Compact binoculars: Steiner ultrasharp safari (or alternative)

[minds_eye]

Just wondering if anyone has the Steiner ultrasharp safari in 8x or 10x and how they are rated?

I’d like a small set of binos to chuck in my jacket pocket and forget about so weight and size are a big consideration. At the same time I’d like some decent glass.

It’s mostly for “what’s that bird over there”, “is that the gate”, “what does that sign say” whilst walking. At the same time, I’d like to just have them with me without having to think about it too much.

I tried a 6x monocular but it’s a touch underpowered for what I was after. I have a feeling ever compact binos are more pleasing to use for any length of time, though I wouldn’t rule out a better monocular.

Steiner ultrasharp safari seem to fit my criteria but any thoughts much appreciated.

 

[Janne]

Generally a 10x magnification is very difficult to hold still freehand.
A bit of bluriness is fine for general viewing, but I am not sure about detailed bird watching.

This scenario: you walk, see something in distance, stop, whip out binos. ( increased heartbeat due to walking) = 10x will shake.

8 x magnification is well enough. As you write, 6x is a little bit to weak.

I own a Zeiss Jena 10x 50, too heavy and shaky. Then a 10x 25 compacts, Bushnell. Use them on the boat for quick spotting. Shaky.
Then a 8x 25 Leica, and these are my favourites.

My hands are very steady, due to my work.

Why Steiner? (I know they are super quality, just curious)

Opticsplanet.com have usually good deals and are goid to deal with.

 

[minds_eye]

Ah, thanks for that. I’d heard high power would be shaky but thought 10 would be low enough. 8 sounds the way to go.

No reason on Steiner. The model seemed to be light and pocketable. I’m completely open to suggestions.

Thinking maybe something like this would be a good compromise.

https://www.bestbinocularsreviews.com/Opticron8x32DiscoveryWPPC-159.htm

 

[beachlover]

I’ve several pairs of bins, but they are a bit like cameras. The big DSLR, huge lenses and tripods will deliver the goods, but will you hump it all about and have it with you when you need it? I have a little pair of Leica Trinovid 8x20. Stunning clarity, with me in my coat pocket 90% of the time. The others tend to stay at home or in the car.

 

[greenshooots]

i have a pair of steiner 8x30 i have had for a couple of years excellent binos, light with good lenses picked up for a £100 ex military

greenshoots

 

[Wayne]

I have a Leica 8x25mm might be 35mm. They are top banana. Great in even low light. Superb optics. I have had then a while so no idea what they retail for but with optics you definitely get what you pay for.

 

[Robson Valley]

15X binoculars are common now with Image Stabilizing optics. They react far, far faster than you can twitch.
In any caseif the exit pupil is bigger than the pupils of your eyes that's wasted light.

For window shopping, you should cruise through the selection available at B&H Photo, New York.
There's nothing that you have to buy or sign up for. AND, there's at least 1,000 different binoculars to consider.

I bought a Nikon Prostaff 82mm 20x - 60x monocular. Big beast for a tripod to watch Mountain Sheep, miles away.
40X is a realistic practical limit. Has it's own spotting scope or you would never find anything.
From approx 5 miles away, I can tell you the color of a snowmobile but that's about it.
Consider a Mono.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Errr...he wants pocket size...to fit in a pocket. I imagine you'd look pretty strange with a set of 15x image stabilised binos crammed into a your shirt, jacket or trouser pockets, but not half as strange as you must look with a 20-60x82mm spotting scope stuffed in your trouser side pocket!

My recommendation would be to get out and start cruising camera shops and outdoor shows. Doing so I have had a chance to compare Leica, Zeiss, Swarovski, Steiner, Minox, and Kowa, all of which are top quality. It has been interesting though how they have differed in feel, weight, where infinity starts, how well they focus, image crispness etc etc. I found that being able to try several at the same time, switching from one to another was more educational than just trying one, then getting to try another on a different day.

I spent a lot more on my binos than the Steiner Safari Ultrasharp 8x30s (£186ish), but the process of comparison still holds true.

Personally I have Swarovski 8x25CL Pocket Binos, which I bought at a time that neither Zeiss nor Leica did pocket size 25mm. I have subsequently tried them side by side with the Zeiss Victory and Terra 8x25s, the Leica Trinovid and Ultravid 8x20s and the Kowa Genesis 8x22. Sadly I haven't been able to try all of those against each other. Before I bought my binos I shopped for a pair for my mum, ended up getting her ZEISS Conquest Compact 8x20, having tried Minox, Steiner, Leica and a very unsatisfactory experience with some £80 Nikons.

The Kowa were very nice and while I like my Swarovski, they are not perfect. Their focus wheel is loose and it isn't so easy to get precise focus. Leica focus wheels are much nicer, much more direct and easy to use, but certainly with the Ultravids they hit infinity at a fairly modest distance, noticeably closer than my Swarovski. They were also much lighter. The new Zeiss Victory were nice, but bulky with their off centre hinge. The Terras were noticeably less good optically, and felt light and cheap by comparison.

When I have looked at Steiner I have liked them, I think they are definitely worth a look. A friend of mine has some Hawke binos that he says are as good or better than his shooting buddies Swarovskis (not something I was thrilled to hear!), but the message is, don't assume the ££££ glasses are better than the ££.

The other thing I found was that there are a dizzying number of optic reviews out there by people on bird watching forums and the like. Some are very technical...just another avenue to look at for info.

Best of luck!!

 

[daveO]

I use an Opticron T3 Trailfinder 10x25 Monocular. I actually ordered an 8x25 via Amazon warehouse deals as it was basically half price but got sent the 10x instead. It was so cheap though that I kept it. For under £25 it's an amazing bit of kit, not a patch on proper bins, especially in low light, but the clarity is impessive and it's about as compact as you can get. As Janne says though it needs 2 hands to keep it steady sometimes but the 8x would probably be much better. I like the extra magnification though and you can focus one handed which is great when holding a dog lead or something in the other hand. .

 

[Broch]

You've defined what you want to use them for so may not be relevant but a lot of people forget to check the close focus distance. I use mine a lot for insect and butterfly identification that could be only a couple of metres away; lower cost bins don't usually focus that close.

 

[Janne]

Once you decided and bought the bino, invest in a good carrying case ( around the neck) or make your own pouch for your pocket.
I think that what is usually supplied these days is not protective or stong enough.

I remrmbered just, we have also a minolta compact sonewhere, I won it at a raffle. Also good quality.

I think most “wellknown’ name brands are pretty good these days, I have read several test the last couple of hours and the same known brands take the Top 10 all the time.

 

[baggins]

i'd really go with some of the advice above but, like with a lot of kit, you need to try before you buy. Outside and in overcast conditions for preference. I have a pair of Hawks which i love but my good lady doesn't get on with them at all. She went for some Deltas. With glass, you do get what you pay for but at £1k+ for some of the top brands, they are just a bit too much.
I did try a pair of Steiners a couple of years ago and they seemed to be a good Bino.
Alot of the WWT and some of the bigger RSPB sites have shops where you can try different ones (and some even do 2nd hand one for a fair price)

 

[Robson Valley]

I use an old 7x50 Pentax with broken seals, they do fog up in bad WX.
Spent some time with the professional guides & outfitters at Kettle River and got to try their Zeiss(?) and Leica binoculars.
You really, really do get what you pay for. Most noticeable was the brightness of the image.
You can put numbers to binoculars. Things such as exit pupil diameter and resolution, interpupilary distance, etc.
We were glassing a trophy grizz across a valley. I could see it OK. The guides could count the toes on each foot.

 

[Janne]

The difference was huge between cheap, then Leica and Zeiss. Even early (a1950's) Eastern German binos were good.
I think they worked with prewar glass and machines ( high quality stuff). It was the old factory in jena.
VEB Zeiss Jena.

Dad told me a simple trick to see how the optics were. Hold the binos at an arms length against the clear sky, and see in the ocular how the reflection looks like. Round - perfect. Not round (squarish or fuzzy) crap.
They used to test the issued binos in the Czechoslovak army that way. Failed test - back to shop for fixing.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Second hand can get you top glass at reduced price. I got a pair of 8x40 Leica Trinovid for £350 in 1998. They were an older model then and had been brought in for part exchange to Ace Optics in Bath (who are still there and was where I tried the Kowa recently). The current model at that time was £650+. Certainly some of the newer glasses are lighter than their predecessors, and coating tech keeps getting better, but I have never been sorry with that purchase, despite taking all the money I earned in a summer student job running CAD for a little engineering office. I only bought the Swarovskis three years ago so that I would have something lighter to take on trips.

 

[minds_eye]

Thanks folks. That's some good stuff to be getting on with. The point of close focus is a good one that I hadn't considered and something that would probably come in useful.

There are a few stores in Bristol so I'll have a poke around. Maybe also worth me looking out for a more powerful monocular for those grab and go type things.

 

[C_Claycomb]

If you head down to Bristol, not far from the A5 is this place. Well worth a visit. I got my Swarovski from them mail order, and a friend has been over to their store and recommended it.

Clifton Cameras
28 Parsonage Street
Dursley
Gloucestershire GL11 4AA
T: 01453 548128

https://www.cliftoncameras.co.uk/Clifton-Cameras-|-Contact-Us

 

[Robson Valley]

Monoculars. I never considered close-focus but I've been looking for it.
Sure. If you don't lug around a Nikin 82mm Prostaff scope,
you aren't looking at mountain goats across the valley as I do to entertain visitors..

Google B&HPhoto and do a little window shopping. Hmmmm?
They have 124 monocular scopes on offer.

 

[fenix]

Have a look at any local bird / wildfowl reserves, see if they have an optics retailer on site, or have one visit. Some offer trade ins so have 2nd hand stock, they are also great places to try out optical kit.

 

[Janne]

Mindseye, what did you get?