Olympus Trooper DPS I (8x40) Binocular
- Binoculars Type: Binocular
- Max Magnification: 8x
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Good general purpose and vacation binoculars
Pros
Wide angle, bright and clear view, not too expensive, UV filtered lenses, rubber coated.
Cons
Short eye relief, no twist up eye-cups, not very convenient for eyeglass users.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Highly recommended. Minor inconvenience for eyeglass wearer, but it is not a deal breaker.
I bought Olympus Trooper DPS I 8X40 for my wife so that she can enjoy the views when we are on vacation or going on outdoor trips. Prior to buying it I had her tried my Olympus Outback RCII-R 8X25 which is a roof prism compact binocular. I thought she would prefer a smaller and compact binocular over a larger traditional porro prism binocular. The Outback is also an "all-weather" binocular that comes with a belt attached case while the Trooper comes with a case with straps that hangs over your neck. However, due to the narrower angle of view of the Outback, she has a difficult time finding the object she wants to view through the Outback.
I had her tried the Trooper half expecting that she will reject it right away because the Trooper is bulkier (it is more than 2.5 times wider and 2 times heavier) than the Outback. To my surprise she likes it very much. She said the view is brighter and wider and she can easily find the object she wants to see. After seeing the specs I can understand why she likes it. The Trooper is a wide angle binocular, its field of view is 143 meters at 1000 yards while the Outback is only 96 meters. The Trooper is brighter than the Outback because its exit pupil diameter is 5.0 mm compared to 3.1 mm and, of course, its objective lens are 60 percent wider than the Outback.
The drawbacks are: 1. the Trooper has a shorter eye relief compared to the Outback (12 mm vs. 18 mm). This means that I have to push my eyeglasses up and out of the way to use it. 2. It has no twist-up/twist-down eye-cups like the Outback. You have no option but to remove your eyeglasses because you cannot move the Trooper eye-cups out of the way by twisting the cups down. Since you can do this with the Outback, I wonder why Olympus does not use the same eye-cups design in the Trooper. My wife has no complain, though, because she does not use eyeglasses.
Positive points:
1. Wideangle view. Useful for tracking fast moving subject at short distance. Easier for novice users who are not accustomed to aim the binocular at the subject before looking through it. Wider view is also more suitable when viewing wide open scenery.
2. Price. Reasonably priced about $50. Similar size waterproof binoculars with high index prisms can easily cost 2 times as much.
3. Rubber coated body gives it a nice feeling when handheld. Note that this is not rubber armored. The thin rubber coating is for better handgrip and not designed to offer protection if the binocular is dropped.
4. Can accept tripod mount adapter, but the adapter itself is not included.
5. UV filtered, however, most good quality binoculars have this feature.
6. Limited lifetime warranty. Coverage is for normal use.
Negative points:
1. Short eye relief and eyecups are not adjustable for eyeglass wearers.
2. Not for use under adverse conditions since it is not waterproof.
I had her tried the Trooper half expecting that she will reject it right away because the Trooper is bulkier (it is more than 2.5 times wider and 2 times heavier) than the Outback. To my surprise she likes it very much. She said the view is brighter and wider and she can easily find the object she wants to see. After seeing the specs I can understand why she likes it. The Trooper is a wide angle binocular, its field of view is 143 meters at 1000 yards while the Outback is only 96 meters. The Trooper is brighter than the Outback because its exit pupil diameter is 5.0 mm compared to 3.1 mm and, of course, its objective lens are 60 percent wider than the Outback.
The drawbacks are: 1. the Trooper has a shorter eye relief compared to the Outback (12 mm vs. 18 mm). This means that I have to push my eyeglasses up and out of the way to use it. 2. It has no twist-up/twist-down eye-cups like the Outback. You have no option but to remove your eyeglasses because you cannot move the Trooper eye-cups out of the way by twisting the cups down. Since you can do this with the Outback, I wonder why Olympus does not use the same eye-cups design in the Trooper. My wife has no complain, though, because she does not use eyeglasses.
Positive points:
1. Wideangle view. Useful for tracking fast moving subject at short distance. Easier for novice users who are not accustomed to aim the binocular at the subject before looking through it. Wider view is also more suitable when viewing wide open scenery.
2. Price. Reasonably priced about $50. Similar size waterproof binoculars with high index prisms can easily cost 2 times as much.
3. Rubber coated body gives it a nice feeling when handheld. Note that this is not rubber armored. The thin rubber coating is for better handgrip and not designed to offer protection if the binocular is dropped.
4. Can accept tripod mount adapter, but the adapter itself is not included.
5. UV filtered, however, most good quality binoculars have this feature.
6. Limited lifetime warranty. Coverage is for normal use.
Negative points:
1. Short eye relief and eyecups are not adjustable for eyeglass wearers.
2. Not for use under adverse conditions since it is not waterproof.
