For the past few years I’ve been using a very good 10 x 50 Opticron Porro prism binocular, which has served me well as a longer range terrestrial magnifier and also for conducting astronomical observations. I chose this instrument for its great build quality and bright and sharp optics. It’s small field of view(5.3 degrees), was enough to frame nearly all the celestial objects I visit throughout the observing year. This size of field also pretty much guaranteed a fairly flat field from edge to edge, keeping stellar images tight and sharp no matter where they’re placed within the field. Back in May however, I bought in an amazing new high-performance roof prism binocular: the Sky Rover Banner Cloud(SRBC) 10 x 50 for review, and its quality literally stunned me. This instrument sported an ultra-flat field, fully double the size of my old 10 x 50 and with excellent colour correction. And while I was able to demonstrate its daylight capabilities in Part I( see the preamble above), I was unable to evaluate its night sky performance owing to the encroach of summer twilight which graces the Scottish landscape between May and the end of July, during which time there is no proper darkness, with only the brightest stars visible in the heavens.
A Trip to Italy
During early July, our family took off on vacation to northern Italy, basing ourselves in a small commune called Revine Lago, Sottacroda, in the foothills of the great Dolomite Mountain Range, and right in the heart of the Prosecco wine cultivation region of northeastern Italy.
With a climate of hot summers and frequent rain, the area is lush with vegetation. I brought along the 10 x 50 as well as its smaller sibling, the 8 x 42 SRBC, to do some daytime birding and visual astronomy after dark. It was also an ideal environment to test the hardiness of these instruments as they were exposed to dust and intense summer heat, where daytime temperatures soared to well above 40C in direct sunlight. I can report that both instruments coped admirably in these hotter, dustier conditions.
While most of my birding was conducted with the smaller 8 x 42 glass, I also found myself using the larger 10 x 50 SRBC quite a bit at my local birding patch, overlooking Marine Lago, a small freshwater lake just a kilometre’s walk from our holiday home. For example, while the 8 x 42 frequently picked up some birds fishing the lake far from shore, it was difficult to make a reliable identification, as they remained small in the huge field of view of the 8 x 42, I was able to use the higher power of the 10 x 50 instrument to tease out more detail. And it paid off! These turned out to be Great Crested Grebes, a species I’ve never personally encountered before.
Both the 8 x 42 and 10 x 50 are extremely stable in my hands. I can hold the 8 x 42 almost rock steady owing to its long barrels and excellent inertia. The 10 x 50 is marginally less stable, of course, more due to the magnification than the weight. My own experiences with lower mass models has definitely shown me that they are less stable at any given power. And if it’s a windy day, I’ll always opt for a heavier glass. This is a very overlooked phenomenon in my opinion, as many folk mistakingly opt for smaller, lighter glasses that are easier to transport. But in my book, optimal inertia overrides such concerns under most conditions.
In early July in northern Italy, sundown occurs shortly after 9 PM local time, although full darkness doesn’t come until after 11 PM. Venturing out about 10:30PM to assess sky conditions, I was greeted by a truly amazing sight: fireflies! Apparently, this location provides the exact hot and humid micro environment for their thriving. I stood in sheer amazement as they flashed in front of my eyes, flying off to gather in nearby bushes. By 11:30 PM they had vanished!
Sky conditions were not as dark as I’d have liked though: a solid Bortle 4, a little bit brighter than my skies in rural central Scotland. Nonetheless, I made full use of the true darkness beginning with Sagittarius and Scorpius well placed in the south around local Midnight. These constellations are too low in the sky at my far northerly latitude of 56 degrees north, so I relished the opportunity to preferentially observe them, together with some selected targets in Ophiuchus. Sitting comfortably in a reclining chair I used the 10 x 50 hand-held to drink up the views. The instrument picked up the rich river of Milky Way starlight coursing through Sagittarius, looking ‘downtown’ as it were, into the centre of our galaxy. Sweeping northwest of the constellation’s brightest luminary, I moved the glass over the Teapot asterism and then on to the Spout, placing Lambda Sagittarii on the eastern edge of my binocular portal, where the 10 x 50 SRBC’s great field of view allowed me to make out the tidy globular cluster M28, and further west, the soft, ghostly light from both the Lagoon(M17) and Trifid Nebulae(M20), with the bright open cluster M21 above them to the north. A delightful view if ever I’ve experienced one!
Moving further west into Scorpius, I centred the bright ruddy star, Antares, and immediately picked up the faint glow of the magnificent globular cluster M4. Spanning an area roughly the size of the full Moon, it’s the closest cluster of its kind to the solar system – a mere 7,200 light years from the solar system. Most of them are situated far out in the halo of our galaxy. Just to the north of Antares, I could see the comely triple system Rho Ophiuchi, arranged in a neat little triangle. I forsook looking further south towards the celestial gems in the Scorpion’s tail owing to the encroach of a light dome from Vittorio Venito, about six miles to the south of our commune.
Positioning my binocular field between northern Sagittarius and northern Scorpius, I examined the region of sky around Theta Ophiuchi, when I quickly chanced on the pretty binocular double 36 Ophiuchi, with its golden primary and fainter white secondary. In the opulent 7.5 degree field of the 10 x 50 SRBC, I picked up the faint glow of yet another summer globular cluster – M19 off to its west. Ophiuchus has many resplendent globular clusters. Centring Marfik and panning slightly in a southeastward direction I was able to bag two more in the same field: M12 and M10 – both about 12 billion years old! Splendid!
The great river of stars of the summer Milky Way was plainly visible overhead and, sitting back in a recliner, I aimed the 10 x 50 SRBC at Sadr in the heart of Cygnus. The view was stunning! Myriad stars of various degrees of glory filled the field, remaining sharp pinpoints from edge to edge. The dust obscured region immediately around Sadr provided some gorgeous contrast surrounded by a blizzard of faint stars. I had to have a quick look at the fetching colours of O^1 and O^2 Cygni. Their beautiful hues stood out starkly against a coal black sky.
In the following days, we hooked up with my family to attend my nephew’s wedding in the grounds of the beautiful medieval fortress of Castello San Salvatore on the afternoon of July 9.
A beautiful crescent Moon greeted us in the sky after sunset. Once we got home, I fetched the 10 x 50 for a quick peek. And I wasn’t disappointed: she was marble white with no colour fringing in the centre of the field, the vast southern highlands bristling with craters. It was a fine ending to a most beautiful day!
After a few days in Venice, we returned home to the cool of Scotland. It was a great experience but ultimately too hot for my liking. Both SRBCs coped admirably though in the intense Italian heat, serving up delightful views by day and by night.
Astronomical Forays under Scottish Skies
While the 10 x 50 SRBC is good to go for short, hand-held astronomical viewing, it certainly benefits from stabilisation using either a tripod or monopod, neither of which were available to me on the Italy trip. For all of my observations here in Scotland, I opted to use the extremely robust and well designed Oberwerk Series 2000 monopod, with a trigger grip mechanism built into the ball & socket mount, which enables the user to alter both the altitude and azimuth movements very easily. At its full extension, it allows six footers like me to observe targets fairly comfortably, even when they are situated near the zenith. This kind of stabilisation rig greatly facilitates studying astronomical targets for longer periods, reducing fatigue and revealing fainter objects within its vast field of view.
Beginning my observations in mid-August, with the return to true dark skies to our latitude, the circumpolar constellations of Cassiopeia and Perseus are already well placed high in the eastern sky after midnight.
The Milky Way runs richly through Cassiopeia and the 10 x 50 revealed stunning panoramic views within its generous field. To put this somewhat in perspective, the SRBC field is much wider than the 6.6 degree field of the Swarovski EL 10 x 50 and it’s even a tad wider than the newly-launched NL Pure 10 x 52(7.4 degrees)! Couple this with an ultra-flat field and excellent control of chromatic aberration and you can begin to appreciate just how compelling the views are through this instrument.
My first sweep through Cassiopeia with the 10 x 50 really thrilled me. Starting at Ruchbah, sparkling in its striking blue-white light, revealed a few beautiful star clusters in the same field of view, most notably M103, with the Owl(or ET) cluster(NGC 457) off to its south southeast. Several other fainter clusters showed up in the same starfield. After admiring the prominent orange colour of Schedar, I followed a line through to Caph where I picked up the prominent misty patch of M52 about 6 degrees off to its northeast. About 3 degrees south of Caph, the same field easily picked up the open cluster NGC 7789 spanning the size of the full Moon. Some observers have remarked that it looks like the head of a tailless comet. I certainly can’t argue with that description! Scanning the area between Gamma Cassiopeiae and Caph easily picked up the smaller star clusters NGC 129 and 225 in a rich background of Milky Way stars.
Before leaving Cassiopeia, I noticed the bright star, Capella, had reached a decent altitude in the northeast. Then aiming the 10 x 50 at a spot roughly mid-way between Epsilon Cassiopeiae(the fainter star marking the tip of the Wonky W) and Capella, I was quickly able to bag Kemble’s Cascade in Camelopardalis- a remarkable line of about 15 faint stars extending over 2.5 degrees, with a single brighter star marking its centre(almost!). The cascade ends by bifurcating into two distinct starry patches, one of which is marked by a compact 6th magnitude open cluster, NGC 1502. Doubtless, the great light gathering power and huge field of view of the instrument greatly facilitates finding this showpiece object easily and quickly.
By October, Perseus is very well placed for observation high in the eastern sky. Pointing the 10 x 50 SRBC at Alpha Persei(Mirfak) serves up a view par excellence. The entire field is peppered with bright stars. Roughly half of the two dozen or so members lie within a mere 2 degrees of Alpha Persei, with the remaining members fanning out in stunning swirls and streams of starlight. Many of the members of this loose open cluster are youthful, hot white stars, yet the excellent colour correction of the SRBC picks up members with a different hues; orange, yellow and creamy white.
Moving up the sky to a spot roughly midway between Perseus and Cassiopeia the naked eye easily pucks out a misty patch that is transformed into yet another visual treat in the 10 x 50: the famous Double Cluster. Steadied on the monopod, the instrument presents this cluster in all its glory but the eye is also drawn to a prominent curving chain of stars moving off northward ending in the enchanting Stock 2 open cluster. The Double Cluster and its rich Milly Way hinterland is arguably one of the most beautiful sights in all the heavens!
Placing Algol, the Demon star, on the eastern side of the field of view, you’ll see the bright open cluster, M34 off to the west. The SRBC resolves about a dozen of the brighter members of this condensed cluster well, with the remaining constituents creating a misty backdrop easily covering the size of the full Moon.
This time of year the constellation of Cepheus looms large high in the northwest and I couldn’t resist the temptation to have a look at one of the most fascinating and colourful stars in the heavens: Mu Cephei, or Herschel’s Garnet Star. By aiming at a patch of sky between Alpha and Zeta Cephei, the large field of view of the view of the 10 x 50 SRBC very quickly picked up its unmistakable deep red hue. It’s a stunning sight in this instrument. About one binocular field off to the northeast of Mu Cephei towards Cassiopeia, the binocular showed me the faint but exceedingly rich star cluster Trumpler 37, which spans an area roughly 3 full Moon diameters in area. It is a lovely sight in the 10 x 50 on a dark, October night.
Moving round the autumn sky, the Andromeda Galaxy M31 and its satellites, M32 to its south and M110 further away to its north are fine sights in the SRBC. More challenging is M33 in Triangulum. But it proved easy pickings for this wide angle 10 x 50, simply by placing Alpha Trianguli towards the eastern end of the field when the ghostly glow of this face-on spiral galaxy appears to its west, and with plenty of room to spare.
Waiting until the wee small hours of a dark moonless night, Taurus, Orion and Gemini begin to dominate the eastern sky. Mighty Jupiter rises early with the stars of Taurus and shines like a bright, distant lantern with its steady, creamy white light. The stabilised 10 x 50 easily shows the ephemeral dance of its four large Galilean moons, constantly shifting their positions hour by hour, as they orbit the giant planet. Mars rises later, its dimmer but unmistakable ruddy hue seen just under Wasat in the midsection of the Twins.
Auriga, the celestial Charioteer, is also very well placed at these ungodly hours of an October night. The three Messier open clusters, M36, M37 and M38 show up beautifully in the SRBC, and almost within the same field of view, with M36 being partially resolved into stars.
The Hyades and Pleiades are spectacular objects in the 10 x 50. The horns of the celestial Bull fit comfortably within its large field, and I was delighted to see the lovely open cluster, NGC 1674 to the eastern edge of the same field, something quite beyond the capability of my old 10 x 50 Porro.
Orion holds many treasures for the dedicated star gazer, but you’ll have to wait until about 4.00 AM this time of year before it approaches the meridian. The Belt Stars and its surrounding cluster, Collinder 70, is a spectacular sight on a night of good transparency, with the familiar Snake asterism showing up prominently.
Further south, the Sword Handle of Orion is a sight for sore eyes steadied on a monopod, but I also enjoyed studying the lovely group of stars in the north of the constellation- Meissa – a neat little Pythagorean triangle of brighter stars, with a delicate line of three fainter suns linking Lambda Orionis to Phi^1. Incidentally, Meissa lies just north of a line joining bright red Betelgeuse and Bellatrix, which are conveniently separated by 7.55 angular degrees of dark sky. This was a good test to measure the true field size of the 10 x 50 SRBC and, sure enough, they were just too far apart to fit inside the field.
Finally, at about 4:30 AM, looking east of Orion, Gemini loomed large, with Mars, a bright ‘nova’ decorating its mid-section. I took the opportunity to seek out the wonderful open cluster M35, clearly fan-shaped, with many of its stars resolved, framed by two beautiful orange stars, Mu & Eta Geminorum, pointing the way in the same field of view. Such an enchanting sight!
Conclusions
The above observations are but a small selection of celestial objects I visited over the last few months with the 10 x 50 SRBC. Incidentally, a new and thorough review of its 12 x 50 sibling has also been published and is well worth a look!
Starting too early in the evening shows up countless artificial satellites: many dozens seen on a typical evening, with sometimes two or three seen crossing through the same field! As the night progresses, those orbiting at lower altitudes disappear first, with those placed in higher orbits fading out last. Temperatures ranged from a balmy 25C on the warmest nights to a few degrees below zero on the coolest.
Throughout these vigils, the SRBC performed flawlessly, with no change in the kinematics of the focus wheel and no fogging up of the eyepieces and objective lenses due in part to the excellent hydrophobic coatings applied to the exterior lenses. It’s been a joyous experience looking through such high quality light cups, their enormous fields making it much easier to find the more elusive objects visited. Alas, I have as yet not been lucky enough to bag the new comet gracing our western skies after sunset, but I hope to finally glimpse this icy interloper from the Oort Cloud, before it disappears into the cold dark of interstellar space.
Wish me good luck won’t you!
Neil English has been observing the night sky from the tender age of eleven, and has written 8 books about these experiences.
In this blog, I’ll be posting links every day on various topics of interest to those who value truth over lies in this, the most wicked and depraved of human generations since the Days of Noah.
I’m delighted and excited to provide my initial impressions of a charming little Porro prism binocular newly launched by Opticron: the Discovery SP 7 x 28. I ordered a unit from the Birder’s Store, Worcester for £69, who I highly recommend, and two days later the package arrived. A small blue box greeted me inside, containing the instrument tucked safely inside a soft padded black case, together with a logoed neoprene neck-strap, rubber ocular rain guard, and tethered objective caps, a lens cleaning cloth, instruction card and warranty ( 5 years) details. Tipping the scales at just 367g, it weighs scarcely more than a typical pocket binocular, yet delivers a much more satisfying and comfortable optical experience than any pocket glass I’ve personally encountered.
The accessories provided were all excellent too – something I rarely see in products costing many times more!
The Discovery SP 7 x 28 is small, sleek and good looking, with a very well armoured, thick rubber substrate protecting the aluminium and polycarbonate chassis. The central hinge is strong and holds your ideal IPD very well. It features modern, twist-up eyecups that work well for those who wear glasses and those who don’t. Three positions are offered and all lock in place firmly. The large, ribbed focus wheel on my unit operates smoothly with a fair amount of friction, turning through 1.5 revolutions anticlockwise from closest focus ( a decent 2.76m) to well beyond infinity. This will therefore be good news for those with very short sightedness!
The right eye dioptre is located under the right eyepiece, and is reassuringly stiff, ensuring it won’t easily move out of place during field use. There is also provision to mount the instrument on a tripod if required.
I detected only the smallest amount of play in the focus wheel which didn’t detract much from my visual impressions after testing it in dull, overcast conditions and in bright, sunny conditions. The view is very impressive: bright, accurate colours, tack sharp in the centre and only a little softer at the edges of its 7.8 degree field. Depth of field is also noticeably better than an 8 x 30 glass. Star testing showed precise collimation as well as excellent, pinpoint stars nearly all the way to the field stops, with only a trace of field curvature and astigmatism creeping in at the extreme edges.
What really surprised me was the darkness around the exit pupils: truly remarkable for a binocular costing so little! Indeed, they were substantially better than those exhibited by the Kowa YF II unit I recently showcased. Control of internal reflections was also very impressive, as judged by observing a very bright light source across a darkened room. In addition, when I turned the glass on a bright gibbous Moon on the night of October 14, it showed a very impressive image, with Saturn just a few degrees away from it. Lunar details were crystal clear and sharp, showing remarkably little chromatic aberration, and with only a moderate amount of ghosting that didn’t bother me that much.
Briefly comparing the Opticron to the Kowa YF II, I formed the distinct impression that these were cut from the same cloth, so to speak, with similar build quality and overall optical performance, showing only moderate levels of pincushion distortion off axis.
Like the venerable Kowa YF II, the Discovery SP feels great in the hands. It provides a very comfortable, stable and pleasant viewing experience, with its generous 4mm exit pupil. While the AFOV is noticeably smaller than the Kowa YF II( 55 vs 60 degrees), it never felt constrained to my eyes. Performance against the light is surprisingly good – even a tad better than the Kowa costing twice as much!
It is small enough to slip into an ordinary coat pocket.
I captured a few hand-held images through the Opticron Discovery SP 7 x 28 using my Canon Powershot Zoom monocular giving a power of 8.4x( See below):
It’s exceptionally easy to capture images with this feather light instrument.
Conclusions & Recommendations
Cor, Blimey!
What a delightful little instrument!
Who says you have to cough up a lot of dosh in order to enjoy a pleasant optical experience? Those days are well & truly behind us!
With its generous IPD range, the Discovery SP is ideal for kids and those with smaller faces. Optically very impressive and surprisingly well built, most anyone would be pleased with this little instrument. It’s an ideal travel binocular with its pocket-glass weight and diminutive physical dimensions, ideal for stowing away in a small space. Opticron has hit the ground running with this new arrival, and I think it will prove to be very popular!
Very highly favoured!
Neil English delights in bringing exceptional binocular bargains to the masses. Please support his ongoing work by purchasing a copy of his latest book: Choosing & Using Binoculars: a Guide for Stargazers, Birders and Outdoor Enthusiasts.
Arguably the most charming binoculars are embodied in the small and versatile 8 x 30 Porro instruments. Small enough to take everywhere, they’re easy to make well and deliver excellent views even in compromised lighting conditions. That together with their modest pricing compared to roof prism models, render them a compelling choice for the budget savvy consumer. I was once again reminded of these facts when I tested Kowa’s YF II 8 x 30 over a few weeks. What follows is a summary of my findings.
Ergonomics:
The unit I ordered up proved to be a perfect sample. Assembled in the Philippines, its twist up eyecups locked firmly into place and has generous eye relief for eye glass wearers. The focus wheel has small depressions to assist in its rotation. It proved to be very smooth with zero free play. It’s neither too fast or too slow: just perfect in fact! I love the thick, textured rubber armouring of the chassis which is easy to grip. It feels great in my medium sized hands.
Tipping the scales at just 476g , it’s featherlight but completely waterproof and dry nitrogen purged for complete reliability in adverse weather conditions. Kowa applied their proprietary KR hydrophobic coatings to the outer lenses to help keep the lenses clear of condensation on the wettest days. The Kowa YF II features fully multicoated optics, which were perfectly applied to the lenses and prisms for bright, crisp images. Though you’ll probably not need to mount the instrument owing to its low weight, it can be mated to an adapter for use on a tripod or monopod.
Just like the very similar Opticron Savanna 8 x 30 previously reviewed, its lower minimum IPD of 50mm makes it ideal for those of us who have small faces. All in all, I was very impressed with its well thought through ergonomics: something I’ve come to expect from a well established spirts optics firm like Kowa.
Optics:
The Kowa YF II responded well to my bright light test, revealing some very minor internal reflections and no diffraction spikes. Examining the exit pupils gave decent results with perfectly round pupils. I did note some minor light leaks around the exit pupil however which would introduce some glare in low light conditions. However, considering its modest retail price, and since this would not be of much use in such situations, it’s quite an acceptable compromise.
The view is quite excellent, sporting a decent 7.5 degree field. It’s tack sharp inside its generously wide sweet spot. Objects take on a vivid three dimensionality in the middle distance thanks to its traditional Porro design. Contrast and colour rendering are also top notch. Despite not having field flatteners, edge of field performance is very good with only very mild field curvature creeping in in the outer 15 per cent of the field, as affirmed by monitoring the quality of star images after dark. Close focus was much better than advertised too: I measured 2.9m as opposed to 5m in the specifications.
In summary, the Kowa YF II offers exceptional value for money, delivering very high quality views in a brilliant, light weight package. It will serve as a fine birding and travel binocular and is an excellent choice for children.
Highly Recommended !
Read much more about budget-friendly binoculars in my latest book, Choosing and Using Binoculars: a Guide for Stargazers, Birders and Outdoor Enthusiasts.
The Japanese sports optics giant, Nikon, has firmly established itself as one of the most successful marketers of binoculars in the modern world. What sets them apart from the European manufacturers of sports optics is their excellent bang for buck. Another distinguishing feature of all the Nikon products I’ve tested is their excellent quality control. But, as we shall see, there are apparently limits to this.
In the last few years, Nikon gave their entry-level and mid tier binoculars – the Prostaff and Monarch series- a makeover, incorporating more advanced features into these models that would have been quite out of the question only a decade ago. In this review I’ll be discussing my thoughts on the new Prostaff P7 8 x 30, the successor to the original Prostaff 7S 8 x 30 I reviewed back in 2020.
So What’s New?
Quite a few things actually. There’s a new hydrophobic coating applied to the lenses, which causes condensation to bead and slide off the optics in damp weather conditions. The right eye dioptre is now lockable and the field of view is substantially wider, going from 6.5 degrees to a whopping 8.7 degrees! And while it’s about 60g heavier than the first-generation Prostaff 7S, it still tips the scales at a featherweight 476g. The rubber armouring is also new with a more textured grippy feel than the original model.
I liked how it feels in my medium-sized hands. The textured rubber affords a good grip and the barrels protrude far enough beyond the bridge to allow your fingers to securely wrap around the instrument. But other things about its ergonomics niggled me. For one thing, the central hinge was too loose, so much so that I had to keep adjusting the IPD while in field use. The focus wheel is covered in thick black rubber with deep ridges. It turns smoothly enough but my unit had a small amount of play which detracted from the overall viewing experience. The eyecups are excellent, clicking firmly into well-established detents. I’m not really a fan of lockable dioptre mechanisms, especially the designs used by Nikon and Vanguard. I find them overly delicate and a bit flimsy to say the least. And while the dioptre locked well enough on this unit, I was always left wondering when it was going to snap. In this capacity, a simple rotatable ring under the right ocular lens, like that exhibited on the less expensive Prosfaff P3 would have been more welcome …. and more durable I suspect!
Optics Examining how the instrument handled a bright light source from across my living room showed up a few significant internal reflections as well as a small diffraction spike, which also showed up on a bright sodium street lamp after dark.
Daytime views are very good: it’s got a great big sweet spot, with excellent central sharpness and contrast owing to its phase corrected roof prisms and highly effective multilayer coatings. Colour tone looked neutral to my eyes, and its performance against the light proved to be above average. Testing on the brighter stars of summer in a twilit sky showed good off-axis control of aberrations with only mild field curvature slightly bloating the stellar images in the outer 20 per cent of the field. That said, what most impressed me about the little Prostaff P7 8 x 30 was its huge field of view: an enormous at 8.7 degrees! It really has to be seen to be believed! Indeed, it’s noticeably wider than the more expensive Monarch M7 8 x 30.
1.3 revolutions clockwise takes you from closest focus(a decent 2.28m)to infinity. But there was not much ‘beyond infinity’ focus in my test unit. Eye relief is decent but nothing to write home about: I struggled to see the entire field using glasses with the eye cups fully retracted.
Conclusions & Recommendations
Clearly, the little Prostaff P7 8 x 30 has a lot of things going for it. It sports very good optics and a huge field of view. But in my unit at least it was let down by a somewhat dodgy focuser and a loose central hinge. The presence of internal reflections and a diffraction spike on bright light targets after dark didn’t endear it to me either. Maybe I got a bad sample? Maybe if I bought another unit it would turn out fine? If you purchase from a reputable retailer capable of checking these features prior to dispatching, then you might win the jackpot. All in all, I would cautiously recommend this binocular to the community and hope Nikon can iron out some of these mostly mechanical issues in newer batches. It downright deserves that much at least!
Dr Neil English is the author of Choosing and Using Binoculars: A Guide for Stargazers, Birders and Outdoor Enthusiasts, first published earlier this year.
Back in 2014, Zeiss launched their new flagship binoculars embodied in the Victory SF, which were offered in both 8 x and 10 x 42 configurations. Then in 2020, two smaller models were launched, the Victory SF 8x and 10 x 32. While these offered class leading optical performance, they were rather long (15cm)and heavy(over 600g) in their compact class. The demand for something smaller and more lightweight impelled Zeiss to re-imagine their Victory SF series, and to create a new line of instruments offering top-notch optical performance in a more diminutive and lightweight package. In 2022, Zeiss answered their fans with the new SFL series, first introduced in 8 x and 10 x 40 configurations, but followed soon after with their smallest compact models yet developed: enter the 8x and 10 x 30 SFL.
Just like in the Zeiss Victory line, the SF stands for “ smart focus” while the L designates its light weight. So what did they do? Under the aegis of a newly head-hunted optical engineer from Swarovski, they made the lenses a little bit thinner(2mm) and smaller, which allowed them to be mounted in a shorter tube assembly. They also jettisoned the centrally placed locking dioptre mechanism to shave off even more weight, with the result that the new SFL 8 x 30, for example, tipped the scales nearly 150g lighter than the Victory SF 8 x 32. But there were other changes to the optics. The Ultra FL glass was replaced by Zeiss’ proprietary Ultra HD( UHD), of slightly lower grade. The field of view shrunk a bit too. Compared with the Victory SF 8 x 32( 8.8 degree field), the 8 x 30 SF sports an 8.1 degree field. In addition, while the SFL line does have field flattening optics, it’s not the ultra-flat system exhibited by the Victory SF series, as I was to discover during field testing. Light transmission took a small dive too: down from 92 percent in the case of the Victory SF to 90 in the case of the SFL series. The reader will note that these SFL binoculars are not made in Germany, but in Japan, under the supervision of Zeiss. In this capacity, they share that distinction with the Zeiss Victory Pocketseries. Here, I’ll be taking a close look at the Zeiss SFL 8 x 30 model.
Ergonomics
This is one small binocular. Check it out compared with the Zeiss Conquest HD 8 x 32.
Despite its small size, the Zeiss SFL 8 x 30 is surprisingly easy to handle. Its short bridge allows the barrels to protrude enough to enable the user to wrap their fingers round them for a secure grip, although those with larger hands may struggle a little with it. The black rubber armouring is lightly textured which also helps with gripping the instrument. The eyecups are well made and very comfortable to view through for prolonged periods. They can be unscrewed from the eyepieces to assist cleaning, though I did discover that if they’re not screwed in securely they can be accidentally unscrewed while extending the cups upwards.
A little extra care is definitely required here. It’s not an issue for me, as I leave the cups permanently extended. There are four positions, each of which locks into place firmly with an audible ‘click.’ Eye relief is plenteous: I can easily engage with the entire field while wearing my eye glasses.
The focuser is excellent: big and easy to engage with. Just 1.4 revolutions clockwise brings you from closest focus to infinity and beyond. I was delighted to see that there’s a decent amount of ‘post infinity’ travel too which will be music to the ears of those of you who have extreme short-sightedness. A single finger can rotate it smoothly and accurately. Just a slight turn of the wheel brings objects into sharp focus from close up to far off. While there is no play or backlash in the movement, it does show some resistance to movement near the end of its anticlockwise travel.
I really like the right eye dioptre on the SFL. It’s got excellent resistance to movement. Simply rotate it into your preferred position and leave well alone.
Zeiss claim that the SFL is watertight to 400mbar water pressure. Why they use millibar units is a bit of a mystery to me. Isn’t immersive depth much more accessible to the average Joe? Both Swarovski and Leica publish depths and not pressure. Quite sensibly I’d say. Indeed I note that the two well known binocular reviewers linked to in the preambles above parrot this nomenclature too. C’mon guys: a bit of high school physics will clarify this for your readers. Follow this procedure:
Optics
Examining how the binocular coped with shining a bright white light source from across a room showed very good results. Internal reflections were well controlled and unlike the Zeiss Conquest HD I tested it against, it didn’t show a prominent diffraction spike. I did however pick up some faint ghosting when examining the blue super full Moon shortly after local midnight on August 21.
Examining the exit pupils showed excellent results as you can see below.
Optically, the view is very impressive: wide, bright, tack sharp within its generous sweet spot, with plenty of high resolution details on display. It is significantly better, for example, than the image served up by the Conquest HD 8 x 32 I tested along side it. Glare suppression is excellent against the light. Colours are vividly but naturally portrayed.
There is some mild pincushion distortion off axis and I detected some softening of the images near the field stops. The nature of this edge-of-field softening became all too clear when I monitored the bright star, Vega, high overhead. The bright white luminary remained tightly focused within the inner 60 per cent of the field or so but thereafter began to distort. At the field edge it was quite noticeably bloated. Because I was able to focus much of this out showed it was field curvature in the main. The same was true when I trained the SFL on a waning gibbous Moon in the wee small hours of August 24. While it was tack sharp within its sweet spot, it became quite blurry near the field stops. Which brings me to the subject of field flattening optics. Clearly not all field flatteners are created equal. Comparing it to the ultra flat field of my full size Sky Rover Banner Cloud 8 x 42 APO, for example, which showed pinpoint stars right across a significantly wider field from edge to edge, the result for the Zeiss SFL was rather disappointing, especially considering its rather steep retail price.
Chromatic aberration was essentially absent from the centre of the field but crept up as I moved my test subjects off axis. Near the edge of the field, the images of dead tree branches against a uniformly bright overcast sky showed significant lateral colour. It was noticeably more pronounced than in my control binocular(the Banner Cloud mentioned above). Again this was a bit disappointing as I know of much cheaper binoculars that have much better colour correction. These results were also clearly seen when examining a silvery white Moon.
Notes from the Field
Close focus was measured at 1.57m: very good indeed, though I was half expecting it to be a tad shorter, based on all the comments I read or heard about during my researches, which almost invariably claimed sub 1.5 m close focus. The view is very comfortable: perhaps the most comfortable compact I have personally experienced. Panning showed up no rolling ball effect which I attribute to the influence of Dr Holger Merlitz, whose research findings were taken into consideration by Zeiss in the overall optical design of the SFL series.
The big selling point of the SFL series, of course, is their light weight, and at 462g it certainly is light! But this can be somewhat of a disadvantage in some circumstances, as I discovered when I brought it out during a blustery spell prior to the arrival of Storm Lilian during the third week of August. With strong winds whipping by me in the open air, I found it much more challenging to hold steady compared with a full size 8 x 42 under the same conditions.
Conclusions & Recommendations
Without question, the Zeiss SFL is a premium compact binocular that excels in many areas: feather light, small size, a comfortable wide field of view and razor sharp optics within its sweet spot, but it doesn’t quite reach the dizzying heights of optical performance seen in the current line of ultra-flat field APO binoculars in the 32mm format. It will appeal greatly to daytime birders and those who like to travel.
Still, for me at least, like all compact binoculars I’ve gradually discovered, it leaves something to be desired compared to the more immersive and engaging views garnered by top quality full-size instruments. So something to bear in mind.
Very highly recommended!
Dr Neil English is the author of Choosing & Using Binoculars: a Guide for Stargazers, Birders and Outdoor Enthusiasts. Please support his ongoing work by purchasing a copy of the book.
Back in April of this year, I took possession of a new high-performance binocular marketed by Sky Rover: the Banner Cloud(SRBC) 8 x 42 APO. Since then I’ve used and tested it extensively in every conceivable lighting condition, from dawn til dusk and even under the dark skies of northern Italy. These collective experiences have made this author do a great deal of soul searching, to such an extent that I now believe the 8 x 42 to be superior to my beloved Swarovski Habicht 8 x 30W. As a consequence, it’s now become my workhorse birding binocular. The reasons are as follows:
In good light, it offers the same central sharpness and better off axis sharpness than the Habicht
It puts much more real estate before your eyes -36 percent more than the Habicht
It has much better performance against the light – substantially less glare – than the Habicht
It has significantly closer focus than the Habicht
Its focus wheel is much easier to rotate accurately and precisely than the Habicht
Its larger aperture produces brighter, higher contrast images of targets in strongly backlit situations e.g tree branches against a grey sky
Its larger aperture and exit pupil makes it a much better instrument to use in low light situations or when glassing under a dense forest canopy.
Its significantly greater mass gives a more stable view with less shake than the lighter Habicht.
I have no doubt the images served up by the 8 x 42 SRBC are absolutely world class. A well known binocular hoarder, and self-proclaimed elitist, possessing all the very best binoculars, described its appeal to a sceptic:
“Yes, the wide field of course, but even more perhaps the very well corrected image across most of that wide field. So far, that was the preserve of the NLs and SFs of this world, so Sky Rover seems to have surprised the market with a „non-premium“ version that imitates the original amazingly well. I am myself truly impressed with the optics of the SRBC.”
Unlike my elitist friend, who probably stores his gear away under glass, I’ve built up a great deal of experience using the instrument in the field, both here in Scotland and abroad in the searing heat of an Italian summer, and so can offer constructive feedback on its robustness and the likelihood of it malfunctioning over time. Well, I’ve immersed these instruments in water with no issues. I tested the functionality of the focus wheel after storing the instrument in a freezer at -20C with no issues. And it coped admirably in temperatures well above 40C(out of the shade). So I have no doubts about its robustness and potential longevity. After all, binoculars are relatively simple instruments with few moving parts. What could potentially go wrong?
Armed with this knowledge and experience, it’s my belief that the hegemony of the European-made binocular has come to an end. I would add that it’s a complete waste of money, in my opinion, to invest in something like a Zeiss Victory SF or Swarovski NL Pure when you have the no frills SRBC giving you the same quality views. The old adage is still true; a fool and his money…..
Birding Experiences with the SRBC
The enormous 9.1 degree field of view allows your eyes to monitor a significantly larger area to spot movements in trees, scrub or open fields. For example, since using the SRBC regularly, my notes show that I’ve glassed substantially more Wrens than I’ve ever done before. These tiny birds are more often heard than seen, but the huge flat field of the SRBC and its amazing sharpness conspire to make seeing their movements within bushes much easier.
It’s superlative sharpness and excellent colour correction makes picking off targets at distance much easier. I have no problems distinguishing airborne Goldfinches from Pied Wagtails for example, at distances up to 150m away.
The SRBC’s excellent glare suppression makes glassing against the light much more productive. Lesser instruments, drowned out by glare, makes it much more difficult to pick off targets when the Sun is close to the horizon.
The silky smooth focus wheel makes following moving targets very easy. Tracking a fast-moving bird flitting from a tree just a few metres away to another location tens of metres away is effortlessly achieved by a gentle twirl of the focuser.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed glassing open meadows decorated with wild flowers. The huge field, devoid of blackouts is exceptionally immersive: you really get a sense of being in the image. Such carefree glassing has proven very profitable for birding too. For example, just the other day, I was doing just this with the 8 x 42 SRBC, strolling along a country road when a female pheasant together with her clutch of youngsters emerged from the long grass just a few yards from me. The SRBC revealed extraordinarily fine details of its plumage and long, elegant tail. Astonishing!
A lucky find in a summer meadow.
I’ve also enjoyed glassing long into the evening twilight, watching badgers treading their paths across nearby fields, stopping every now and then to sniff the dew-drenched grass, and using their powerful front paws to dig for roots. Pipistrel bats emerging from Culcreuch Castle often descend on the nearby pond to feast on insects and its been thrilling to watch them with both the 8 x 42 and its larger 10 x 50 sibling.
I’ve ordered up a custom iPhone adapter to do some imaging, as well as some extra eye cups to store as backups if need be. I’m also considering a bino harness to support the weight of these instruments for longer duration glassing events. I’ll let you know how I get on with these in a future blog.
All in all, I’m thrilled to bits with these new optical wonders from Sky Rover and heartily recommend them to other members of the birding community.
Optical Perfection.
Notes from the Field
Upon my return from Italy, the instrument was found to have a significant amount of dust. It was everywhere: on the rubber armouring, on and around the objectives and eyepieces. When I unscrewed the eyecups from the instrument, I found a layer of fine dust there too. The instrument was throughly cleaned.
I store my SRBC binoculars in sealed Tupperware containers with large quantities of desiccant even though they are water proof and gas filled. That way they are ready to use at a moment’s notice. My ongoing experiments show that regardless of how well sealed a binocular is, it’s only a matter of time before the dry nitrogen will outgas. These containers draw all the water from the inside of the barrels and so will remain fog proof. And provided they are returned to these small containers when not in use, there is no need to have them refilled with nitrogen.
While the 30-32mm aperture class is good for many purposes it is not optimal. Even on bright days, there will be many scenarios where the greater contrast garnered by the larger 42mm aperture will prove superior to the smaller class. In particular, I’ve noticed the superior performance of the 42mm glass glassing trees against a bright overcast sky. In addition, the larger eye box makes for a more comfortable viewing experience.
Thanks for reading!
Post Scriptum: August 1 2024
Battle of the Alphas.
I recently bought in a Leica Ultravid HD 8 x 42 to compare it with my SRBC 8 x 42. The Leica is lauded for its crystal clear views and excellent resistance to glare. Here’s the breakdown based on a couple of days of daylight testing.
Ergonomics: while the Leica is shorter and more compact, it’s still quite hefty at about 790g( the SRBC is 863g without ocular and objective caps). In my medium sized hands, the Leica was harder to get my fingers around the barrels. The SRBC was much more comfortable for me with its shorter bridge. The focuser was a real disappointment on the Leica. It was not silky smooth like on the SRBC, with quite a bit of uneven resistance. It also had some significant free play which really niggled me. The eyecups were judged to be equally nice on both instruments. Hydrophobic coating test: the SRBC coating proved the equal of the Leica( Aqua Dura) in being able to disperse a thick layer of condensation applied to the 42mm objectives. Both instruments dispersed this condensation with equal speed.
Optics: The Leica Ultravid has very fine optics to be sure but I judged the SRBC to be superior overall. Shining an intensely bright beam of white light from across my living room showed up excellent results with both instruments. I would give the SRBC the nod though in having slightly less internal reflections (read very minimal). Glassing rocks and the grain on the trunks of trees in the middle distance showed their sharpness to be identical in the centre. The Ultravid HD might have had slightly more ‘sparkle’ and slightly more saturated colours but the differences were very subtle to say the least. Glare suppression was very good in the Leica but it was inferior to the SRBC, as evidenced by glassing some shaded vegetation immediately below a bright afternoon Sun. Off axis aberrations were better controlled in the SRBC too, especially pincushion distortion, which was much more pronounced in the Ultravid HD. Chromatic aberration was excellently controlled in the centre field of both instruments, but was a little bit more pronounced in the Ultravid HD near the field stops. Close focus was a tad closer in the SRBC than in the Leica. With a field of view of just 7.4 degrees the Leica Ultravid HD has a portal fully 50 per cent smaller than the SRBC and it really shows! The SRBC view is just far more compelling IMO. Image brightness appeared the same after sunset. The Leica has a measured transmission of 90 per cent for reference. In summary, I have no doubt that the SRBC is a more technologically advanced binocular than the Leica Ultravid HD. Kudos to the PRC!
Update August 6
Testing Against a Zeiss Conquest HD 8 x 32
Some background: the Zeiss Conquest HD series is widely regarded as upper mid-level in terms of optical performance and in general rates among the best of the $1K priced binoculars on the market as of very recently. The following observations were made only during bright daylight, either in bright sunshine or bright overcast skies. But I also tested for artefacts by shining a bright white light beam through the instruments.
Bright light test: The Zeiss Conquest HD(CHD) showed excellent control of internal reflections but did display a very prominent diffraction spike. The SRBC also showed no internal reflections and no diffraction spike. The same result occurred when I turned it on a bright sodium street lamp after dark about 100m in the distance. The spike was annoying to see in the Zeiss CHD. Not an instrument I’d choose for glassing harbours or cityscapes at night.
Colour tone: Comparing both instruments, I was immediately struck by the cooler colour tone of the Zeiss. This is well documented in the literature. Glassing flower baskets and beds showed the SRBC to have richer, more vibrant colours.
Sharpness: Central sharpness was a tad better in the SRBC and maintained better sharpness as the target was moved off axis. I would say the SRBC image displays significantly more ‘bite’ than the Zeiss CHD.
Image Immersion: The wider flatter field of the SRBC produced a much more immersive experience,as if one were sitting in the image. That said, for a 8 x 32, the 8 degree Zeiss is very nice!
Off Axis Aberrations: These were well controlled in both instruments. The SRBC had a tad less pincushion distortion and significantly better edge-of-field sharpness compared with the Zeiss CHD.
Chromatic Aberration( CA): Glassing through several layers of defoliated branches on a dead tree against a bright overcast sky showed very little longitudinal CA in the centre of the image, with the SRBC being a little better in this regard. It was a totally different matter with off axis(lateral) CA though. The Zeiss CHD showed significantly more, both in extent and intensity.
Glare: Both instruments display well above average suppression of glare against the light, but the clear winner, once again, was the SRBC.
Focusing: the Zeiss CHD has a very fast and silky smooth focus wheel displaying no free play or uneven resistance to movement throughout its travel both clockwise and anticlockwise. But it’s so fast that one can often overshoot on the target and so requires a little bit more concentration to get it just right. In contrast the SRBC focus wheel is more refined in my opinion. it’s smooth but has more traction allowing one to get the focus right first time, every time.
Close focus: the Zeiss CHD has a shorter minimum close focus(well under 2m) compared with the SRBC.
In summary; the Zeiss Conquest HD is a good step down from the SRBC 8 x 42. Nearly everything about it is underwhelming in comparison. If weight is not an issue the SRBC is clearly the better choice for birding and general daylight glassing etc.
Update August 14
Zeiss SFL 8 x 30 versus SRBC 8 x 42
Introduced in 2022, the SFL series retail for £1300 to £1600 here in the UK.
Summary: Much closer than I expected but still no cigar. The Zeiss SFL is a real class act with some of the best images I have experienced in a compact class binocular, but it exhibits higher levels of colour fringing in its outer field compared with the SRBC, as well as noticeable field curvature which softens its edge performance.
Details:
White light test: the Zeiss SFL has higher quality prisms than the Conquest HD, as evidenced by the absence of a diffraction spike. It proved as good as the SRBC in this regard, with very subdued internal reflections.
Glare suppression: is a step-up from the Zeiss CHD, and is as good (if not a tad better) than the SRBC against the light.
Colour tone: These looked almost identical to my eye under a variety of different lighting conditions. The SFL showed the same vibrant but accurate colours of flowers and shrubs as the SRBC and distinctly different from the cooler tones seen in the Conquest HD. A very pleasant surprise!
Central Sharpness: As good as the SRBC in good light i.razor sharp, excellent.
Off-Axis Sharpness: the SFL loses critical sharpness gradually as it’s moved off axis. The outer 20 per cent of its field is noticeably softer than the SRBC which I suspected was due to field curvature. Star testing confirmed this. Centring pinpoint sharp Vega in the field of view of both binoculars and panning off centre showed a pronounced bloating of the star which was very obvious in the outer 20 per cent of the field of the SFL Much of this could be focused out however, indicating that field curvature was indeed the major contributor. In contrast, the SRBC showed very little or no departure from pin sharp all the way to the field stops.
Chromatic aberration: The UHD optical system in the Zeiss SFL provides crisper images with higher contrast than the Conquest HD. That said, it was no match for the SRBC in terms of colour correction. While both instruments showed essentially none in the centre, moving off axis in the SFL showed significantly higher levels of lateral colour than the SRBC, which in contrast showed very little. I feel the SFL is a high quality ED binocular but can’t match the true APO billing of the SRBC.
Focus Wheel: The SFL has a super nice and responsive wheel with near perfect amount of traction. More refined than on the Conquest HD. And just like my SRBC, it shows a little bit of resistance at the end of its anticlockwise travel.
The Overall View: Both are very relaxing to pan, showing very little or no rolling ball effect, and no annoying kidney beaning. Eye relief is a little better in the SFL. The significantly wider (8 vs 9.1 degrees) and flatter field of the SRBC creates a more immersive and majestic view that is just so addicting.
Conclusions: Superior colour correction(owing to the use of Ultra FL), ultra flat, and ultra wide field are hallmarks of Zeiss’ flagship models: the Victory SFs. The SRBC should rightly be compared to the SF or indeed the Swarovski flagship line, the NL Pure, which may close or exceed the performance gap.
Update August 24
CNer Koh from South Korea did a shoot out between a 10 x 42 SRBC and a Leica Noctivid 10 x 42, declaring the SRBC the easy winner. Later in the same thread he compares the 12 x 50 SRBC with the Swarovski EL 12 x 50 and found the former to be superior over all. Details here.
Just for the fun of it, I cross posted Koh’s review over on the bino porn site on Birdforum. Ruffled a brood of vipers and flushed out the haters. The reader will note it’s the same folk who have never looked through the SRBC that are most critical of it. Yip, the classic argument from pure ignorance.
Infamy!, Infamy! ….. they all have it in for me! Lol
Job done.
Maybe now I should take up collecting watches or something?
