Review on Sightron SIIBL832 8x32 Binocular (Green) - Enhanced Clarity and Durability by Elizabeth Morrison

In my endless search for the perfect binocular, I've ventured far from the mainstream binocular market. The name "Sightron" is unfamiliar to most ornithologists, but hunters in the USA are very familiar with their optics, having been making quality optics for many years. Admittedly I didn't know much about Sightron other than seeing random posts referencing their scopes on 24hourcampfire. I never thought they would make binoculars let alone one that I would eventually try. What led me to them was more of a detour. On many evenings I rummage through ebay, amazon and other places on the net in search of "bargains" for well-known optics. You may be surprised what you find if you type "8x42 or 8x32 binoculars" into a search engine or two instead of just typing "Nikon" or "Bushnell". It was this type of search that led me to find many other bunkers that I have tried over the past three or four months. This search did not initially lead me to the Sightron model mentioned in the title of this thread. This actually led me to the Vixen Foresta 8x32 DCF HR open axle. I considered buying them but $329 was a bit steep for what I was looking for at the time. I found a good review about it on allbinos.com, which in turn led me to their Kenko version (Ultraview HP 8x32). $239 looked better than $329 and allbinos review was just as positive. I decided to order one. Unfortunately after placing an order with Revain I was told they were out of stock with no mention of when they would be back in stock. Then I sat there and considered options. I don't know how that led me to the Sightron SII "Blue Sky" 8x32, but I finally found it. It appears to have the same specs and features as the other two and is now down in price to $189.99. It didn't look as aesthetically pleasing as the other two, but how does that phrase apply to beggars and voters? So I ordered one and it arrived early last week. Since then I've had plenty of time to try it out and compare it to the many other binoculars I have on hand. To be honest, my expectations weren't high because I've encountered many "falls" from binoculars that I haven't written about here on the forum. I expected this to be just another trip from the binocular mainstream. I was expecting average quality control and image quality, and so-so processing. I was surprised by what I received. Let me start with a rather shocking statement. This is by far the best 8x32 I've tried so far. Now take a step back and think about what I just posted. I am not writing this lightly and please remember that I have 8x32 Nikon SE as well as 8x32 FL, 8x32 Swaro EL, 8x32 Meopta Meostar and 8x30 Nikon EII. Then you might be wondering how anyone in their right mind could find $190 non-ED Philippine prism glass more preferable than all these others? Well, there is a simple and complex answer to this question. Simple answer: price versus performance. A bigger challenge is that these binoculars simply offer the best combination of optical performance, ease of use and quality control at a price I've never seen before. So the question is how does it match what I have on hand. Well I have three 8x30 porros with some and another 8x32 roof for comparison. I will drop the Celestron Nature 8x30, Ultima DX 8x32 and Dakota 8x32 Elite immediately. Each of them is good in its own right, but only the 8x32 Nikon SE is a direct competitor to the Sightron SII 8x32. How can I make such a claim? Well the answer is pretty simple. Ergonomics: The ergonomics for my hands are very close to ideal. This is an open bridge design, which means it's very easy for your hands, and especially my hands, to comfortably enclose these binoculars. Hand position is extremely important to the perceived ergonomic comfort of binoculars. Thanks to this special design, my fingers slide easily between the loops. I can even change the position of my hand so that my little and ring fingers rest comfortably on the front axle joint for an even more stable picture. This stability increases comfort when viewing these binoculars. In addition to the hand position, the weight of these binoculars plays an important role in the perceived comfort when handling these binoculars. Listed weight is 19 ounces, which is average or slightly below average for most 8x32 roof prism models currently on the market. This isn't unusual, but consider that 19 ounces are spread across a 5-inch frame and you can see why the binoculars feel so light in your hands. The open bridge design only adds to that feeling. So the question is what do you dislike about the ergonomics of these binoculars. yes there is a problem Sightron chose a raised profile for its nameplate next to the eyepiece at the end of the barrel. This offers the only "less than perfect" binocular feeling. Neither the Vixen nor the Kenko have that slight "bulge" on the body, so I think the ergonomics of the two models would be even better. more comfortable in my experience. This would be another area where either of the other two versions of these binoculars could perform better. How about focus? Well, I find the focus speed perfect. It has a very good depth of field. Focus is smooth in both directions, but a bit difficult to be completely "perfect" in my experience. However, I found something interesting that is often overlooked. When focusing at the extreme end of the focus lever range in either direction, the focus stops abruptly. You can almost feel the focus hitting the metal stop in both directions. There is absolutely no "spongy feeling" either way. This is perhaps the most positive feeling I've ever experienced from a focus knob. The focus is also very precise. The image catches the eye when you achieve perfect focus, and then stays sharp for a decent distance when the focus knob is rotated in either direction. Translation? Excellent depth of field Note: Focusing is counter-clockwise to infinity Now comes the fun part Optical specs: where to start? Well, as I mentioned earlier, it's surprisingly easy to get in focus without having to move the focus stick back and forth. Finding the perfect focus is no problem with this model. The image itself is bright for an 8x32 model with very good contrast. The colors are very well represented, rich and well saturated. Not quite equivalent to the 8x32 SE, but above average in my opinion. I will partially explain this with a slightly warm (red/purple) color shift in the image. As is so often the case, this is only noticeable in comparison to binoculars that either offer a neutral color display or cool (blue/green) shift binoculars. The sweet spot is larger than average. In everyday life, it seems to come very close to the outer edges of the picture. Upon closer inspection I would estimate the sweet spot size to be around 80% of the image. The fuzzy outer part seems to be mostly due to the field curvature as I can easily refocus the edges with a slight turn of the focus knob. As already mentioned, the apparent sharpness is excellent. It comes exceptionally close to the 8x32 SE and ZR 8x43 ED3. I am very surprised, as these are binoculars without an ED roof prism. Color fringes are very well controlled in the sweet spot and are only slightly noticeable in blurred image areas. The field of view is advertised as 7.5 degrees (394 feet), and compared to the 8x32 SE it appears to be so. It's certainly not the widest field of view for an 8x32 and should probably be considered 'medium' overall. The interesting thing is that when you combine this field of view size with other aspects of the binoculars' optical performance (sweet spot size, CA control, etc.), the image becomes extremely relaxed and quite natural. Another area of optical performance where these binoculars shine is in their flare control. I have tried using this binocular in conditions that should cause it to show some aspects of ghosting, flare or other ambient light conditions and it is excellent. The interior layout and design seem to be very well thought out and extremely effective. Conclusion: Are these binoculars "perfect"? No of course not. However, it shows an exceptionally high level of performance in almost every area I was able to explore. If it weren't for this small "bulge" in the housing, I would describe these binoculars as a whole as "almost perfect". In doing so, one must not lose sight of the most important thing and what distinguishes it from almost every competition – the price. Finally there is an incredibly high-performance 8x32 binocular that really everyone can afford.