Steiner 8×30 Safari Pro Binoculars

I did a bit of bird watching this weekend to test the Steiner 8×30 Safari Pro binoculars, but bird watching is not its strong point. The 8×30 Safari is rather an all-purpose outdoor model, which is compact and light enough for easy traveling.

Build Quality:

The first thing that struck me whilst unpacking these binoculars was the solid build quality. The entire body is armored with solid and tactile rubber, providing excellent grip and robustness. This is a big plus point since binoculars need to be tough enough to withstand the usual knocks and drops.

Protection:

Not only is the 8×30 Safari highly robust but it comes with some extra features that provide added protection:

The objective lenses have caps that are attached to the front of the binoculars. This is a very handy feature since the caps cannot be lost in any way and the lenses can be covered quick and easily when not in use.

The 8×30 Safari Pro’s water-resistant construction is apparently engineered to meet the demands in rain, snow, and just about any weather conditions – this feature I unfortunately did not get to test.

The provided carry bag comes with a shoulder strap and a zip opening. The bag only opens far enough to get the binoculars out, thus avoiding any mishaps of the unit falling out in case the bag has not been zipped up properly.

The eyecups have angled rubber eyecups to block out peripheral light, and protect your eyes from glare. These can also be folded back for spectacle wearers.

Optics:

The optics on this specific unit are good. The lenses are multi-coated to eliminate UVa and UVb rays, this ultimately means that any form of glare, may this come from sand, snow, or water, gets radically reduced

The definition is precise, and contrasts are crisp. The Steiner’s perform fairly well in low light conditions however are not optimal, since their objective lens size (30mm) is relatively small.

The 8x magnification range is decent, and in relation to the objective lens size, provides a good balance between magnification and shake. This is often a problem when using binoculars with very high magnification rates and relatively small objective lens sizes – the shake becomes unbearable. The shake on this pair of Steiner’s however is completely controllable.

The 8×30 Safari model also features Steiner’s convenient Sports Auto-Focus system, which, once set for your eyes, should give you a sharp, clear view of everything from 18 meters to infinity without further adjustment. The compromise with such a system however, is that any close encounters (closer than 18 meters) are blurred, which ultimately means that this unit is not suitable for bird watching. If you need binoculars that can focus very close as well as far then this unit is not for you.

The once-off focus adjustments are a little on the loose side. I noticed, whilst rotating the eye caps, that the focus adjustments would move to - this becomes quite annoying.

Conclusion:

These binoculars are solid, the optics are good, and overall made a good impression. They are suitable for all-purpose conditions, such as hunting, hiking, and basic wildlife excursions – but not as much for bird viewing…

If you are willing to spend around R2800.00 on a pair of good quality binoculars then I’d recommend looking at the Nikon Monarch 8×42 as a definite competitor to the Steiner 8×30 Safari Pro.

Specifications:

• Magnification: 8 x 30
• Weight: 510 grams
• Field of view: 110 meters @ 915 meters
• Eye relief: 20mm
• Dimensions: (cm) 11.6L x 17.2W x 6H

Price and availability:

Steiner 8×30 Safari Pro available at WantItAll, retailing at R 2,745.00

Home page pic: marra121

Rate this review:

(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Like this post? You may want to consider subscribing to our web feed and you'll automatically get notified when we post a new review or news item. If web feeds aren't your thing then why not join our email list by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by.

Filed Under Featured Reviews, Other Gadgets, Stuff