Opticron 30440 BGA 8x42 Monocular

This monocular is worth every penny. Clear image, robust and waterproof. The ED version is what I purchased and it’s ideal. Big enough to let enough light in for low light use, small enough for a decent pocket and easy to operate. Yes the focus wheel requires patience as it’s slower to rotate than others but that’s really not an issue to me. Makes you feel it’s more sturdy than anything else. Hardly stops you operating it. Really pleased I bought this for wildlife use and the 8x magnification is more than enough to make it really useful. The case isn’t anything to get excited about but it does the job. Made a veg tan leather one for mine so the finished package is now complete. All I need to do now is not lose it like my last Opticron!If you’re lucky enough to be able to afford one, I certainly recommend getting one.

I ordered three monoculars in order to choose the right one for me. They were the Opticron 10x40, the Opticron 8x32 and finally, as a sort of cheaper benchmark, the Celestron 10x25. I wanted to replace an old cheap monocular that had fogged up and was impressed at how far the technology has come. I need a monocular that is light and portable to take fishing and walking in the mountains. Seeing the three monoculars side by side, I realised at once that choosing the right one was more complex than I thought. Each one had something to offer and there is a critical balance between price, portability,quality and purpose.The Opticron 10x40 stood out as a beautifully crafted technical instrument capable of delivery quality images. It did everything well - bright clear images, easy to see through, focussed down to around two metres and felt solid and well engineered. As a scientific instrument I loved it but it was too heavy and big for me to comfortably slip it into my pocket and forget about it until I needed it. A really big issue for me was whether, without armouring, it would stand up to the general rigours of life outside. I can see that for someone who used a monocular almost continually - watching a sporting event or birds for example - then this would be perfect. But for me, the size and weight of the Opticron made me reluctantly rule it out.The Opticron 8x32 was armoured and also gave a very good image. Frankly, I find the difference between an 8x and 10x monocular virtually negligible. What counts more is the quality of the image rather than absolute difference in image size. One sees less detail through a more powerful instrument if the image is dull and shaking rather than through something less powerful but with more light and a steadier image. The Opticron 8x32 feels great in the hand, gives a good image (almost as good as its big brother) and is undoubtedly very rugged. With all the armouring it isn’t that much smaller or lighter than the 10x40 but it is certainly tougher and easier to carry in ones pocket. However, it only focuses down to around 5/6 metres and the focussing ring is fiendishly stiff.The much cheaper and smaller Celestron 10x25 came as a complete surprise. I only included it to see how cheaper monoculars compared but its relatively small size and image quality, not to mention its armouring, really impressed me. The light transmission is pretty good and detail stands out even in gloomy conditions. I am not price sensitive and would be happy to pay a higher price for a premium product but I would be hard pushed to choose either of the two Opticrons over the Celestron for convenience, portability, price or image quality.

As there were no reviews at the time of writing, I will try to make this as comprehensive as possible. I am not without some experience in optics currently owning binoculars and scopes from Swarovski and having had products from Barr & Stroud, Minox, Steiner and Zeiss in the past. Over the past year my ‘quest’ has been to find an optic which had as much quality as possible in a convenient, comfortable, lightweight pocket form at a more affordable price point. In this Opticron Monocular I have found that combination.Most importantly for me is the optical quality and this exceeds by some margin the optics in any similarly priced pocket binoculars I have experienced. True, it is not as an immersive experience as a binocular but for casual observations this product is more than adequate. The image is bright and clear even in dark shadowed areas of woodland. The field of view is good so objects are easily targetted and distant views are panoramic rather than tunnel vision. Focussed images are pin sharp extending to about the last 10% of the field of view with a natural reproduction of colour. Depth of field is also good with only small tweaks needed to maintain focus on a moving object. Colour fringing is only detectable if you really look for it in high contrast situations but for all practical situations unnoticeable. The image is flat for the most part with only slight curvature towards the edges. The biggest criticism is the presence of reflections in a ring in the dark border just beyond the edge of the image.Ergonomically the monocular is nice to use. It can be held steady in one hand but benefits from using both hands. This is a must when focussing as the rubber focus ring is quite stiff, loosening up a little after some use. However it is broad and ridged for easy grip. This is contrast to the body which is smooth metal. I have not found this a problem with grip though some may be concerned over lack of rubber armour; there is none at all. If this optic is likely to experience rough or careless handling then it may not be for you. The lack of armour though does keep the bulk down and contribute towards ease of carrying, as does the weight. It feels like a solid piece of kit which belies its low 260g mass. The eye cup twists out and stays put. It is comfortable around the eye and can gently rest on the bones around the eye socket. Again, there is only one big criticism, the strap attachment. It is rather obtrusive and in my opinion, ugly. I removed the rattly metal attachment ring and connected an after market hand strap (by Ringke which is very good).Accessories include an eyepiece lens cap which is good and an objective cap which is bad. The eyepiece cap fits snugly but the objective cap just gets left in the bottom of the case when the monocular is taken out. I have just left this off as when not in use the objective is protected by the case anyway. The case itself is OK. A magnetic closure would be better than velcro and I feel the belt loop needs to be a little more robustly secured but otherwise its fine. You also get a nice lens cleaning cloth and a quality strap (but you need to keep attachment ring to use it).For me this monocular fits my requirements almost perfectly. Sort the reflections and the strap attachment, which I think could be done for the price, then it would be a 5 star review instead of 4.

This is perfect for birdwatching. It’s lighter than binoculars and easy to acquire the target - especially if you are in a car/van. The optics are excellent and let in plenty of light. My only slight issue would be the stiffness of the focus but you get used to it

I bought this to carry around on my dog walks. It's a bit weighty but in a good way, it feels solid and well made. The focusing is very stiff, it may loosen with time but better than being sloppy!The image is very bright and sharp, star gazing is fine, showing what the naked eye can't see. A little expensive but worth it, quality feel and image. Avoid the cheap crappy ones, this will last forever.

Box was open.parts list said included should be a neoprene strap and lens cloth neither were obviously not new.