Good image at medium to close range and nice ergonomic touches make these inexpensive binoculars a Solid Choice
July 23, 2024
At A Glance
PROS:
- Relatively bright, sharp image compared with other lower-priced binoculars in this review
- Single-hinge design, large focus wheel, and roomy eyecups aid ease of use
- Affordable price point
CONS:
- Not as bright or sharp as more expensive models in this review; best for close to medium range viewing
- Focus wheel is a bit stiff, making it harder to smoothly dial in focus
STATS:
- Price: $109 MSRP at press time. Prices often fluctuate, so check with retailers
- Close focus: Listed at 6.6 feet (200 cm). In tests, we could focus these binoculars down to about 8.2 feet (251 cm)
- Field of view: 6.8° (357 feet at 1,000 yards). More about field of view
- Weight: 10.1 oz (287 g)—that’s about 0.5 oz (15 g) lighter than the average for pocket binoculars in our review
- Eye relief: 16 mm
Viewing Experience: In a past review Opticron’s low-priced yet high-performing Oregon 8×42 binoculars earned a Top Pick, wowing us with great performance given their low price. This 8×25 version doesn’t perform quite so well, though it’s still a good choice if you’re looking for fairly bright and sharp binoculars at just over $100. Especially at close to medium ranges, the image is bright and sharp. Watching a female Yellow-rumped Warbler on a rainy spring day, we enjoyed the brown tones and diffuse streaking set off by tiny, bright red maple leaves surrounding it. The image was sharp enough to reveal bright flashes of yellow on the chest and rump, as well as the white feather tips that made up the bird’s thin wingbars.
Feel and Build: We appreciated the birding-specific design touches in these small binoculars. They have a single hinge, meaning they don’t fold down as small as some pocket binoculars but are easier to keep adjusted for your eye width. Large eyecups fit all the way over your eyes, helping shade and add contrast to the image. And the focus wheel is oversized, with thick ridges to make it easier to dial in focus precisely. Unfortunately the focus wheel movement is not as smooth as it was in the 8×42 version, so you may find it gives your finger a bit of resistance as you’re birding.
This article is one in a series of mini-reviews. To see how these binoculars compare to others we’ve tested, see our full review of pocket binoculars.
