I’ve had the pleasure of testing many binoculars from nearly every aperture class. People often ask me, which binocular has impressed me the most over the last couple of years. You may be surprised to hear that I have a new answer: the Svbony SA207 Pro 8 x 42.
I took it on vacation at the end of May to the pretty town of Aberfeldy, about 90 minutes drive north of my home. Here we checked into the Moness Resort, set among the rolling hills of Perthshire. The weather was idyllic: clear blue skies and warm Spring sunshine allowing me to see just how good this new binocular could perform.
Black Beauty
The SA207 Pro looks and feels like an alpha glass. It’s incredibly robust but so easy to use. Everything about this glass exudes quality: the handsome black rubber armouring, the superbly functioning focus wheel, which rotates with buttery smoothness, the continuously variable dioptre ring firmly keeping its position. That large eye box which makes the viewing experience supremely comfortable. Yes it’s a heavy glass bur it balances perfectly well in my medium sized hands. Svbony have really stepped up to the mark with this new SA207 line.
The optics are incredibly sharp: beautiful, microcrystalline details coming through from every viewing portal. I would rate the optics higher than the widely lauded Sky Rover Banner Cloud series: and that’s saying a lot! The optical glass appears to be distinctly different from the Banner Clouds giving even less chromatic aberration off axis and a cooler colour tone. The resolving power of the SA207 Pro is just awe inspiring, especially at distance; every minute detail pops into clear view, allowing one to pick off hill walkers and ramblers miles away: every burn and crag standing out in glorious detail.
Rising early in the morning before breakfast, I took off for a saunter with SA207 Pro along the river Tay which flows right through the Moness estate. I came to a spot on the river with thick wooded areas on either side: an ideal spot to track down Dipper birds. Settling myself against the trunk of a Beech tree, I was soon greeted by a family of Dipper birds bobbing up and down on the rocks in the middle of the river. I was genuinely surprised how close I could get to them: clearly they were unperturbed by my presence. I was rewarded with beautifully sharp views of their plumage: chocolate brown back and sides and snow white bellies and throat. Dippers are utterly charming creatures.
The Swallows have arrived back on our shores for another long summer season. Their screeches fill the air during the day but in the evening they calm down a bit, perching on the rooftops of our self catering chalet. I spotted one just a few metres away, allowing me to take close up pictures in good light.
With an enormous, ultra-flat field of view – 9.1 degrees- exceeding top tier European brands like the Zeiss Victory SF and rivalling that of the much more expensive Swarovski NL Pure 8 x 42, watching fast moving birds like Swallows becomes especially easy to do. Back at home, I watch them feasting on insects hovering just over the water of Culcreuch Pond. Their manoeuvres are astounding. To think this evolved by blind forces of nature is downright blasphemy! One afternoon, I experienced a sight I had not seen before: a seagull hovering high over the pond suddenly swooped down and captured a small Roach fish before flying off to consume it! It sounds all the more crazy since that’s what seagulls ought to do. Alas, I had only seen them pilfer human foods in all my days!
To be Continued……..
De Fideli.