Zeiss bins under 100 quid

[Bladeophile]

Not sure I'm in the right slot here, so apologies anyway.
Been looking at how to get high quality images of nature on a budget. My budget was up to 100 pounds. Been trying various pieces of equipment over the years either cheapo bins or monoculars. I say cheap but the last 50mm monocular cost me 56-00 quid and delivered images well below par.

But there is a solution for those willing to compromise. I bought a pair of ordinary looking Zeiss Jena DDR 10x50's on ebay for 99-00 and have been blown away by the results. Optically they outperformed a pair of Steiner bins at 300-00 so I got a full refund. But I had to sacrifice waterproofing, size, weight, eye relief and general ruggedness along the way. But if you don't wear glasses and you think you can nurse a pair of yesteryear bins out in the wild (as previous nature lovers were doing for decades anyway in all weathers), then I recommend a look at these rather old fashioned porro prism bins.

Lugged them around Indonesia and Malaysia and were a total joy to use. So basically, for those who don't have many hundreds, if not thousands of pounds to spend, but still want a piece of the action, and you're not a slave to fashion then this route could be for you.
Final word. Do some research on the product. Don't just buy. Most successful formula's have been copied in one form or another.

 

[mark.177]

the 8x30's of the same are just as nice only much more compact... and have an 8.5 degree field of view! i've had several sets of them. im using a pair of russian 8x30's with independent focusing eyepieces as a rough set as are weather resistant and built like tanks... optics are a joy! paid £20 for them

 

[Goatboy]

I'm with you on the quality of Zeiss bins. In recent years I've been using a Viking 35x50 spotting scope as it was much lighter that the bins I got on my 18th birthday. Recently started carrying them again as I bought a carry case from Midnighthound and what a revelation it's been.

They're a pair of old Carl Zeiss Jenna 8x50b rubber armoured jobs which I saw recently go on Ebay for around £550 which is not bad for a pair of bins nearly 27 years old.

As a company they made some seriously good kit which outstripped most competitors around at the time, and though heavy it does make them dammed robust as mine survived years in a forestry landrover. I've fallen in love with them again and am totting them around and seeing so much more with them.

 

[tombear]

Just about every charity shop I go into has a pair of binocs in them these days. A lot are rubbish but never paying more than a tenner I've got everyone in the family a pair of decent big frame 50mm objective jobs ( so they not use mine ) and the nicest I've kept for myself, replaced the diddly little Praktika sports that the lads wrecked for me for £7.50, absolutely minty when I got them and my favourite pair is a pair of Carl Zeis Jenna 8 x 30W s that were £5 as they were smaller than the plasticky Chinese ones that were £10. That's my kind of pricing policy!

Best of all functionally they didn't cost me owt as someone in Italy paid me £80 on eBay for some old Swiss Zeis 8 x 30s I'd got also for a fiver in a old 37 pattern case that had been reprinted a tan brown so was probably, but only probably as there were no German Stamps on it, a piece of booty brought back from WW2.

Anyroad the moral of the story is charity shops are worth a look, especially if you have a iPhone and can google the make and model before you part with cash. They can do with your money and with the Internet you can quickly look up if they are any good or what to look out for, if certain bits fail etc. one thing I have noticed is that the poor quality ones, even if they are good cosmetic copies of respected brands always have cheap nasty slings and cases. It's not in fallible but its a clue and should make you more wary.

atb

Tom

 

[pieinthesky]

I have a pair of Zeiss Jena 8 x 30s I picked up at a charity shop. Paid £20 and they are in very good nick. They can go for silly money on E-bay.

Also have a pair of Russian Gnus which are so rugged they have survived about 5 years living on the floor of the car - no case or lens caps. They still work fine but are not as good as the Zeiss pair and have a yellow tinge.

 

[petrochemicals]

I have a pair of Zeiss Jena 8 x 30s I picked up at a charity shop. Paid £20 and they are in very good nick. They can go for silly money on E-bay.

Also have a pair of Russian Gnus which are so rugged they have survived about 5 years living on the floor of the car - no case or lens caps. They still work fine but are not as good as the Zeiss pair and have a yellow tinge.

Try cleaning them the yellow should improve.!

 

[ged]

I picked up a pair of 8x40 from Oxfam for four quid.

They see more use than anything else because they stay on the kitchen table where they're handy to look at the bird feeders in the garden.

As they only cost a few quid I don't mind if they get covered in dough, jam, or tomato sauce...

 

[ged]

I have a pair of Zeiss Jena 8 x 30s I picked up at a charity shop. Paid £20 and they are in very good nick. They can go for silly money on E-bay.

Also have a pair of Russian Gnus which are so rugged they have survived about 5 years living on the floor of the car - no case or lens caps. They still work fine but are not as good as the Zeiss pair and have a yellow tinge.

Try cleaning them the yellow should improve.!

The yellow might be discolouration of the optical cement holding the prisms to the lenses.