Mono/ binos, which one?

[Ph34r]

Hi,

I recently decided that i would keep my monocular for my marines work, so i thought that i should buy a different set for my bushcraft. I was thinking that binos are generally good, but take up a fair space. Does anyone have any examples of a good, compact set of binos, or a good monocular, seeing as it has been a fair whiile since i purchased my last ones, and i guess the market has changed.

Thanks,
Ph34r

 

[Shewie]

I read an interesting review on Hammockforums last night about the Brunton 10-30x21 Echo Zoom monocular.

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14252

 

[Ph34r]

Thanks, looks great. The only problem is that amazon.com are one of the only sites that stock it, and that would present a problem with delivery. When i was shopping around I saw this and wondered if anybody could give me an idea of the quality/suitability.

Ph34r

 

[Cael Nu Mara]

I would not buy a zoom pair, unless they are of top quality. Tbh I would recomend a pair of 7x42 or 8x42 maybe 10x42 for Bushwork and hunting. With bins you must balance weight/low light ability. A pair of 7x42s IMO (bearing in mind I use binos pretty much all day everyday) are very hard to beat. If you want a smaller set than that look at 8x32, but bearing in mind they wont be as good in low light conditions. Price makes A LOT of difference in Binoculars, how much do you want to spend. For a decent set I would say £350 to start with. Leupold are a good set at that sort of money, and have a lifetime warrenty. IMO once you get up to the likes of Leica, Ziess and Swarovski you cant really tell the difference. Its really down to personnal prefernace, go down to you local gunshop (or quality camera shop) and ask to try models as late in the day as possible, as this will be as close to "real" settings as you will get.



Hope this helps

Sam

 

[Doc]

I'd agree with Sam's comments.

An awful lot depends on what you want to do with it, and how much do you want to spend.

I've got a Docter 8x21 folding monocular that's a modern version of the old Zeiss Turmon. It's tiny, but around £100, and not waterproof.

In low light a bit more glass is good. I like my Russion 8x30 porro monocular - essentially it's a copy of half of the classic 8x30 Zeiss Jena binos. Ony cost a tenner or so. Like most Russian glass it has a slight yellow cast that improves contrast.

In low light, a 40mm or bigger objective is better, and binos outperform monoculars. I use Zeiss 8x42 FLs, but the price is scary. However £150 will get modern 8x42 waterproof phase coated roof prism binos from a good Chinese or Japanese manufacturer, that gives you 80-90% of the image quality for 15% of the price of the Zeiss. You can get similar roof prism monoculars for a little less.

For long distance daytime use (like stalking red deer) a draw telescope is nice. I used to use a Russian 20x50 Turist 3 (about £30, fantastic optics for the money. I replaced it with Gray 25x 50 which is THE draw telescope, with Schmidt and Bender lenses, but they're £1200 new. The narrow field of view means it takes practice to use though.

 

[myotis]

Does anyone have any examples of a good, compact set of binos, or a good monocular, seeing as it has been a fair whiile since i purchased my last ones, and i guess the market has changed.

It really does depend a tremendous amount on how much you want to spend.

Top end compact binoculars are going to cost you around £400 and top end binoculars over £1000, but you don't need to spend that to get a "good" pair of binoculars, either compact or full size.

It also depends even more on what you want them for.

As a professional user of binoculars I have used 8x56, 8x50 and 7x42 binoculars, but these are generally heavy and bulky compared to alternatives, and wouldn't be my first choice to carry along with bushcraft kit. It also weirdly depends on your age, for the ability of your pupils to dilate declines with age so the extra light gathering power that these binoculars provide is potentially wasted. Different binoculars are also better or worse if you wear spectacles.

My main binoculars now are Zeiss 7x 42s, but Leica, Swarovski and Nikon all make top binoculars.

My carry in my pocket binoculars are these 8x28s and I'm very pleased with them http://www.acecameras.co.uk/asp/web/ph/cat/prodtype/1291/prodtype.asp.

A little bulkier than the most compact of binoculars, but a lot more comfortable to handle than my better halfs Zeiss 8 x 20s

I bought them after buying ten 8 x 32s (the non magnesium version, which are no longer sold) for student use and they still look like new after 7 years of student use and abuse.

I also have one of these small monoculars which has a reasonable angle of view and focuses very close to see dragonflies and butterflies. It lives in my jacket pocket so I always have it with me.
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-opticron-close-focus-6x16-roof-prism-monocular/p15363

Graham