We’ve been impressed with the quality of inexpensive binoculars coming out of China these days – and these Eyeskey Captor ED 12x50s are no exception.
“The build quality feels good, nice and strong. I think they’d take a bit of a beating in the field,” says James Marchington. He likes the soft rubber armouring with its textured surface, giving a good grip in wet conditions.
“These weigh 870 grams which is not too heavy for binoculars with this spec. There are soft rubber caps for the lenses, and a good big focus ring that’s easy to adjust from either side.”
“The hinge moves smoothly but holds its position,” he adds. “Once you’ve adjusted the binoculars for the width of your eyes, it’s not constantly flopping out of position.”
And the picture? “It’s actually lovely. Crisp and sharp, but not so sharp they’re tiring to look through. I’m not seeing any chromatic aberration or colour cast, and the coatings on the lenses seem good, minimising any reflections that would degrade the image.”
The Captor EDs are nitrogen filled and sealed, and waterproof to the IPX7 standard. “All in all for just over £200 this is a very nice pair of binoculars,” James says. “We haven’t had time to give them a long term test, but I get the impression they’ll stand up pretty well to life in the field. For the price, they certainly seem like excellent value.”
To find out more or purchase at www.eyeskeyoptics.com/collections/captor-ed-series?ref=fstv
