Binoculars reviewed at £399
Web: vikingopticalcentres.co.uk
Reviewed by David Chandler
Viking say the MkII “redesigned from the ground up” Peregrine is a “premium product with unbeatable performance and value for money”, which is quite a claim. There are four in the range: 8x and 10x32 (£379) and 8x and 10x42 (£399). I played with the 8x42.
What you get
A well-presented package with strap, rainguard, objective covers, case, lens cloth. The supplied, padded case is reminiscent of one from a top-end brand and has enough space for the strap to fit in and the bins to go in with the eyecups up. The package also includes a magnesium chassis, rubber-armoured binocular with ED glass and flat-field lenses...
A Peregrine in the hand
In my hands, sitting at my desk, this 740g Peregrine felt quite weighty. But my regular binocular weighs just 600g, and 740g is not particularly heavy for an 8x42. In real world use, with the wide, neoprene strap (which was perhaps a little bit too wide for my liking) this binocular did not feel too heavy and delivered a noticeably steady view – a bit of weight can help produce a steadier hold. The build quality seems very good. There are very shallow thumb indents on the underside which are barely noticeable, and, unsurprisingly, it’s waterproof and nitrogen-filled. It sat comfortably in my medium-sized hands and in a friend’s larger hands. The rubber-covered, twist-up eyecups work well, have two intermediate positions, and stayed up in use. The dioptre adjuster also moves well, with a nice amount of resistance. Crucially, once set, it didn’t drift from its set position. The finger-wide metal focusing wheel has raised rubber ridges for grip. There’s a fair amount of resistance, but it moves very smoothly. Full motion is about 1¾ turns, anti-clockwise towards more distant birds. For birdwatching, about ¼ of a turn is all you’re likely to need.
Through a Peregrine’s lenses
I’ve read that a Peregrine’s eyesight is 8x better than ours. I don’t know how they work that out or if it’s true. What I can say, though, is that this 8x Peregrine delivers a very good image – better than you might expect. My large-handed friend even thought the view was comparable to his regular binocular, which has a big name on it and costs four times as much. The view is clean and crisp with good colours. Brightness is very good and sharpness is very, very good. I did see a bit of peripheral softness, but I’m a critical reviewer – it’s not a problem. I also detected a little chromatic aberration (colour-fringing) on a flying Buzzard and a Jackdaw, but it was nothing to get worked up about – overall, it’s well controlled. The 140m field of view felt quite expansive and as for the close-focus... It is, in theory, 1.5m, which is very good. As usual, I measured it. Theory and reality don’t always match, and they didn’t. For me, close-focus was about 1m, and that’s remarkable. I was also impressed with the focusing action and focusing precision was very, very good. Low light performance didn’t disappoint, either – 30 minutes after sunset the view was still good both in close shade and more distant, open viewing. When the sun was low and to the side, I did see some flare/reflections on the eyepieces – the eyepieces are large which may have exacerbated this. Using a hand to block extraneous light helps to reduce this.
Specs
Eye relief: 19mm
Field of view: 8⁰/140m@1,000m
Close focus: 1.5m
Weight: 740g
Size (width x length x height): 128x150x50mm
RRP: £399
Warranty: 10yr with dedicated UK repair centre.
Supplied with: Case; strap; rainguard; tethered, removable objective covers; lens cloth.
Made in China
Verdict
There was a time when Peregrines were hard to come by. Thankfully, these days, many more people will encounter a Peregrine. Similarly, at just under £400 this binocular will be within the reach of many people. It feels well put together, produces a very good, expansive image, has very nice focusing and an exceptional close-focus. If you’ve been looking for a good quality, versatile binocular at a reasonable price, this could be it.