OK, most of this post is observations from yours truly, marcomo. But Dave's name carries quite a bit more "gravitas" than mine so he gets the title!
Going straight to the horse's mouth, no offense Dave, here's what Dave Johnson has to say:
"In terms of performance and response characteristics, the O8 and F5 are very similar. If you do a lot of searching in All Metals, the F5 would probably be the preferred machine on account of its separate threshold and gain functions...The real differences are in the user interface and mechanical package." Dave went on to say that, because of the interface and features, the Omega just clicks with him the way the other detectors have not.
So the O8 and F5 were designed to be very similar performance-wise. But designed to be and real world aren't always the same, so I totally believe a talented dirt fisher like Lawrenzo when he says that the O8 works better in his area of California. After all in different areas of the country, we are talking about different ground conditions and different atmospheric conditions. Not to mention different hunting preferences from one person to the next.
Mike Hillis, who regularly uses the F5 and has done extensive field testing with the O8, prefers the F5. Not because of performance, which he found to be very similar in his area, but because of the features and interface (notably the separate gain and threshold) on the F5.
I've used the F5 for the better part of two years and really like the detector, but have not used the O8. So I can't shed any light on the performance debate.
But based on my experience with the F5 and things I've read about the O8, I think I can safely say the Omega has improved on the F5 in the following areas:
1. Battery compartment - the F5 has a couple rinky dink little pieces of plastic that hold the 2 9V batteries in place
. You have to be very careful to push the batteries down hard while you're moving them forward to remove them. If you don't, you can easily break one of those plastic pieces like I did. I'd never recommend off-brand batteries anyway, but with the F5 it's especially important, because you don't want a cheap Chinese junk battery that is a fraction too big in there or you risk breaking one of the little pieces of plastic that holds the batteries in place when you replace the batteries.
2. Cramped interface - the F5 has the controls just a smidgen too close together in a way that the O8 from the looks of it does not. I swing left-handed and always wear gloves when I hunt, and several times I have accidentally changed the gain knob, lowering it without realizing it. It doesn't happen often, but enough that I've considered putting an o-ring on the gain knob. With a right-handed swinger, I would imagine it's the threshold knob that accidentally gets changed.
3. Ergonomics with the 11" DD coil - the F5 ergonomics with the stock 10" concentric are excellent - light, well-balanced and effortless. The 11" coil is the same killer DD they make for the F75, 70 and O8. It improves the detector performance, but detracts from an ergonomic standpoint. With the 11", the F5 feels slightly bottom-heavy and unbalanced. Not a major problem, but enough to be noticable. The F5 was no doubt designed to be used with the 10" concentric, someone at FT probably said we've got this great 11" coil, let's make one compatible for the F5 when we get around to it. It was over a year after the release of the detector before the 11" and 5" DD coils became available.
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Going straight to the horse's mouth, no offense Dave, here's what Dave Johnson has to say:
"In terms of performance and response characteristics, the O8 and F5 are very similar. If you do a lot of searching in All Metals, the F5 would probably be the preferred machine on account of its separate threshold and gain functions...The real differences are in the user interface and mechanical package." Dave went on to say that, because of the interface and features, the Omega just clicks with him the way the other detectors have not.
So the O8 and F5 were designed to be very similar performance-wise. But designed to be and real world aren't always the same, so I totally believe a talented dirt fisher like Lawrenzo when he says that the O8 works better in his area of California. After all in different areas of the country, we are talking about different ground conditions and different atmospheric conditions. Not to mention different hunting preferences from one person to the next.
Mike Hillis, who regularly uses the F5 and has done extensive field testing with the O8, prefers the F5. Not because of performance, which he found to be very similar in his area, but because of the features and interface (notably the separate gain and threshold) on the F5.
I've used the F5 for the better part of two years and really like the detector, but have not used the O8. So I can't shed any light on the performance debate.
But based on my experience with the F5 and things I've read about the O8, I think I can safely say the Omega has improved on the F5 in the following areas:
1. Battery compartment - the F5 has a couple rinky dink little pieces of plastic that hold the 2 9V batteries in place
. You have to be very careful to push the batteries down hard while you're moving them forward to remove them. If you don't, you can easily break one of those plastic pieces like I did. I'd never recommend off-brand batteries anyway, but with the F5 it's especially important, because you don't want a cheap Chinese junk battery that is a fraction too big in there or you risk breaking one of the little pieces of plastic that holds the batteries in place when you replace the batteries.2. Cramped interface - the F5 has the controls just a smidgen too close together in a way that the O8 from the looks of it does not. I swing left-handed and always wear gloves when I hunt, and several times I have accidentally changed the gain knob, lowering it without realizing it. It doesn't happen often, but enough that I've considered putting an o-ring on the gain knob. With a right-handed swinger, I would imagine it's the threshold knob that accidentally gets changed.
3. Ergonomics with the 11" DD coil - the F5 ergonomics with the stock 10" concentric are excellent - light, well-balanced and effortless. The 11" coil is the same killer DD they make for the F75, 70 and O8. It improves the detector performance, but detracts from an ergonomic standpoint. With the 11", the F5 feels slightly bottom-heavy and unbalanced. Not a major problem, but enough to be noticable. The F5 was no doubt designed to be used with the 10" concentric, someone at FT probably said we've got this great 11" coil, let's make one compatible for the F5 when we get around to it. It was over a year after the release of the detector before the 11" and 5" DD coils became available.
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