Opticron Savanna R PC 8×33 Binoculars: Our Review

At A Glance

PROS:

• Wide field of view is good for finding birds
• Open hinge design and slender barrels lend a comfortable feel
• Very lightweight design for great comfort

CONS:

• Limited close focus makes it harder to watch nearby subjects like dragonflies or flowers
• Image quality declines around the edges

STATS:

• Price: $190 MSRP at press time. Prices often fluctuate, so check with retailers
• Close focus: Listed as 5.9 feet (180 cm). In tests, we could only focus these binoculars to about 10.8 feet (330 cm)
• Field of view: 8.1° (425 feet at 1,000 yards). More about field of view 
• Weight: 15.5 oz (440 g)—that’s about 2.2 oz (62 g) lighter than the average for compact binoculars in our review. Compare binocular sizes and weights
• Eye relief: 15 mm

Viewing Experience: These comfortable binoculars feature a wide field of view that makes it easy to find and follow birds. Though bright and sharp in the center, the image quality blurs a bit around the edges, which can lead to eyestrain after a long morning of birding. In bright light, these binoculars showed off the subtle greens and rusty colors of a Green Heron foraging in a shallow pool. On an early June morning, a Scarlet Tanager singing in the canopy was sharp and bright, even showing a bit of yellow on the lower belly and under the wings, as if this otherwise brilliant red male was still something of a youngster. The image was brighter than the smaller Opticron Discovery, but slightly less crisp than the Bushnell Prime. We found the close focus was only about 10 or 11 feet, which made it hard to use these binoculars to study nearby flowers and dragonflies.

Feel and Build: Slim barrels and a spacious open-hinge design give these binoculars a comfortable feel and an elegant look. Small-handed people can easily wrap their hands around the barrel for a comfortable and secure grip. The focus wheel is smooth, but it seems to require a lot of travel to dial in focus. The eyecups are a bit loose but click securely into two stops. The open-hinge design combined with the light weight—under a pound—make these binoculars easy to use with one hand if you are juggling equipment or toddlers.

Comments From Testers:

• Light and comfortable to hold; good image
• Open hinge with plenty of room for fingers to grasp the barrels

This article is one in a series of mini-reviews. To see how these binoculars compare to others we’ve tested, see our full review of affordable compact binoculars.