Hawke Frontier HD X 8x32 Binocular - Green

Product Information

However, if you only look at those that use magnesium chassis, they fare far better. On top of this, just keep in mind that as well as this, they also use metal for the eyepieces and focus wheel, which won't be the case on most cheaper alternatives.

The transmission level in the centre of the visible spectrum reaches 85%, a very decent result at this price point. The flatness of the graph should also be praised as it guarantees good colour rendering. Like just about every binocular I have looked through there is a degree of softening right at the edge of the view, but the amount is minimal and no more than what I would deem to be normal. For fog proofing, the interior is filled with the commonly used Nitrogen gas. As it is completely moistureless, it protects the internal glass surfaces from fogging up which can and does often happen with unprotected binoculars when you get a rapid temperature change, like going outdoors on a cold morning from a warm house.to tell you all about the strict quality control testing the Frontier ED X binoculars are put through. As with all Hawke binoculars, they're covered by a 10 year guarantee.*

Here the ED glass does a great job of controlling chromatic aberration, and I was unable to detect any sign of fringing in normal field conditions. Even trying to induce it for testing purposes, by looking hard at high-contrast subjects right at the periphery of the field of view, I only managed to detect the faintest hint of fringing, which is impressive. Low light performance and coatings Colours through the Frontier EDX look pleasingly neutral, and I couldn’t detect any colour bias at all in the field. Contrast is very good, and the image pops just enough to make it vibrant and detailed, allowing you to see subtle differences in tone and hue, without seeming over-contrasty and artificial. The EDX used Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass in the objective lens elements to help control colour fringing (chromatic aberration) — a phenomenon that can show fuzzy purple or green edges around high contrast subjects, affecting the perceived sharpness of the resulting image. Field of view is a more than respectable 142m@1000m, but again it says something about just how much optics have improved that what’s really impressive is that sharpness right to the edges – you’re now starting to see the same sort of ‘walk in’ views from cheaper bins as you do on the most expensive ones. By fully opening the hinge, the eyecups measure 7.4cm apart at their centers, whilst fully closed, this reduces to 5.6cm. This range of Inter-Pupillary Distance (IPD) is pretty typical and thus these will cater to the majority of users, including youngsters who usually have closer set eyes than most adults.

Acknowledgements

The Hawke Frontier APO Binoculars feature Hawke’s H7 optics, offering stunning high definition viewing with incredible colour control and phase correction. High performance lens coatings and Dielectric Coated prisms ensure the highest level of light transmission. The Frontier APO offers extreme clarity, flat field vision along with excellent chromatic aberration control for a stunning wide angle image. Plus, the APO models benefit from Extra-low Dispersion glass for controlled chromatic aberration and the elimination of colour fringing. Distance of the first curved line from the field of view centre compared to the field of view radius: 32% ± 4%.

A robust high-performance hinge design, replaceable twist-out eye cups, high grade aluminium and a lightweight rubber coated magnesium alloy chassis ensure this binocular can withstand all you throw at it, while the water repellent lens coating offers extra clarity whatever the condition. This also means that there is the potential for it to be less robust than a beefier, more substantial bridge and thus a greater chance of the barrels becoming misaligned should you drop your binoculars. I could not test it to destruction, but to me, it looks and feels easily strong enough and is not something that I would be concerned with. is the price tag. I still highly recommend the less expensive Endurance models, but for those looking for a more serious prospect, one which offers the keen naturalist a brighter, more vibrant image, then the Frontier The Frontier ED X don't feature field flattening lenses (and aren't expected in this price range), so some softness and field curvature can be seen, but I was still more than pleased with the performance. A wide field of view is an advantage in just about every situation, but is especially sought after by birders and wildlife observers who often frequent places like forests or woodlands where the viewing distances tend to be a little shorter and thus a wide view makes it much easier to locate and then follow your subject especially if it is small, fast and erratic in its movements.

Merchandise

Hawke have dramatically improved the quality of the accessories too. Included with the binoculars are tethered rubber objective lens covers, a rainguard, one of the best padded neoprene lanyards I've seen on a There are binoculars that perform better in low light… but not by much, and you can expect them to cost several times what you’d pay for the Frontier EDX. Its range finding capabilities include: Distance, Rain, Hunt, Near, Horizontal Distance and Angle modes. The display brightness can be manually adjusted between 6 levels of brightness. The LRF requires a 3V CR2 battery and will automatically turn off after 15 seconds of no operation to save power. On the Vortex forum, i voiced this issue and got some help from "typo" with the results and now think i know what the issue was.

A robust high-performance hinge design, replaceable twist-out eye cups, high grade aluminium and a lightweight rubber coated magnesium alloy chassis ensure this binocular can withstand all you throw at it. Considering their overall difference in dimensions, this is to be expected and as such when compared to other mid-sized instruments they do much better and in my experience are about average. Although some binoculars like the Opticron Traveller BGA ED 10x32 still use large 22mm oculars. Every Hawke binocular I’ve tried has punched above its weight in terms of optical performance for the price, and the Frontier HDX is no exception. Image quality and field of view The single hinge is relatively thin, reducing weight and freeing up more of the barrels to hold onto.

Accessories

Whilst not what I would consider being a very long eye-relief binocular, for a mid-sized instrument the 16mm is pretty good and in most cases should be enough for those who use glasses to be able to wear them and still achieve the full image. Handling. Very user friendly with a silky smooth focus wheel and dioptre adjustment. On the subject of the right eye adjustment , this can be turned easily with the eye cups twisted down. With some, you need to twist out to comfortably do this. The texture of the rubber body is incredibly grippy and gives you confidence when using.