Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Review: GPO Passion HD 8x

GPO Passion HD 8x42: I got this glass for review by following the simple expedient of calling Mike Jensen and asking about one. There has been some information posted online about the formation of the GPO brand, and that got my interest. Since I note Doug and CameralandNY is a dealer, here is the review.

GPO is German Precision Optics. The company has two locations, one in Germany, founded and operated by Richard Schmidt, former President of Zeiss Sports Optics. Richard is an engineer by training and there is other engineering expertise there as well. GPO-USA is founded and operated by Mike Jensen, former executive with both Swarovski and Zeiss. The nuts and bolts of design and product specifications is done jointly by the German and USA operations. Manufacture is done in Japan, including prototype of the product. I think it far more than just probable that Kamakura is the Japanese source. This is however a separate business venture from Zeiss and is not a Zeiss spin off.

This is one of the very first few binoculars that GPO received for early examination purposes. While the binocular itself is unchanged from the first that will be sold, it came with some rather generic objective covers, and no box. Just a hard, zip style, clam shell case, with a strap for both the case and the binocular, and lens covers. There is a minimum of exterior markings on this unit. On the left barrel there is a metal strip bearing the inscription GPO German-Precision-Optics. The focus wheel has only Passion HD and 8x42. There is the raptor head and wing logo on the right side of the single high hinge, another small German-Precision-Optics and a serial number on the right hand ring, just above the armor.

Out of the box one of the first things that catch your eye is the excellent fit and finish, frankly just what should be expected from an instrument costing nearly $1,000. They are a solid instrument with a nice substantial feel. The second thing is that the eye cup assemblies have received a lot of thought. They don’t unscrew, they are supposed to, but these don’t, at least not with what force I am willing to apply to somebody else's binocular. From what I can tell the eye cups are not a generic, off somebody’s shelf assembly. They have a unique of feel. There are three stops, all the way down, midway up, and fully extended. They move easily and smoothly and you can both hear and feel the detent as it sort of “thunks” into place. They will stay where they are put. You will have to move the position, they show no tendency to move of their own accord.

The armor has two parts. The outer third, where your hands make contact while holding is a finely dimpled pebble grain finish that has a sandblasted feel to it. The rest is smooth, somewhat slick with a hard rubber feel. It seems a nice balance between enough grip to hold and not so smooth as to feel slippery.

Focus action: The focus action is an area that has received a lot of attention. This is as nice a focus mechanism as there is on any binocular, regardless of cost. The center focus wheel is pulled upward to expose the click stop diopter adjustment grid. It is a standard right eye adjustment. Snap it down and you have a soft, smooth counter clockwise to infinity movement. Focus direction is a no win situation. Either direction is wrong for somebody. This unit has a 6 foot close focus.

At the close focus point it needs one full turn to go to 50 feet. From there there are just slight bumps needed to get further away, There is about one quarter turn from 50’ to infinity. There is one quarter turn travel past infinity. Total focus travel is one and a half turns. Focus at infinity gives a close focus of about 75’.

The focus tension is equal in either direction. There is no slack in the wheel movement. If you like a buttery smooth focus, then this will suit you in that regard. However the downside is that there will be some tendency for the focus position to move when going in and back out of the case. I prefer a bit less silky movement.

PERFORMANCE:

FOV: This is listed at 375’. That is somewhat less than many binoculars, but the view does not feel restricted in any particular fashion. It has a wide sweet spot . There are no field flatteners used, but the resulting classical edge is well done and there is little distracting distortion present in the peripheral view.

There are a lot of factors that go into the ultimate user satisfaction with the image. Whatever was done with this binocular worked. My thought was that the listed fov had to be understated, it seemed to me at first glance there was a mistake in the spec sheet. However the first thing I checked was the fov, and it is 375’.

Worth noting is the appearance of the widening of the fov as the eye cups are retracted. Since I measured the fov at full extension, which is where I leave them, I checked the fov at the intermediate and down stops. Whatever the reason, there is no change. The same measurement at all stops. But it sure looks like the field goes wider.

Image performance: The image is crisp and clean. Sharpness is top notch. Whatever the resolution spec is, it is certainly as good as anything else and better than a lot of others. Not an issue here. Looking backward at a bright, white, lighted surface there seems to be a very slight yellowish tint. In usage the color presentation seems quite neutral. Contrast is excellent. Greens are green, reds red, blues blue, blacks are black and whites are white. Edges of color boundaries are very sharply defined. Textures of things like feather or fur detail, and bark and vegetation patterns leave little to be desired. Overall we have a very relaxed image, easy on the eyes. Easy in the vein you forget there is a binocular involved in the view. A characteristic of any good binocular.

There is little to no distortion across the field. Horizontal borders of horizontal corral boards stay horizontal in the view, all the way across the field, not bending at all as they either enter or leave either the top or bottom of the field. While there is some edge distortion it does not bend vertical lines at the edge. The apparent distortion is minimal and not distracting. A vertical mirror of the horizontal performance. While there is no particular attempt for a flat field, the more or less conventional edge is well done. There is a little curvature, as would be expected without field flatteners.

Eye cups and eye relief: The eye cups are pretty standard 41 mm across the uppermost portion. They are 12 mm high, There is 2 mm between the ocular lens surface and the fully retracted eye cup. There is 14 mm of distance between the fully extended upper eye cup and the ocular lens. Listed eye relief is 19.5 mm. I measured it at 17 mm. IPD is from 57-75 mm on this unit. While the extension of the eye cup matches the eye relief as I measured it, there is less extension than needed if the actual listed figure is correct. With either reading glasses or sunglasses I can get a full fov. But I am not an obligate eye glass wearer, so I can’t make a better recommendation.

Glare and CA Suppression: I have noted before that I am not particularly sensitive to CA. I can force it to appear, and I tend to judge its control levels on the basis on how hard it is to get it to appear. In this instance it is somewhat easier to get it to show up, but it always is at very low levels. I would suggest that it will not be an issue unless a particular viewer is really CA sensitive. I have as yet been unable to get it to show any sort of glare in the image, even with exaggerated eye placements. It has been a dreary wet, and dark gray few days, so I have yet to get a really bright day to look harder. However after I wrote the last sentence, the snow stopped falling and the clouds broke away. Even in the snow, looking under the bright sun, there was no glare.

Warranty and Service: GPO has trademarked the name “Spectacular Lifetime Warranty”. In description it is very Vortex or Leupold in application. Everyone is entitled to their market speak, and I’m fine with that. The idea is that GPO is going to take care of its customers. The proof is how well it works.

GPO USA has a repair facility of their own in Virginia. Binoculars in need of service or warranty work will be sent there. They will be repaired unless severe damage warrants replacement. These are a built to be a take apart and repair precision instrument. The throw away merchandise idea seems not to apply here.

Summary: What we have with this binocular is another very good example of what can now be done at the $1,000 price range. There is ample image quality, contrast, and sharpness to satisfy almost anyone. There is a solid build and rugged feel, while also presenting a pretty refined instrument.

I am not going to make the claim these are an Alpha Killer. They are not, nor I am sure, does GPO intend them to be a competitor at the $2,000++ level. That market niche is likely less than ten percent and it is not big enough to go after and the $1,000-1,200 range is where this glass is intended to compete. New companies will have enough problem without producing a $2,000+ binocular. It is also close enough the the top tier that there will be some level of perceived competition there, intended or otherwise. While not necessarily a killer, they do offer a serious challenge, these are good. The degree to which these will compare to a top tier is higher than many will ever be willing to admit. Another example to point that you don’t need to spend any more than this for a binocular. If you can’t find stuff with this, your problem is not the binocular.

The likely market shake up will not be so much to diminish the alpha class market segment, but will tend to challenge and rearrange some older mid range stuff that has remained largely unchanged for a while. Some sort of Darwinian selection is bound to occur.

This is good stuff and worth a look.
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Steve,

Per always, excellent and very thorough review.

Sounds like a fair amount of attention was given to the details with this offering.
It'll be interesting to see how the ED version plays out too - a lot of players in that price point.

I assume you've played with the Conquest HD - in your opinion, how does this one stack up against it?

The GPO and the Conquest are pretty similar and they are pretty different too. The GPO has a bit more of a premium feel and appearance, but you buy the thing to look through it. The image is pretty hard to separate. They do feel different in hand, just different, not one really better than the other.

I think the GPO has better eye cup assemblies. However I have not had them side by side for a decent comparison.

I'm dealing with a damned cold right now. There are a couple of Conquest on dealer shelves here locally, so when I quit coughing, In on taking a look.

Thanks for the review Steve. I love the closing line "The degree to which these will compare to a top tier is higher than many will ever be willing to admit. Another example to point that you don’t need to spend any more than this for a binocular. If you can’t find stuff with this, your problem is not the binocular."

Steve and Doug, I was reading the other GPO thread and it prompted me to ask about a comparison to the 8x42 Tract Toric. Would either of you, or anyone else, offer up a comparison to the Torics?

I have a Tract Toric on the way in 8x42. Should be a week or so as it will be from their newest shipment. I had a Toric 10x 42 for a few days but sent it back for some minor diopter issues. I'm hesitant to say anything unless I have had a representative sample to review.

The GPO will easily play at the level of the Conquest HD and above.

I will be very interested to see any comparison and appreciate you taking the time to do the initial GPO review

Thanks for the review. I have been considering a pair of the 8x32 Passions but I'm disappointed to hear about the focus wheel tension. I spend a lot of time stand hunting in thick areas and when I need to use my binos they need to come out focused. It seems that many manufacturers don't consider that aspect of use. It probably doesn't matter to bird watchers or someone sitting on a ridge glassing for game but to me it's a major PIA to refocus every time I pull out my binos. It would be nice to see a lock incorporated on the focus wheel to address this scenario but for now I'll have to try out any binos I buy in a brick & mortar store to make sure they have adequate focus wheel tension.