Binocular Recommendation please

[IanT74]

Hi Everyone,

My father is to retire at the end of this year. He enjoys walking and birdwatching so I thought as a retirement gift I may get him a half decent set of binoculars. Budget is in the region of £200. If this is not realistic I am open to advice.

Can anyone recommend a set which he might take walking with him (so not too heavy). Also can anyone recommend a retailer too?

Many thanks for any suggestions.

Kind regards
Ian

 

[footman]

I've used Hilkinson for a few years and I'm very pleased.

http://www.claritas-online.co.uk/products/general_purpose_binoculars.htm

 

[Herb]

For budget binoculars, you can't go too wrong with Bushnells:

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/27955/show.html

 

[IanT74]

Thanks for these ideas, will take a look.

 

[salacalvet]

New on here and I have just been doing the same but for my wife. I settled on a pair of Opticron imagic 8.42. normaly about 350-400 but i found a pair of new ones on eBay and got them for 160.
Reason i settled on these are because she used a pair on a bird tour for a couple of days and they were fantastic. The guide lent them to her and she was super happy. The set was the model countryman 8.42 but I bought her the imagic as they are apparently a bit better.
You can get the Opticron country man on eBay as lots come up for under 200 and I found them superb when i used them.

 

[hollis_f]

If second-hand is OK then these are pretty good.

 

[clownfish]

There is lots of good infomation and advice here
http://www.birdforum.net/forumdisplay.php?f=112

 

[Tringa]

As you want them as a present this may not be possible, but the best way is for your Dad to try a few pairs and find what works for him.

If this is not possible it would be useful for you to try a few.

There are a lot good ones up to your price.

A couple to look at are Opticron and Delta, but there are lots of others.

There are two type of binocular -

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/webcontent/images/guides/Binocu-huh/porro-roof.gif

Roof prisms binocular tend to be lighter so are easier to use, but some people prefer the large size of the traditional binocular.

Resist the temptation to go for a large magnification (the first of the two numbers used to describe binoculars). I think 10x is the limit, any higher and holding them steady is difficult - well it is for me.

More important is the size of the objective lens (the second of the numbers). The bigger the lens the more light it collects and, as the light level goes down, it makes a difference. However, a bigger lens is heavier so its all a compromise.

Sizes such as 8x40, 8x42, 10x42 are probably the best to go for.

Hope this helps

Dave