Vixen Apex Pro 8x42 Bino

[bornfree]

Today, i just got a new toy. Christmas came early this year! I purchased it off McGill's new page
the old page is still there, but they are slowing moving the catalogue over to the new page. price may vary on the two sites. i suggest u check the price on both page if they are there n quote the lower price u see.

they have sales personnel on standby during their working hours to chat online and answer ur queries. for any equipment you need, u can check with them to see if they hold or if they can source it for you. find the pre-sales service quite good.

I was caught between getting the Vixen Ascot 10x50 or the Vixen Apex Pro 8x42. in the old McGill site, the Ascot had the Stargazing kit package making it a sweeter deal at a lower price. in the end, they said they can package the Apex Pro with the Stargazing kit package(which consist of a compass, a star chart and a magnifying glass with a red led to do star chart reading in the dark, and the retail price is SGD50.). in the new site, the Apex Pro cost SGD454.35, but when u add the package to it, it becomes SGD449. and they even threw in a shoulder harness for the bino for free(supposedly costing SGD 30) i did point out the old site had the price tag 399, which is probably why the price of the bino got lowered abit. they tell me this bino cost AUD 700 in Australia. and its very cheap price.

here are some specifications.

Features
- Prisms and lenses made of BaK-4 glass material
- Optical surfaces are phase coated
- Centre-wheel focusing
- Adjustable eyecups
- Tripod adapter thread
- Completely waterproof
- Robust, rubber armoured binocular body

Specifications
- Optical system: Roof prism
- Objective lens diameter: 42 mm
- Magnification: 8x
- Field of view at 1000 m: 114 m
- Close focus: 3 m
- Luminous intensity: 28
- Twilight factor: 18.33
- Exit pupil: 5.3 mm
- Eye relief: 19 mm
- Dimensions: 146x124 mm
- Weight: 0.705 kg

As a person wearing spectacles, i always feel awkard using a bino as i can hardly get a comfortable view. i always feel that my glasses are in the way and i tend to remove them then use the bino. this was not the case using the Vixen Apex Pro. it could rest on my glasses and i still get a good view. or without my glasses, with a gentle twist, the eye piece could extend and those without glasses can enjoy the bino as well.

i did abit of obs at bishan park and silly me chose a spot that was pretty close to the lamp. With Venus setting, I could get a look at it. it was very clear with adjacent stars quite clear in view. i could split a few double stars, saw Antares playing hide n seek with the clouds. so couldnt really see Scorpius. looking closer to the zenith, i saw the M9 globulacluster. the stars are very nicely packed and fits into the centre of view with plenty of allowance to see other stars. Looking at Saturn, could see a slight elongation of the planet and almost to see the rings.. finally the view of the moon. the craters near the terminator are quite clear.

overall, i am very happy with what i saw, especially looking at M9. being small n compact, it will be pretty handy to carry around and not to mention, it is light. must keep in mind that bino are for wide view, magnification is not required to be too big.

[Gary]

Congrats and thanks for sharing your experiences of using this binocular!

[bornfree]

Thanks Gary for showing me how to check the quality of the bino and now i know this bino i can keep for years to come..

[Gary]

Thanks Gary for showing me how to check the quality of the bino and now i know this bino i can keep for years to come..

Thanks for allowing me to look through it! Very impressed with the light weight, long eye relief and super bright views. So bright as if you are not looking through any glass at all! Looking forward to "stress-testing" it under Milky Way skies in the future. But minus the waterproof tests of course.

[bornfree]

it is advertised as waterproof so long not saltwater testing, i think it is still quite ok..