Hermann
Well-known member
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 use it a lot in the field yet. IF binoculars don't really work all that well for birding at this time of the year for obvious reasons. I also ordered a pair with center focusing that should arrive later in the month and will post a detailed review in due course.
Some impressions: The 6.5x32 is larger and more than 100 gr heavier than the APM 6x30, no doubt due to its impressively large eyepieces. In other words: It's not the size of a neat, small 8x30 porro anymore. The eyerelief is larger than in any other binocular I own and should be sufficient for every glasses wearer. In fact, with the rubber eyecups turned down the eyerelief is too much for me. I'm still working on that problem. The build quality seems me to be very good, and the binoculars really look "nice", nicer than their price would suggest. I've seen binoculars costing five time as much with a worse build quality.
Optically the APM 6.5x32 is a clear improvement over the already pretty good APM 6x30: Very high contrast, very high sharpness with excellent resolution, huge sweetspot (about 75-80% of the field of view are perfectly sharp), nice colour reproduction, perhaps a tiny bit warmer than the Habicht, no visible CA at all. It "feels" even wider than the 6x30 with its 9.3. degrees field of view.
In fact, I didn't find anything to complain about, and I can imagine it to become my go-to low magnification binocular.
Final words: This binocular is pretty unique and not a "Chinese knockoff" many people here like to complain about. There is simply no other small porro with a well-corrected large field of view that is suitable for spectacle wearers. None whatsoever.
Hermann
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 use it a lot in the field yet. IF binoculars don't really work all that well for birding at this time of the year for obvious reasons. I also ordered a pair with center focusing that should arrive later in the month and will post a detailed review in due course.
Some impressions: The 6.5x32 is larger and more than 100 gr heavier than the APM 6x30, no doubt due to its impressively large eyepieces. In other words: It's not the size of a neat, small 8x30 porro anymore. The eyerelief is larger than in any other binocular I own and should be sufficient for every glasses wearer. In fact, with the rubber eyecups turned down the eyerelief is too much for me. I'm still working on that problem. The build quality seems me to be very good, and the binoculars really look "nice", nicer than their price would suggest. I've seen binoculars costing five time as much with a worse build quality.
Optically the APM 6.5x32 is a clear improvement over the already pretty good APM 6x30: Very high contrast, very high sharpness with excellent resolution, huge sweetspot (about 75-80% of the field of view are perfectly sharp), nice colour reproduction, perhaps a tiny bit warmer than the Habicht, no visible CA at all. It "feels" even wider than the 6x30 with its 9.3. degrees field of view.
In fact, I didn't find anything to complain about, and I can imagine it to become my go-to low magnification binocular.
Final words: This binocular is pretty unique and not a "Chinese knockoff" many people here like to complain about. There is simply no other small porro with a well-corrected large field of view that is suitable for spectacle wearers. None whatsoever.
Hermann
Sometimes that old Micro Nikkor is just too sharp. Please note: The rubber rings around the objective lenses were added by me. I also put some tape around the rubber eyecups. I don't really want to lose them ... Still looking for a better / more permanent solution.
