Binocular reccomendations

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Glosfisher

Tenderfoot
Feb 22, 2007
92
0
60
Cotswolds
I've used a pair of Bushnell Natureview Birding series 8x30s for 8 years now. They had a fair brighter image than the Bausch & Lombs and Leitzs we also looked at. They've withstood an enormous amount of punishment over the years. They still, for instance, regularly regurgitate New Brunswick sand from the day we spent watching 750,000 migrating Semi-Palmated Sandpipers being harried by Peregrin Falcons whilst we were eaten alive by mosquitos. They've been dropped on a number of occasions and have got soaked and frozen and are still in focus.

For years you couldn't get them over here but I see a number of internet dealers do them so I suspect you could find them in the shops for around £70
 

ol smokey

Full Member
Oct 16, 2006
433
2
Scotland
I would suggest the same as many others to go for 8x42 because they are not too bulky,
They give a reasonably wide field of view, so if what you are looking at moves, you have a chance of keeping them in view. They give a reasonable light gathering power for dawn and dusk without going into silly prices ." Roof prisms" ( that is the narrow parallel ones)
appear to give better light gathering than Porrow prisms for the same specification.

If you go above 8X say to 10X you will find that the shake of your hands if not braced on something will also be magnified, so that detail in the image is lost. Like the eye stripe in some birds, which may make identification difficult. Your magnification 8X should go into the object glass size 5 times minimum for better light gathering 8X40 means that the amount of light reaching your eye is 5mm in diameter the same size as your pupil.
8X42 gives you that little bit extra at dusk. My current favourites are Bushnell Roof prism
"Excursion" model 8X28 which I find are better than the Bushnell nature view.
The Excursion model costs about £1.20 if I remember correctly. however I would like to go for the 8X32 or 42 but cant afford to buy any more as I keep replacing each model with better ones and no-one wants second hand models.
What I would say finally is go for the BEST YOU CAN AFFORD, you will regret it if you dont. There is nothing more frustrating than have someone beside you seeing things you can't. After all it may be a once and only purchase and it will last you for life.
The thing is you think the ones you have are fine till you see through a really expensive pair and realise just the difference in quality you get for the extra money My final word is do not go for zooms.
 

Jambo

Forager
Jul 21, 2007
114
0
U.K.
I bought recently an opticron 8 x 42 BGA monocular

http://www.jessops.com/Store/s71322...n/10x42-WP-BGA-Monocular-(30441)/details.aspx

It's waterproof, shockproof, has excellent optics and is relatively cheap. Standard price £148-150, if you shop around you can buy them for £120.

I only use one eye because it's a strong master, so bino's are a waste of time really for me and this is opticron monocular is amazing. I use good quality optics and have done professionally for years and this is one of the better priced excellent models that I've used. (usually a buyer of high end optilyth gear).

So far it's been in the canoe, used in rain, fog, low light watching otters, red deer, badgers, eagles etc and I'm so impressed by its clarity, weight and conveniance by being half the weight and size of bino's. I'll do a review soon I think. You can even buy an add on scope converting it to a x 20 mag or so, but I don't think that would be any good unless it was really bright. Next time you see one instore try it out, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

WS

I've been umming and ahhing about one of the Opticron Monoculars for a while now, I'll keep an eye out (no pun intended!) for that review.

It's my birthday next month and swmbo's been asking me what I want...
 

daved

Forager
Aug 1, 2005
126
0
London
Just back from a great trip and thought I would give some feedback on our experiences.

Binoculars of some type are essential if you want to make the most of a safari trip and you really need a pair for each person. I was very surprised to find that we were in the minority for both taking binoculars with us. Our guide said that he has even heard of clients not even bothering to take a camera with them and just using a mobile phone!

Due to some unforseen circumstances, our shopping was very last minute and we were not able to make the most of the advice you all gave me. I hope nobody is offended.

My wife bought a pair of Nikon 8x25 roof prism binoculars from John Lewis, which were alright. I paid a visit to microglobe in London, who were mentioned in the thread. They have a really good selection on their website but the shop itself is a bit of a shambles and the staff clueless - call ahead if you are thinking of visiting. They didn't have any models at 8x32 or x 36 in stock and the x42 ones were out of our price range. I tried a couple of pairs there, and the best at a reasonable prices were Bushnell Powerview 8x25 porros, which I thought were surprisingly bright and clear and also very light (cheap too - £35).
The comments that at the cheaper price points porros are better value than roof prisms certainly seemed to be true and the pair I chose outperformed more expensive roof prism models by the same maker.

I was a bit concerned about 8x25 being too dim but this did not prove to be the case - they performed very well, even in lower light. Sure, bigger would have been nicer. Where they did fall down was in the reduced field of view - it took a while to hunt down the target, especially when searching for birds in branches.

Weight and bulk were more important than I expected - it was no trouble to keep the binoculars with us all the time and they were easy to slip in to day-sacks/ hand luggage along with cameras etc.

Roads are very very bumpy over there and everything takes a bit of a pounding. I would really recommend choosing models with some sort of armouring - my pair took a couple of big knocks while I was trying to protect my camera.

Kenya can be very wet, so it might be worth looking for waterproof models - ours weren't but we didn't have any problems.

The trip itself was excellent and we got to see lots of wildlife and meet some interesting people. I can really recommend a safari to anyone who gets the opportunity. Will try to post some photos once I have sorted through them.

Thanks again for your help
Dave
 

Barn Owl

Old Age Punk
Apr 10, 2007
8,245
5
58
Ayrshire
Glad to hear it was a good safari Dave,
looking forward to pics

Tom.

P.S.
I'll do a wee review of the Hawke Endurance 8x32 I recently bought soon.
(excellent bushie bins).
 

tommy the cat

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 6, 2007
2,138
1
55
SHROPSHIRE UK
Try Strathspey on ebay got a pair of 10 x50 which are large but they do a tripod mount for them in some ways the 8 x 42 they do would be better suited to me as more compact.
Magikelly does a good review on SOTP in the kit chatter.
£70 I think delivered great optics and the 50's I get more time at dusk.....but heavy to hold.
Dave
 

swyn

Life Member
Nov 24, 2004
1,159
227
Eastwards!
Have a look at Monk optics.
I have a pair of 7 x 50's in a similar shape to the old type of Zeiss bins. They are rubber coated, nitrogen filled, waterproof and come with a 10 yr guarantee. The modern version are called Artemis.(without the compass)

www.monkoptics.co.uk

Can't remember the price now as I've had them for nearly eight years and they have taken much abuse and regular soakings in salt water.

Swyn.

PS I've just looked on the website. Mine are the Argonaut 2 with compass. Fantastic clarity!
 

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