Vortex Crossfire

Price £179 • Weight 924g • Extras Wide, padded neck strap; tethered objective caps and rain-guard; lightly-padded fabric case Supplier First Light Optics • Tel 01392 791000 • www.firstlightoptics.com

The Vortex Crossfire is a good example of how modern manufacturing processes have narrowed the gap in optical quality between Porro and roof prism binoculars of similar prices. The 6.1° field of view is on a par with the Porros and flat enough that we could keep Albireo split into two components over the central 90 per cent. Colour rendition was excellent; not only do the deeply coloured stars seem vibrant, but the subtle differences between similarly coloured ones are easily visible as well.

The focus is smooth and precise and the short-hinge design leaves more room for your fingers, making these binoculars very comfortable to hold. There is enough eye-relief to allow you to observe while wearing spectacles. The objective lens caps are tethered to the screw in the adaptor bush in the hinge, so they become untethered if you mount the binoculars. Apart from that, the only other niggle is the high minimum interpupillary distance (IPD: 60.5mm), which is an inevitable feature of the roof prism design used for 50mm aperture.