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
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
