OpticronExplorer WA ED-R 8x42 Monocular, 30785

The Opticon Explorer has been an excellent general purpose monocular for watching wildlife and navigation while hiking and traveling in small boats. It is very compact , easy to carry and it has an image clarity that is excellent for the price.For a more objective description of the clarity, I compared the image quality of the Opticon Explorer with the Monarch Series 7 binocular, both of which are 8x42 and have a similar field of view (the Monarch is about 8 degrees and the Opticon is about 7.5 degrees).In dim light, I studied the moss and lichen on a wood fence at about 75 yards. The Monarch was superior, but only by about 15%, if you could give a quantitative figure for how much extra clarity was achieved. However, the Opticon Explorer is much smaller, weighs less and is easier to carry. Furthermore, it costs only $150 compared to about $500 for the Monarch.I have had two monoculars prior to this model. One was the Stilnand 16x50. The other was the Opticon Oregon 8x42. The image quality of the Stilnand was not as good as the Opticon Explorer. The image quality of the Oregon was about the same as the Explorer. However, the Explorer is even more compact and easier to carry than the Oregon.The Explorer is harder to focus than the Oregon, but this is easily overcome if you anticipate the approximate distance you will be looking at an object before using it. Understanding this principle, you can "prefocus" your Explorer and study warblers flitting about in the tree tops or watching seals jump out of the water a hundred years away without focusing at all.

pretty decent little monocular. focus is reasonably smooth, optics are quite good, only a little distortion right out by the edges, good contrast, etc etc.

I had been looking for a new monocular to replace an old Vortex model I had misplaced. The quality of this is excellent in terms of both build and optical quality. Amazon erroneously sent me the significantly larger 8*42, and I exchanged it for the smaller 8*32. Much better for my intended use at sporting events and concerts. Easier to steady the image. While I have yet to use it much, I highly recommend this and should my experience change, will update this review.

What you'd expect from a scope at this price point. Good eye relief, sharp optics and colors are bright and vibrant. A $75 scope like NOCS Provisions was hard to keep up in brightness. Both scopes are sharp, but with the better optics in the Opticron I found my eyes to be more relaxed when using it, as the overall image was more vibrant.

The monocular feels very solid. I got the 32mm to save a little weight and space and they sent the right one. I doubt you will see much difference between the two sizes. The 42mm technically will capture more light in dimmer lighting. The optics are very good and I'm sure most will find it very adequate. The focus ring is wide and silky smooth and easy to turn. Note monoculars where the focus is made by turning ring on barrel are not as fast to focus as the ones with a top-mounted focus wheel, like the Opticron Oregon. If you need faster focusing get monoculars with a focus wheel on top. However the trade off is that design takes up more space. I highly recommend Opticron Optics.

I ordered a 8x32 and received an 8x42. Reading the reviews - it seems this happened before. Not sure why this item has these shipping issues.As for the monocular it has excellent optics, mostly on par with the more expensive Leica monovid I compared it to. It does suffer from more flare than the monovid, but that is not that noticeable under normal conditions. Tried ordering again and second time got the right item. After comparing the 2 decided to keep 8x32 one, although 8x42 seemed a tiny bit better optically. I just prefer the smaller size.

El monocular es muy nitido para su precio , esta hecho de buen material , lo unico negativo es que las tapas no quedan tan fijas , sobre todo la delantera ¡¡por eso le puse 4 de 5 estrellas

I bought the Explorer 10x42 and amazon by mistake sent me the 8x32. I took it out of the box before realizing they had sent me the wrong one. I was very disappointed at first and returned it to have Amazon send me the correct one.When I received the 10x42 the difference was clear! Performance is excellent, the coating helps a lot with definition and filtering unwanted brightness.Make sure to get the 10x42, it’s not only the best but also cheaper than the other models!Box comes with a nice pair of excellent micro-fiber clothes, a soft case and a landyard o carry it around your neck.