magikjaun from United States, CA Public Profile

I went on a quest to find the best 10x42 binoculars for $500. My friend has Monarch 7's I would be using for comparison, from reading reviews, feedback on forums, and manufacturer specs my list of 10 binos was narrowed down to 3. I ordered the Leupold BX4 as curiously it's made in Japan, the Frontier EDX which has consistent positive remarks, and this Cronus G2 as Athlon products have been making a very good impression with many of their products the last few years.

I set the diopter on all 4 binos and spent several days and evenings using them, this is a brief summary of my impressions:

4. Monarch 7 is good, it has noticeable edge blur but a nice bright image, it wasn't exciting to use.
3. BX4 has very good resolution, but it had the worst edge blur and narrowest FOV, really expected more.
2. Frontier EDX has very good image quality and coloring but wasn't consistent to the edge, handling is great.

1. Cronus G2 has distinctly better image quality with edge to edge clarity. Resolution, coloring, brightness and CA are all excellent. They're instantly impressive every time I look through them. Handling is great, the build quality is fantastic, and I really enjoy using them.

I've looked through several 20-60x80 scopes in the $600 range, and a 20-60x85 in the $900 range so I have an idea of what to expect in this category of scope. I mostly wanted a scope for casual astronomy, at 60x with those scopes Saturn's ring looks distinct but the images were rather lackluster.

I had read very positive comments of the image quality the Athlon Ares has, and I was about to order that to give it a shot when I came across the Endurance ED 25-75x85. I searched and only found one place that has reviewed this scope, and they highly praised it. The other two things that convinced me to try it is that it goes to 75x, and has a fine-tune focus.

I'm so glad I did, this scope's performance is incredible, for $700 it's an insane value and I scored it on sale for less than that. I suspect the next step up in performance comes at $1500, but for my type of casual use it's not worth spending that much. Handling it everything about it feels quality, it's also rather light for an 85mm, and the soft case is nice. I'm using it on a Vanguard VEO Pro tripod.

The image resolution and brightness are fantastic with 98% edge to edge clarity. During the day it's slightly dimmer around 50x, and then again only slightly dimmer to 75x. Keep in mind that at this mag level the exit pupil is a tiny 1.13mm. The entire zoom range maintains its edge to edge clarity, and the limiting factor in resolution is the atmosphere.

For astronomy, which is the main reason I wanted it, it's even bette