Customer Reviews

Olympus Tracker 8x25 Porro Prism Compact & Lightweight Binocular

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's a little difficult to tell from pictures on a website, but this piece is very sleek and light-weight. Its short range ability was the best among those that I tried, which means you can use these inside your house just as comfortably as outdoors. It houses a pre-built photochromatic anti-glare lens so you're protected from being stung by those stray sun rays. The focusing is sharp and swift unlike many others on the market. Olympus knows their optical onions. Unless you're looking for something more heavy-duty (in which case take a look at 'Bushnell powerview 16x50 wide-angle'), I highly recommend the Porro Prism especially because Amazon seems to be offering very aggressive deals on it.

I purchased a pair of these binoculars about 1 1/2 yrs ago, and frequently use them for birdwatching out my office window. At about the same time I tested several (5) much more expensive birding binoculars, and also purchased a pair of Zeiss 8x42 Victory TFL, $1400 (best in the world) for serious birding. So I'm well qualified to judge. These Olympus binoculars have astounding performance for thier price. Of course the small 25 mm objective lens does not provide top-notch dim light performance, and they are not waterproof. But given normal lighting conditions, their performance is excellent. Resolution and color fidelity are excellent, and chromatic aberration is small. Overall the optical quality is superior to any roof-prism binocular under $700 that I have tried. You really cannot go wrong with these.

I ordered these binoculars to use at the Van Halen concert because we had seats in the back row. They worked even better than I imagined! Everything was clear and close-up! I would recommend them for concert viewing...light, compact and easy to carry.

I bought this binocular primarily football games. I find this binocular almost perfect for this purpose. They are compact and come with a case you can use with a belt. The 8x25 power and view is, for me, just right for football, providing enough power to see the action close-up while the field of view is wide enough to see a good portion of the field. They are also good for general use where medium power must be balanced with field of view. The quality of the product is very, very good and I am most satisfied with them.

Having tired of carrying an otherwise wonderful pair of heavy Nikon binoculars to concerts and the theater, I settled on the Trackers. I was convinced by their near unanimous 5-star rating, even though I initially was tempted by the Consumers Reports "best buy" Olympus binoculars. No need to repeat the specifics of other well-written reviews. Suffice it to say that the Trackers are well-built, compact in size, light, and perform wonderfully. They very much deserve the 5-star rating that just about everyone has given them, including me.

UPDATE (4-10-09. Having used these binoculars several times, I am not as enthusiastic. The field of vision is rather narrow, and I find that getting objects into focus requires fiddling with how closely I hold the glasses to my eyes. I must confess that I would not buy them again.

This eye interval adjustment mechanism of this brand new Olympus Tracker PCI 8x25 binocular broke after two days of usage during our recent trip in OCT 09. I sent this back for repair in late OCT 09 and I still have not received back a repaired unit or a replacement. I called twice in DEC 09 and Olympus told me that they could not send me a replacement because they do not have any replacement units in stock. How can Olympus runs a warranty service without stocking parts and replacement units? They also told me they are unsure when they can send me a replacement unit.

Purchased for both birding and sporting events. Easy to use. Light weight. Fast focus.
Mainly for use by my darling dearest as they have excellent long eye relief for those who wear glasses. As they are adjusted for her eye site it is not difficult for me to reset to my requirements and back again to hers when I am done using them. (dioptric correction)
Worth the price!

I use these binoculars mostly at the opera and theater. They work well in low light conditions.

We wanted a second pair of binoculars that would be lightweight and compact for traveling to areas to view wildlife in medium to close conditions, sometimes with low light. These proved to fit the bill very well. The image is clear and bright and most important for wildlife viewing, the focus is easy and quick to adjust on the fly. Frankly, it's hard to imagine doing much better for the price.

The Olympus Tracker 8x25 Binocular is exactly what I wanted for viewing both wildlife and birds nesting and feeding. Easy to learn to focus and very lightweight. If you are a first time owner, I would highly recommend this item.