Binocular Comparison: Nikon Action 10x50 and Opticron Imagic TGA 8x42

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Background

The Nikon Action 10x50 binoculars were my first step into this hobby. I got them from a camera shop for £85 pounds and they gave me my first "Wow!" moments, showing me much more than I could see with my eyes. I always have them with me to use while the camera is clicking away on the Astrotrac, but they're quite large and when I'm grovelling in the dark and fiddling with camera settings and framing they are a nuisance. I wanted something that could always be there around my neck but not get in the way.

The Opticrons seemed to be well regarded and cost half as much again (£120), so hopefully a noticable image improvement. I had one request for a comparison, so I've been using them together for a while to see how they measure up.

Ergonomics

The picture shows the two side by side with their cases. Both binoculars are porroprisms with rubber coated bodies. The Opticrons are smaller and shorter but easy to hold with some ribbed areas for grip. The Nikons are mostly smooth with some textured thumb grips underneath. The Opticrons are waterproof.

The Nikons have soft rubber eyecups (which I am used to) and the Opticrons have hard rubber twist up eyecups (which I will get used to!). The dioptre adjustment on the Opticrons is quite hard to adjust, but you don't need that very often, so no problem. Both binoculars have quite stiff and well damped focussing wheels with "low gear" travel so it is easy to make smooth and precise adjustments. The same goes for the inter-pupillary distance. Both have a plastic cap covering a socket allowing tripod mounting with an L bracket.

The Opticron neck strap is soft webbing that is comfortable to wear. The Nikon has a wider strap that feels colder and harder by comparison, but it does have a non-slip pad at the back. The objective lens caps are innies for the Nikon and outies for the Opticron. Both have a rainguard to protect the eyepices; the Opticron is one cap that covers both and the Nikon is like two caps joined together.

The Nikon case is soft, padded neoprene and very roomy. The case has no strap but you can use the binocular strap outside the case since the "hinge" is narrow to allow for this. The Opticron case is like a leather effect covered box and quite a tight fit, so getting the binoculars in and out can be awkward, with lens caps coming off etc. Both cases have a velcro fastening and the Opticron case has its own shoulder strap.

Day Time Use

Both of these give me great views of the birds across the garden. The field of view is the same (6.5 degrees), but it's bigger in the Nikon (10x vs 8x). I don't really notice the size difference but I do notice the steadier image at 8x. Both views have that 3D diorama effect where objects at different distances appear to be in separate vertical planes.

In bright conditions both binoculars showed a little green and purple fringing along branches against the sky, with the Nikons being slightly worse. The Nikons also have a slight colour cast (yellow green) which I only noticed when comparing. The Opticron binoculars have more faithful colour. The Opticron image is slightly brighter. I think they have better coatings than the Nikons and I think this contributes more than the marginally higher exit pupil.

Night Time Use

I haven't had many opportunities to use these at night because of the awful weather, but I did some side by side comparison last night. The daylight results are repeated really. The Moon is bright and clear with a little coloured fringing. Stars look lovely and sharp with the Opticron having a slight edge on colour. Why can't I get those colours in my photos? Looking at Jupiter, the 10x shows the moons as a row of tiny dots. I didn't think I would be able to see them at 8x, but I could! At least I could tell that they were there. Again, I think the combination of better optics and a steader image helps. Magnification isn't everything.

I tried to assess how sharp each view was across the field... it's hard to do. Both showed aberrations around the edges and I think I would say that the Opticron has a larger aberration free field. I wouldn't want to try and quantify it.

Conclusion

I'm really pleased with the Opticron Imagics. They achieve my main goals by being smaller than the Nikon Actions and with a noticeably better image as well. They are lighter and lower power, which makes using them very convenient and comfortable (even one handed). The view is brighter and steadier.

These two binoculars are really in different brackets. The Opticrons cost half as much again and a fairer comparison would probably be with the Nikon Action EX family (which also gets good reviews). I wanted an upgrade and I feel like that is what I got. I also got excellent service from First Light Optics with delivery just before Christmas too, so I had a very happy holiday