Olympus Binoculars - Forest Green

I wanted a decent compact pair of lightweight binoculars to view dolphins/whales, boats, landscapes & even a bit of star gazing on a cruise at the same time as not looking too geeky (soz).I am not a binocular expert but I am aware that they range from super cheap to super expensive depending on optical quality, designs & your requirements.As I do not expect to use binoculars on a daily basis I set my budget at circa £100 ($100).It was hard to find full reviews for these Olympus bins but I managed to read enough independent websites to inspire confidence.I subsequently made my purchase of the forest green 8x25 WPII and was personally very impressed with the results having used them for the aforementioned activities.In my opinion they provided me with good, bright, sharp, in focus (all the way to the peripheral edges) magnified image. Colours are well represented too.They are very compact and fit into your hand neatly. They are very easy to use and set the focus and technical parameters like the diopter.As a glasses wearer I preferred to remove my glasses and extend the eye relief things and found them comfortable.The eye relief bits stayed in place when wound out and would not accidentally wind back in when pressed, only when deliberately wound back in.Everything feels well built and operates smoothly. These are going to last.No fogging or issues associated to cheaper bins.I feel I have made a good purchase that I will now use more often than I had expected.Note: pop your lens covers in the provided binocular pouch when using to avoid loosing them.Note: I did not bother attaching the neck strap but it does have one if you need it.Note: The bins pouch has a handy belt hoop but I popped a small carabiner on it and that way i could attach/detach the pouch to me or a bag etc very quickly.

I own two other makes of binocular (Nikon and Viking) and have tried others : Opticron Discovery/Explorer, Hawke Frontier, Leica Trinovid, and another Viking - a Kestrel ED 8x25. Some couldn't be used due to very blurred sides (Hawke), or edge flickering blackouts/vignetting (Opticron and the Kestral), though they had good qualities the optical faults rendered them useless.If you want a top class view and don't mind a somewhat wide bodied binocular, the Nikon P7 8x30 is the best under £400, no question (and actually it's under £200!) - it's remarkable and in some ways better then the Nikon Monarch due to no glare. For a much more compact binocular where a narrower field of view is accepted, these Olympus 8x25 are the ticket.Bright (for a 25mm objective), very clear and sharp (and sharp a good way out - even though the FOV is narrow), good contrast and colour, CA is present but low and acceptable. The BAK4 phase corrected prisms are a luxury at this level - and I appreciate it!The build is good (for sure not cheap feeling) and the eye-cups extend far enough to avoid side flickering vignetting (this is actually a big deal, as many smaller binoculars' eye-cups don't extended far enough - meaning you have to hold them away from your brow). The eye-cups stay in place once extended, with a click, totally solid, great!The FOV is narrow, but these are totally pocketable and take anywhere, so for a good sharp clear view, a narrow FOV is acceptable. I've given 5 star to all categories (judged at this price point and a bit more) though I've docked one star from the optical quality for the slightly narrow FOV, can't have everything!The hinges have the right amount of tightness, the focus wheel is ok, it has some free-play when changing direction but nothing out of the ordinary (they are not Leica quality or price, but have quality enough). The amount the focus has to be turned is good, not too quick. The dioptre is smooth, but a tad too free turning for my liking (I forgive this due to the optical quality - which is the important bit).They hold quite steady also. Some 8x for some reason shake more than others, even at the same weight. Anyway compared to a Viking 8x25 Ventura pair I have these are better optically in every way (the Viking focus wheel action is better, though that isn't a deal breaker, but optics is). Compared to the similar double hinge design Kestrel ED 8x25, optically they are very similar though the Kestrel had a wider FOV but has bad black edge flickering (would be ok if you wear spectacles).So what are my criticisms of this Olympus? - only two :- the offset of the left/right field overlap is more noticeable than in some of my other binoculars due to the narrow field of view - which means the disparity of overlap is closer to the centre of the view - meaning you notice it more. It's not so noticeable at normal mid and long distance views either. The actual disparity is exactly the same with all my other binoculars - it is just the narrower FOV that makes it more noticeable - so don't think this is a fault.- you may see some glare in the lower portion of the view depending on light. This is not unusual, though higher priced binoculars generally get this under control, reducing it. I don't see this as an issue at this price.The main point is the view is clear, colourful, sharp and with good contrast. Also they are enjoyable - which is important!If you want a well performing compact binocular at a surprisingly low price, I recommend these. If you want better in an compact double hinge binocular, I'd suggest the Zeiss Terra ED 8×25 (avoid anything else in between), if you want better in a mid-size lightweight binocular then the Nikon P7 8x30 (a miracle wide-field super-sharp optic). The Nikon P7 8x30 is currently my favourite all purpose binocular, but or times when it's just too bulky, then this Olympus does very nicely.