Binocular Showdown - William Optics 10/7x50 ED vs Strathspey 10x50 Marine

[Trade_Winds]

Hi all,

I've recently decided to upgrade my bins, having owned a faithful pair of Nikon 8x42s for the past four or five years (which have been brilliant by and large, and were a bargain for the price paid), and have narrowed down prospective replacements to just two pairs - William Optic's 10x50 (or possibly 7x50 as FLO are out of stock on the 10x50s!) ED, or Strathspey 10x50 Marine binoculars.

The difference in price between the two is pretty substantial, with the WO's currently on sale on FLO for £198.00 (10x50) or £169.00 (7x50) set against the Strathspey's at just £93.49 via their website - links to both below:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/clearance/william-optics-10x50-7x50-ed-binocular.html

http://www.strathspey.co.uk/shop/full.php?q=1364687313

Obviously, the ED is a draw for the WOs, although I have heard some (not a lot) disuputation over how substantial an improvement this brings at this price, versus the apparent indestructibility and (relative) cheapness of the Strathspeys.

Whichever one gets the vote will probably used in equal measure for astronomy and fairly long-distance birdwatching (family lives near Rye in East Sussex on the South Coast, so I basically move down to the beach/salt marshes whenever I visit!) and may possibly get knocked about a bit - weight/eye relief shouldn't be too much of an issue as I'm only a callow twenty-seven year old and have fairly sharp vision, although given that I work with computers (doesn't everyone these days?) I can't imagine that'll last!

Any thoughts and votes on the above (particularly from owners/friends of owners) would be hugely appreciated, as I'm firmly on the fence at the moment.

Thanks all, look forward to hearing your views,

Nick.

[Alfian]

Hi Nick, you might want to have a look at Steve Tonkin's comments on this thread:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/207533-helios-naturesport-10x50s-or-strathspey-marine-10x50s/

regarding the Strath' Marine 10x50s. The WO 10x50EDs are very good, are full 10x50s and are indeed heavy for 10x50s and built like the proverbial ....* The individual focus , in my opinion, though good for astro' putposes, makes them more awkward for bird watching where a change of focus tends to be a regular occurence. I could see this not being quite so much an issue if you were, as you say, using them for longer perhaps more fixed distances. The WO 7x50ED will yield and exit pupil of 7mm , which would probably be good for younger eyes like yours for astro work  giving a bright wide field view, but that exit pupil would reduce for daylight use thus effectively cutting them down to something less than 50mm.

Though I recommend the WO's, why have you limited your choice to these 2? There are others that you could consider. Opticron iMagic 10x50s are highly thought of as are Pentax 10x50 PCFs.

[Trade_Winds]

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated! I've been tracking down Steve Tonkin's comments/reviews wherever I can, both on SL and other sites, which've been pretty much indispensible.

No real reason for the limitation other than, well, my first shortlist had seven potential pairs listed, and after a couple of hours of further soul-searching, I'd managed to whittle it down to a mighty five, so I thought I better man up and cut the list down. Heavily . A big part of it was that both the WOs and the Strathspeys were listed under Steve's recommended buys, hence why they both made the cut.

I've heard good things about the iMagic 10x50s, but was struggling to find anything definitive - are they a match for the WOs do you think?

[Alfian]

Hi Nick, can't answer that one, Steve might be able to. The iMagics were on my original short list and are certainly well reviewed by AstroBaby (who know a thing or two):

http://www.astro-baby.com/reviews/binocular%20review/binocular%20review.htm

and Steve at FLO has come "off the wall" and given them his nod - so they must be pretty good. The iMagics are lighter, have central focussing, and are cheaper. The WOs are heavier (the weight does have a kind of stabilising effect on my aging slightly wobbly hands, but I tend to mount them on a monopod anyway) and feel indestructable and they have IF eyepieces. The "ED" apect you mention is a bit of a moot point much discussed. The WOs are undoubtedly United Optics BA8s (as per Helios Apollos etc)  whose optics tend to get praised in whatever incarnation they are presented. The term ED (extra-low dispersion) is used a lot on higher end optics and usually denotes the use of particular types of optical glass - but from what I've read there is no hard fixed industry standard that guarantees what ED should deliver. So are are all BA8s "ED" but some choose not to market them that way but Williams Optics do - or have Williams Optics stipulated to United Optics that they have ED glass in their binos? Comparing prices of similar binos such as the Apollo 7x50s at £185 theres not much difference so - who knows? Some must.

[Trade_Winds]

Certainly a glowing review of the iMagics there.

I've heard some of the controversy viz ED glass - the 7x50 Helios Apollo HD binoculars were are also in the running, although they're certainly hefty. I've heard that they're not quite as hard-as-nails as the WO and Strathspeys though (ditto the iMagics, although they do look to be a fair whack lighter) - leaning towards the extra expenditure and the WOs at the moment. Tough times!

[Alfian]

Tough indeed!

[BinocularSky]

I have the Strath marines (have had them for 10 years or so) and have more recently acquired a Oberwerk Ultra, which is the non-ED version of the WO. No contest; the Obie blows the Strath out of the water; it is both sharper and brighter.  I don't find the IF such a problem for terrestrial (although it is not as convenient as CF). I've tried Imagics and like them. Also worthy of consideration is the Pentax waterproof; it has CF with a focus lock, which is pretty useful.

[Trade_Winds]

Thanks very much Steve, and apologies for the delay - been abroad and only just returned to the UK. I did (longingly) eye up the Oberwerks, but they were a bit out of my price tag in the end, so I opted for the WOs, which are frankly phenomenal for the price