular, not 6.5x32, but specs are in fact relatively close to what APM claims.
For some, the close focus distance may seem an issue, but this is a porro bino and therefore not necessarily useful for very close observations anyway (parallax!).

As I said earlier, I like this APM a lot. What a difference in image clarity, absence of CA and size of sweet spot if you compare it to another popular 6.5x32 porro such as e.g. the Opticron Adventurer, which also has over 9 degrees FOV.

How are the rubber eyecups performing on your models?

 

[Hermann]

Since Holger Merlitz noticed that the exit pupils appear smaller than they should, I measured the spedifications of the APM (yes, I know, I have a pedantic bent), see

APM 6.5×32 ED Apo – Binoculars Today

One could say that this is a 6.7x31 binocular, not 6.5x32, but specs are in fact relatively close to what APM claims.
For some, the close focus distance may seem an issue, but this is a porro bino and therefore not necessarily useful for very close observations anyway (parallax!).

I like it when you're being pedantic ... I can happily live with a 6.7x31. As to the close focus - well, I hope the CF version (APM says it should arrive at the end of May) will have somewhat closer focus. I'd be OK with something like 3-3.5m myself for my style of birding, but then I don't look at my toenails through my binoculars.

As I said earlier, I like this APM a lot. What a difference in image clarity, absence of CA and size of sweet spot if you compare it to another popular 6.5x32 porro such as e.g. the Opticron Adventurer, which also has over 9 degrees FOV.

I actually think the APM might be some serious competition for my Habicht 7x42, simply because of the much larger FOV. The optics are good enough as far as I'm concerned.

An unrelated thought: When I look at the problems with the Sky Rover (apparently oil spots on the prisms in some binoculars) I know why I'd never get a new roof right when it comes onto the market. Too many things that can go wrong, as some of the "premium manufacturers" had to learn as well in the past decades. A new porro - why not? Much simpler mechanics, overall a much simpler design, fewer things that can go wrong.

Hermann