Binoculars

squizza

squizza

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Any recommendations gratefully appreciated, as are any decent offers. :)

thanks in advance

sarah
 
That would depend on your budget !
Leica and Swarovski are good but they come at a high price.
 
Sarah

I have Leicas (but I have all the best toys ;)) but Bushnell and Viking do good binos on a budget.

The thing to consider is the light gathering ability and magnification (similar to aperture and focal length). Mine are 7x42 which means they magnify 7 times and have 42mm front optics. This is probably short of what most people would pick for birding and mine are for more general use, especially at dusk and dawn.

For general birding, I would recommend 8x or 10x (probably 10 if you have steady hands) and 42mm optics are a good option for a compromise between weight and brightness

Paul
 
The 10x50's I linked are mountable, but they can be handheld quite easily. Binoculars also get a lot of use in Astronomy which is where having them mounted comes in very handy, especially the larger bino's... 15x70's, 20x80's, 20x100's etc.
 
I just bought a pair of Minox ones for the GF as a result of trying loads out at the bird fair, they were £150 for 10x42 ones. Much better image quality than the other cheaper brands.

I use a set of Zeiss ones myself which are waterproof and armoured etc but they'd be out of your budget even secondhand unless you're very lucky
 
Whatever make you go for i'd stick to something like 8x32 or 8x42. That keeps them sensible size wise and 8x mag is plenty :)
 
paul_g said:
Whatever make you go for i'd stick to something like 8x32 or 8x42. That keeps them sensible size wise and 8x mag is plenty :)
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I'd agree with that, it's the 8x42s that I have not the 10x.
 
As with cameras, visit a decent retailer (camera shops often stock binos as well) and have a good look at and through the ones that are within your budget. If possible, be a bit flexible with budget - you might well find that a £110 pair feel and view a lot better than the £100 pair and you'll always wish you could have scraped that extra tenner from somewhere - after all, it's only a couple of pints or Starbucks coffees!

If there's a good army surplus type shop locally, have a look there - military optics are built up to a quality rather than down to a price.

I've always found that it's best to keep the ratio of the 2 numbers to around magnification (8) to 1/5 front lens diameter (40) so, 8 x 40 or 10 x 50 etc. This tends to give a reasonable compromise between weight and brightness.
 
Nod said:
I've always found that it's best to keep the ratio of the 2 numbers to around magnification (8) to 1/5 front lens diameter (40) so, 8 x 40 or 10 x 50 etc. This tends to give a reasonable compromise between weight and brightness.
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That ratio will give you roughly equivalent brightness, but weight will vary. The weight difference between 8x40 and 10x50 can be quite substantial.
 
I think 8x42 is the best all round spec. Good magnification and decent field of view, nice and bright, not too heavy.

The second number, ie 42, is more important than you might appreciate in the shop, as it comes into its own most when the light is low and your pupil is large.

Mine are Helios 8x42 and I think pretty good for £100. Particularly good if you wear specs, and they focus close too. Plenty of similar about though.
 
Hi Sarah

The Bresser/Meade 10x50's I have are excellent.
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as John says are really very good value :thumbs:

If you take a look in Aldi they are quite often selling these for virtually nothing, about £15 last time I looked but they are made by the same people and all the important bits are exactly the same, but have a different brand name on them :cool: I would suggest trying them out in the shop and making sure they're okay! ... Really can't go wrong :D
 
A couple of things to bear in mind... you want to make sure you get BAK-4 prisms (not BAK-7) they are better quality. You should be able to get that in both Porro (the normally accepted looking bino's with the angles in) and roof (smaller and lighter). I don't have a lot of experience with a wide range of bino's but the Meade/Bresser are bright and contrasty, Celestron seem less contrasty. I've been told to avoid Bino's with a Zoom as this degrades the IQ.

I'd also suggest having a look through the list at http://firstlightoptics.com/categories.php?cat=12
 
we've got olympus 8x42 - no idea how much they were, but very bright and clear and not fringing etc

*edit* model is EXPS I
 
i use oloticrondiscovery wp10x42 about £100 plus never let me down small and light

all the best mick
 
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