RRP: £329
Reviewed by Matt Merritt
If you’ve been reading Bird Watching for a few years, you’ll know that one of the major changes in the optics market that we’ve flagged up has been the vast improvement in binoculars in the ‘budget’ bracket – sub-£400, say.
This is a new addition to Opticron’s extensive range (actually, an update of an older model), and word at Global Birdfair was that it was likely to be a major contender in that category, binoculars for birdwatchers who don’t (yet, at least) want to commit to the top end of the market, but who are still looking for high performance in all conditions.
That WA in the name means wide angle, so that was the first thing I was looking for when I tested them in the field. It’s quoted as 142m@1,000m, and feels every bit of that and then some more, probably because there’s very little softness at the edges. The result is a very ‘walk in’ view.
The view has a very natural colour, with the image very sharp, bright and clean. That was pleasing enough in bright sunshine (and let’s face it, we’ve had a lot of that this summer), but there was impressively little fall-off in brightness or quality when I took them out on some dawn and dusk expeditions.
It was very hard to find any colour-fringing (chromatic aberration) even against the bright midday sun, with it only really revealing itself when following a moving object – get your eye position correct, and you’re unlikely to notice anything.
Close focus is quoted as 1.9m, but I found it more like 1.5m – that made these excellent for looking at butterflies and dragonflies, and even the baby Wrens that have spent the summer hopping around the yard just outside my patio window.
The focus wheel is close to 1.5 fingers wide and reasonably well textured – I found it easy to grip and move, even with gloves on.
It moves very smoothly and moderately stiffly, taking pretty much two full turns from close focus to infinity. That’s quite a lot of travel, but in practice I found it very easy to find focus, and to maintain it on a moving subject.
The dioptre adjustment is on the right barrel. It isn’t click-stopped, but it was easy to set and then stayed in place well in extended use in the field.
The rest of the design is equally impressive. The alloy eyecups are comfortable in extended use, and can be set in one of three distinct positions, offering a maximum of 18.5mm of eye relief. Glasses-wearers should find that they offer a full field of view. Again, they stayed in place well in the field.
They’re well armoured, and feel very solid and robust. It’s fair to say that they don’t feel as light as some 8x42s, but that’s offset by the fact that they’re very well balanced, and even on long days in the field their weight was never an issue. They’re nicely compact, too.
They come with all the accessories you’d expect – a soft case, a neoprene strap, a rainguard (easy to slip on and off), and removable tethered objective lens covers.
Specs
Field of view: 142m@1,000m
Close focus: 1.9m
Eye relief: 18.5mm
Weight: 743g
Size: 145mm x 130mm x 52mm
RRP: £329
Guarantee: 10 years
Web: opticron.co.uk
Verdict
I actually didn’t look at the price until I’d finished testing, and was amazed that these weren’t more like £450-£500. They provide a very wide, bright, sharp image, perform very well in low light, have excellent close focus, and excellent design quality that’s comfortingly solid and very user-friendly. The weight was just about all I could find to gripe about, and in all honesty it wasn’t a genuine problem. Try them – at this price they’re really quite remarkable.