Hawke 8x42 Frontier APO

[Astroscot2]

Hello all.

Due to head South on holiday but unlike last year I intend taking a decent pair of binos other than the mis-aligned pair of Meade 10x50s that were in my car book.

 

I currently own a pair of Zeiss 7 x 50 Jenoptem which are enjoyable to use however the image does degrade after about 70 % from the centre FOV,  I started looking for a possible upgrade around a budget of £500 and stumbled across the Hawke 8x42 Apo which seem to be a better grade of glass than the Hawke 8x42 ED? I only assume this from the price difference

 

Ive not found any reviews of the Hawke APO but have seem some reviews of the ED version that mentions fairly obvious CA when viewing? 

My questions are really whether I would see much improvement of image quality between the Zeiss and Hawke ED & Hawke APO ?  Or could I be looking at other brands / options?

 

Appreciate any thoughts.

Mark

[callisto]

1 hour ago, Astroscot2 said:

Hello all.

Due to head South on holiday but unlike last year I intend taking a decent pair of binos other than the mis-aligned pair of Meade 10x50s that were in my car book.

 

I currently own a pair of Zeiss 7 x 50 Jenoptem which are enjoyable to use however the image does degrade after about 70 % from the centre FOV,  I started looking for a possible upgrade around a budget of £500 and stumbled across the Hawke 8x42 Apo which seem to be a better grade of glass than the Hawke 8x42 ED? I only assume this from the price difference

 

Ive not found any reviews of the Hawke APO but have seem some reviews of the ED version that mentions fairly obvious CA when viewing? 

My questions are really whether I would see much improvement of image quality between the Zeiss and Hawke ED & Hawke APO ?  Or could I be looking at other brands / options?

 

Appreciate any thoughts.

Mark

Have you looked at the Vortex Optics range?   https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vortex-optics-binoculars.html

I've only got the 8 x 42 crossfire HD myself but the views even through these are very, very good and I couldn't be happier 😊

 

Mark

[Jforson]

I have the frontier HD's in 10x32 and I really like them.  They do not have "Ed" glass but the CA is very well controlled and I really need to look for it tbh.  Image quality is very sharp across about 90-95% of the FOV.  

I have no regrets over the purchase.  

[Highburymark]

I have a pair of Hawke Sapphire ED that I picked up for about £250 - absolutely love them. Mainly use them for birdwatching, and the optics are top notch. Very sharp over 90% of the fov, and can only see CA under the most testing conditions - ie looking through leaves with brightest skies beyond, so it’s not an issue Best bins I’ve owned - though I haven’t used them for astronomy yet.

[BinocularSky]

+1 for Vortex. Extremely good VFM; even the "budget" Crossfire are good; the Diamondback are better, and the Viper (just within your budget) better still.

[Astroscot2]

5 hours ago, BinocularSky said:

+1 for Vortex. Extremely good VFM; even the "budget" Crossfire are good; the Diamondback are better, and the Viper (just within your budget) better still.

Would you say the Viper would be as good as the hawke Apo? 

[BinocularSky]

On 14/06/2021 at 21:24, Astroscot2 said:

Would you say the Viper would be as good as the hawke Apo? 

Not having used the Hawke, I couldn't say.

[mark81]

A few people have mentioned the Vortex Diamondbacks which I think are fantastic for the money. Nice build quality and very user friendly - and I have used them side by side with a pair of Hawke Eds - I have to say (if my memory serves me correctly) the view was ever so slightly better in the Hawkes but for some reason I just preferred the Diamondbacks. in terms of CA and the general quality of the optics, yes the Hawkes are ED but I'm sure the Diamondbacks are di-lectric.(whether that narrows the gap, I'm not sure)  But of course how you view this sort of thing is a personal preference. 

I also seem to remember there being a difference in dew control? I believe the Vortex have their lenses set a little further back than the Hawkes... (I may be wrong) but worth checking depending on conditions you'll be using them..

And finally of course there is that lifetime guarantee that Vortex have - which can't be overlooked...

Mark

[Astroscot2]

There here😉

[callisto]

22 hours ago, Astroscot2 said:

There here😉

Where's the piccies, we all love piccies on here 😃

[Astroscot2]

😀 A few photos attached, can wait to try these on the sky,  I do need to set them up each time I use them, stunning contrast and clarity, donr see any sign of CA yet. 

[Astroscot2]

Still awaiting first light for these binoculars,  I have spent some time on them during the day getting used to setting them up as I was finding I was experiencing the dreaded blackout effect looking around the FOV.  I was reading the blackouts are less of an issue when viewing at night as the pupil is dilated which makes sense. 

Mark

[Astroscot2]

First light report here .....

 

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/380079-binocular-fun-hawke-8x42-apo/