Binnocular suggestions!!

mjb123

mjb123

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Hi, not seen a thread on here for binoculars so thought I'd pose the Q!!
I have a pair of bushnell 8x42 hto bin's and am wanting a new pair so I can give these to my wife to stop her from sharing them!
Wanting them for wildlife, compact, may be a bit more zoom if pos budget £150-200!!
Thanks
 
I will get shouted down by the exit pupil brigade, but if you can stretch to a pair of Canon 10x30 IS (£300ish), you will not look back. The IS makes any extra light from larger lenses in all but the most demanding of conditions redundant IMHO...
 
Neilptnms said:
I have 8x42 Leica's for twitching and can see why they cost so much tbh
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I use Leica Ultravids 10x42 which are top draw....with binoculars it is certainly true that you get what you pay for so if serious about bird watching or field craft buy the very best you can afford!
 
Not seen Leica bins! I'm assuming there quite expensive!
I don't need anything to professional as I don't sit in hides for hrs on end just want them for when out walking and when on coastal holidays taking in boat trips and such like!!
Binoculars seem a bit of a mine field so I'd better do some research!!
 
mjb123 said:
Not seen Leica bins! I'm assuming there quite expensive!
I don't need anything to professional as I don't sit in hides for hrs on end just want them for when out walking and when on coastal holidays taking in boat trips and such like!!
Binoculars seem a bit of a mine field so I'd better do some research!!
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Try to pick up a pair of used Nikon Monarchs ....they are a pretty good compromise of quality for value..:thumbs:
 
I upgraded my Bushnell 8x42 ( which my wife now uses) to a pair of Opticron Verano 8x42. I prefer the roof prism type and find them quite adequate for the birding I do which sounds much like yours. I think they are around the £250 mark now although I bought mine direct as "shop soiled" direct from Opticron.
 
Best advice is to try before you buy. Opticron discovery are a very good model and they are well within your price range. They also have new model out the Ed-x which some shops sell within your budget. Nikon action ex are a excellent binocular as well as the monarch that has already been mentioned. But if you can try them out first.

Gerard.
 
Teagan said:
Best advice is to try before you buy. Opticron discovery are a very good model and they are well within your price range. They also have new model out the Ed-x which some shops sell within your budget. Nikon action ex are a excellent binocular as well as the monarch that has already been mentioned. But if you can try them out first.

Gerard.
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Thanks for info Gerard, so are bushnell frowned upon in binocular world no-one seems to have recommended a pair, I no I already have a pair but they are nice to use and I no they do more professional models than the one I have!!
 
I do like the look of these Opticron bins!! Will have to try and find somewhere that stocks a good range!!
 
mjb123 said:
Thanks for info Gerard, so are bushnell frowned upon in binocular world no-one seems to have recommended a pair, I no I already have a pair but they are nice to use and I no they do more professional models than the one I have!!
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I wouldn't say they are frowned upon, Bushnell would have a higher profile over in the states whereas opticron, hawke and not forgetting the alpha binocular manufacturers would have a higher profile over this side of the Atlantic.

Bushnell are a very good manufacturer with some excellent bins. Opticron are very good as well, I have a couple of pairs of their bins and for your price range they make some excellent models. There are other manufacturers like zen ray and Pentax so there is a lot of choice out there.

As I said its probably best to try first as each bin suits different people. Personally I like opticron bins but then my main bin is a Minox :cuckoo: so the choice is yours.:thumbs:

Gerard.
 
More than anything else, personal opinions matter here. My wife uses a pair of 7x25 Olympus bins that cost c£50. 99.9% of the time she's happy with these. Very occasionally she borrows my 8x42 Zeiss bins when she wants the extra resolution, but this is very rare. The Zeiss cost 20 times the Olympus.

When I was looking to change my previous bins we looked at various ranges, Nikon, Canon, Bushnell, RSPB's own and lots more, I wouldn't swap because the improvement was miniscule and the price difference for a miniscule improvement was IMO not worth it. It wasn't until we got to the ridiculous expense of Leica, Zeiss and Swarovski that I perceived a significant improvement.

My recommendation would be to go to an RSPB shop, or a WWT reserve with an InFocus shop and try them. I strongly recommend to try before you buy.

Kev
 
SteveF said:
Try to pick up a pair of used Nikon Monarchs ....they are a pretty good compromise of quality for value..:thumbs:
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I have those. Super bright sharp image. All the lenses have flip off protective covers.
 
Yup, try before you buy. If you have a local large(ish) RSPB or WWT place nearby then they'll probably have optics days where you can check out a variety of bins.
 
Thanks all for input! I've found a place called lakeside optics near near which is by chew valley lakes so I shall pop in there and have a try!!thumbs
 
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