Product Review: Oberwerk SE 8 x 32 ED. (1 Viewer)

[Canip]

18mm, measured from the surface of the eyelens - the more realistic „usable eye relief“, measured from the rim of the eyecup, is 15mm.

 

[Peerke]

18mm, measured from the surface of the eyelens - the more realistic „usable eye relief“, measured from the rim of the eyecup, is 15mm.

Ah, thanks. I am not very knowledgeable in this matter, but what I read is that an eye relief of 15 mm could be bothersome for people wearing glasses (and have to use them).
Would the 10 x 42 have a better eye relief for me, or is it the same? Most of the time, 8x would have bigger eye relief than a 10x. I feel very dumb here. I see on the website the 10x42 has 15 mm also.

Of course, I could always order them and if I can't use them, send them back.

 

[Swig Waltersson]

I wear glasses with my Oberwerk 8x32s, and find the eye relief more than enough. I use elastic hair bands (poor man's O-rings) to keep the eyecups a little above the lowest position. Works just fine for me.
I bought this binocular about three months ago for birding and like it very much. It seems quite a bit sharper and brighter than the Opticron SR.GA 8x32 that I had to retire because of its limited eye relief (the old Opticron is in bad need of a service, so the comparison might not be fair). The only fly in the ointment with the Oberwerk is the focuser. It is perfectly smooth, as you might expect from an old-school greased mechanism. But as others have also noted, it is stiff and there is considerable slack in my sample. I am mulling send it back to the European distributor with a request to tighten things up. Don't know what my chances are. If only the Oberwerk had the quite perfect SR.GA focuser.

 

[Swig Waltersson]

p.s. I tried the Genesis 8x33 during my recent bino search and I could not see the whole field of view while wearing glasses.

 

[Swig Waltersson]

Following up on post #143 for anyone interested, I recently returned my 8x32 SE to Oberwerk's EU distributor in Italy after the diopter ring became detached. It was made of quite lightweight plastic and seemed to have been just glued to the metal ring underneath it. It didn't seem like a very durable construction, so I would advise anyone who owns the binoculars to move it gently and sparingly.

I also complained about the significant slack/play in the focus mechanism.

The distributor has now sent me a new pair that has a quite perfect focuser (and a solid-feeling diopter). I can't detect any slack at all, so can go back to enjoying the excellent view.

If I was buying again, I'd point out in advance that for the intended use (birding) a tight focus wheel is a must. Could prompt the seller to do proper quality control and cut out the hassle of returning a sub-standard product.

 

[pat mitchel]

Oberwerk recently changed the limited warranty to original owner to 5 yrs (from 2 yrs)

https://oberwerk.com/oberwerk-limited-warranty/

 

[Peerke]

I wear glasses with my Oberwerk 8x32s, and find the eye relief more than enough. I use elastic hair bands (poor man's O-rings) to keep the eyecups a little above the lowest position. Works just fine for me.
I bought this binocular about three months ago for birding and like it very much. It seems quite a bit sharper and brighter than the Opticron SR.GA 8x32 that I had to retire because of its limited eye relief (the old Opticron is in bad need of a service, so the comparison might not be fair). The only fly in the ointment with the Oberwerk is the focuser. It is perfectly smooth, as you might expect from an old-school greased mechanism. But as others have also noted, it is stiff and there is considerable slack in my sample. I am mulling send it back to the European distributor with a request to tighten things up. Don't know what my chances are. If only the Oberwerk had the quite perfect SR.GA focuser.

Well, in the end, I decided to go to a store to try some of the binoculars there. Purchased the Kowa BDII 8x42. To my untrained eyes, they are perfect. Sharp and a very nice, smooth focus. For something like binoculars, I prefer to go to a store. Strange, perhaps, when I look at the stuff I order online.

But thanks for your post here regarding the eye relief. That was one of my concerns, and you took the time to post a message.