Worthwhile upgrade for not silly money? (1 Viewer)

[dougan]

As I am going to send the Opticron traveller's back, lovely binoculars, but felt a little to big and heavy for hiking, so will stick with my compacts.

As this does free up some cash, I was wondering about upgrading my main bins. These are the Hawke Frontier ED 8x43, nothing special I will admit, but suits me.
I was wondering what I would need to spend to see a marked improvement over the Hawkes? I don't mean spending silly money on any of the Alpha bins.
Is there anything available for around £400 plus what I would get for the Hawkes?
These are the ones I have.






.

 

[Richard D]

Differences are likely to be minor if you're looking at 700-850 binoculars above these - the law of diminishing returns sets in quite quickly. Best advice is to try models if you can. The GPO Passion HD 8x42 gets good reviews at around £800, but I've not personally tried it.

 

[Mike Crawley]

If you are concerned about weight, wouldn’t converting to an 8 (or 10) x 32 a better option ?
Less weight from the barrels, objectives and internal prism, etc.

 

[dougan]

No weight issues!

 

[[email protected]]

I think to see any great improvement over the Hawke's with a roof prism, you would have to move up to about the £800 or $1000 price point, and then you could look at binoculars like the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x32 or the Nikon Monarch MHG 8x42. If you want to stay at £400, and you want an improvement in optics you need to consider a porro prism which offers more bang for the buck than a roof. At £400 I would seriously look at a Nikon E2 8x30. It is light, has great build quality, a huge FOV, better optics than your Hawke's and the 3D view porro prism binoculars are known for. It is very popular for a reason!

 

[Rg548]

Try opticron DBA VHD+
I nearly bought some before the Auroras came out. They were about £600 if I remember, but they might be found cheaper now.
Exceptional for the money.
But, as I've said on here before, warranted second hand from a dealer can yield excellent results. I'd miss Ebay out though.
Try Ace Optics
Clifton cameras
Focal Point Optics etc.
Way more bang for your buck!!

Also, classifieds on here, I think on the whole we're a decent bunch.

 

[Mike Crawley]

No weight issues!

OK, inadvertently thought your binoculars were too heavy for walking/hiking.
apologies

 

[[email protected]]

Try opticron DBA VHD+
I nearly bought some before the Auroras came out. They were about £600 if I remember, but they might be found cheaper now.
Exceptional for the money.
But, as I've said on here before, warranted second hand from a dealer can yield excellent results. I'd miss Ebay out though.
Try Ace Optics
Clifton cameras
Focal Point Optics etc.
Way more bang for your buck!!

Also, classifieds on here, I think on the whole we're a decent bunch.

The only thing I don't like about the Opticron DBA VHD+ is the relatively small 366 foot FOV on the 8x and the 315 foot FOV on the 10x. The Aurora is fine with a FOV on the 8x of 423 feet and 348 feet on the 10x, but it is in Nikon MHG and Zeiss Conquest HD territory at $1K.

 

[dougan]

OK, inadvertently thought your binoculars were too heavy for walking/hiking.
apologies

No need to apologise Mike!

 

[[email protected]]

Is the Opticron Aurora 8x42 discontinued? They don't seem to be available anywhere in the US.

 

[Mike Crawley]

Is the Opticron Aurora 8x42 discontinued? They don't seem to be available anywhere in the US.

Certainly still available from my local optics shop (for £799)

https://www.focalpointopticsltd.com/product-page/opticron-aurora-bga-vhd-8x42

 

[Binocollector]

They are still on the homepage, too.

Aurora BGA VHD 8x42 | Opticron

Click to view this page on www.opticron.co.uk

www.opticron.co.uk

 

[GoldenBear]

Perhaps a Tract Toric UHD with Schott HT glass?

 

[dougan]

I have seen a pair of Opticron Aurora 8x42, ex-dems in a camera shop with £200 off the retail price.
Would these be a big enough improvement over my Hawkes?

 

[Rg548]

I have seen a pair of Opticron Aurora 8x42, ex-dems in a camera shop with £200 off the retail price.
Would these be a big enough improvement over my Hawkes?

I would very much expect so..... try to view them if possible.

 

[Ratal]

Having owned both, I can say that the newest version of the Opticron Aurora is a massive step up to the Hawkes.

 

[Trinovid]

As I am going to send the Opticron traveller's back, lovely binoculars, but felt a little too big and heavy for hiking, so will stick with my compacts.

No weight issues

Again, you may want to look into some higher end, used x32 bins, but at any rate, try to get out to some shops and try as many options in the stores before you buy.