help me find some binoculars?

[MoonRise]

Re: recommendations on a nice set of binos

"... willing to pay for quality."

Try before you buy. What might be acceptable to someone else might not make the grade for you.

Also, the level of quality needed for a quick look at something is vastly lower than the level of quality need for long viewing of things.

If you want VERYGOOD binoculars, then you are pretty much looking at >$1000. Leica, Zeiss, Swarovski, those guys. Be aware that once you see how nice those uber-expensive binos are, you will be spoiled and will not want less. You'll have to decide for yourself if the price is acceptable to you.

The range in the $200-$600 ballpark can be pretty good. It can also be marginal.

Good binoculars are a joy to use. Not-so-good ones are literally a pain (in the eye-strain and headache that looking through them can cause).

 

[avusblue]

Re: recommendations on a nice set of binos

First off, there have been several past threads that addressed this topic with lots of wisdom, that unfortunately aren't accessible due to the system changeover. One thing I'll offer is my agreement that "once you try Image Stabilized, you'll never go back!" I have the Canon 15x50 IS and while they are pricey, they totally spoil you. Long distance observation, astronomy, birding, and aircraft spotting become an amazing pleasure when you can combine the punch of high power magnification with rock-solid stability. There's no way you could hand-hold 15 (or 18) power binos and have a steady image without IS. Before buying, I visited a local camera chain and compared the Canons with Nikon's "StabilEyes" IS binocs and found the Canons to be simultaneously better performing and lower priced. They are spendy. But if you buy them, the momentary sting of the purchase price will be offset by the pleasure of owning and using the best. (sound familiar??)

By the way, I bought mine from Amazon, who had as good a price as I found at the time. The local camera shop had arrogant yet clueless staff, smudged and and shopworn merchandise that had been overly demo'd and handled, and they wanted to charge full suggested retail price. Three strikes and you're out!

All that said, there ARE decent binocs available for $100 to $200 for starting out, and I can actually recommend the inexpensive CountyComm 7x50s as an affordable set that are far better than their "Beater" pricing would indicate. The Nikon "Action" and "Monarch" lines are good medium-priced binocs that are highly regarded (although I haven't owned those).

I recommend browsing the betterviewdesired.com site (which is primarily intended for birders) along with the Cloudy Nights forums at www.cloudynights.com -- which is sorta like CPF for astronomy equipment and has a specific forum for binoculars with an extensive Reviews section. Watch out though, because they have a similar fanaticism towards binos as we do towards flashlights . . .

Hope this is a helpful start. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Cheers,

Dave

 

[BruiseLee]

Are Simmons Binoculars Any Good?

I see these on sale cheap - I'm talking $20 for 8x40 binoculars, $15 for 7x35, $10 for the mini 12x25. Are these worth picking up, or are they junk?

At this price I'm definitely not expecting Steiner or Canon Image Stabilization quality, light gathering capability, sharpness, etc. I'm just wondering if they are good enough to throw into the bailout bag in the car, bring to football games, or to the beach for girlwatching.

So, should I save my money for a Swarovski, or are these usable enough for casual use?

Oh, I also see a 8x21 monocular on sale for $8.

Bruise

 

[Flying Turtle]

Re: Are Simmons Binoculars Any Good?

I've been using a Simmons monocular for years. It's seems to do fine, though I've never had a "high class" one to compare it to. Simmons has been around a long time, and I think their stuff is probably as good any others' in that price range. I've got some cheap Bushnell and Tasco binocs that perform on the same level as the Simmons monoc. The small Travelite Nikons (best thing I ever won in a drawing) are noticeably sharper and brighter.

Geoff

 

[revolvergeek]

Re: Are Simmons Binoculars Any Good?

Depends on what you expect from it. I have several cheap pairs of Simmons binoculars and Ram monoculars scattered around and they serve just fine for what we normally need them for. They are normally much better than the naked eye, but no where near as good as I higher end pair of 'real' binocs (Steiners for instance). The Simmons will normally let you see what you already see much better, but the Steiners will let you see things that you can's see (either from distance, haze, darkness, etc).

 

[RebelRAM]

Re: Are Simmons Binoculars Any Good?

I have several of their scopes and have always been very pleased with them. They aren't high end optics, but you do get a lot of bang for the buck with their products. I would assume that their binoculars are just as good. Get the 8X40. It's a good all around size for most anything. The 12X25 you will find are hard to hold steady. Sure it's nice to have a very small compact binocular set, I have a 10X25 Bushnell set and I really like the size, but I should have gotten an 8X25. The only other 10X I have is a set of 10X50 Bushnell. They are pretty bright and excellent for long range, but they are also very large. Most of the time though I find myself using using my 8X40's that were a Bass Pro Shop special for $25. I expected mediocre optics, but they are actually very good.

So for the deals you found on Simmons, go for it, they are definitely very affordable and for what you want to do with them, they should be perfect. Besides, everybody should have several pairs of binoculars for various things.

 

[MoonRise]

Re: Are Simmons Binoculars Any Good?

It's up to you to determine if they are "good enough".

The Simmons stuff is usually decent but not spectacular. But it's also usually 1/2 or 1/10 the cost of the high-end optics.

Beware that once you use a good pair of binoculars, the less expensive stuff has a hard time stacking up quality and image wise. Cheap binoculars are a pain (in the eyes or head), while good binoculars are a joy to use. The drawback is usually that good binoculars are a pain to the wallet (but only once).

 

[bjn70]

Re: Are Simmons Binoculars Any Good?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I had some cheap Bushness binocs that were barely adequate for me. I bought some Nikon binocs, something like 9x25 and something like $100, and have been happy with them for casual use. I bought a set of something like 8x21 a few years ago, when they were some kind of promotion for $10. They are only good for emergency use and too annoying to use if you really want to see anything.

You can buy pretty good binocs for $50-100 if you aren't a snob and if you remember the rules of binoculars-
1) Birdwatching "binocular snobs" (people who are snobs about binoculars that is) will complain about $1000 binoculars.
2) Porro Prism binocs are usually better than roof prism binocs of the same cost. (Porro prism means the binocs are a "Z" shape, roof prism means they are a straight tube.)
3) Binocs with "zoom" are almost always much poorer than similarly priced models with fixed magnification.

 

[BruiseLee]

Simmons Binoculars Mini-Review

I just bought four Simmons Binoculars so I thought I'd write a quick review for those of you who might be interested. I want to make it clear I'm no expert in the field of optics, so don't expect any technical or scientific tests.

Here are the four binoculars. The full size one is a a 8x40. The smaller ones are 12x25, 10x25, and the smallest is 8x21. The large black one is my dad's old 10x40 Agfa binoculars. They have to be at least 40 years old, but that's all I had on hand to compare them to. At least it was made in Germany.

O.K., the big 8x40 first. I like it! Its light gathering capability is definitely better than the old Agfa. A huge plus they have over the Agfa is their anti-fog coating. It was pretty cold by the time I got home to try these binoculars out, and the Agfas would steam up from the heat of my body almost immediately, rendering them almost useless. None of the Simmons had that problem.

On the down side, the focusing lever was very tight. It required way too much pressure to adjust. Also, the binoculars came with no neck strap. The leather one you see in the pictures is from the Agfa. It did come with a nylon carrying case, though.

Also, to me the woodland camo treatment seemed kinda half-***. I mean only a couple parts of the binocular is woodland camo, the rest is just black. But, since I'm not a Marine sniper, I can live with it.

A good bang for the buck. Good level of magnification without being too shakey. I think I'm going to use these a lot. They aren't Steiner's, but for non-critical work they are good enough.

These guys are obviously a lot smaller and easier to pack around. I found the 12x25 to be too hard to hold steady - it is my least favorite of the bunch.

The 10x25 is a good compromise between magnification and steadiness. It was a bit too loose when it came to adjusting the distance between the eyepieces. I also didn't find the extremely narrow nylon neck cord that all three smaller binoculars came with to be comfortable at all. Other than that it was fine.

The 8x21 was very compact and handy. It certainly wasn't as good as it's bigger 8x40 big brother for surveilance, but that's the trade off you pay for small size and weight. I found myself wanting more magnification, but it is still much better for viewing distant objects than the old MK I eyeball.

I'm sure there are much better optics available out there on the market. But, for the money I paid for them - less than $50 for all four! - I'm very satisfied.

 

[heathah]

Re: Simmons Binoculars Mini-Review

Nice review. I bet you bought these at SMKW didn't ya? I just bought a couple Simmons during their sale. They were a great deal.

 

[sotyakr]

Binocular Buying Guide

Here's a good resource for anyone shopping for a quality pair of binoculars. It's from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology so it's aimed at birders, but the info can be applied to binoculars for all-around use. There are rankings of everything from $25 budget binos to well over $1500.

 

[slind1]

Re: Binocular Buying Guide

Wow, great link. Thanks for the info.

Steve

 

[SolarFlare]

Re: Binocular Buying Guide

Interesting how they test the worlds finest leica and swarovski optics through a dirty canteen window :crackup:

 

[BruiseLee]

Re: Simmons Binoculars Mini-Review

Uh yes I did. :grin2: I wish I had bought more. All my friends and relatives are well equipted with flashlights and knives, and a pair of binoculars is something I figure everyone should have and would find useful. Plus, I would feel like a chump giving my friend's 10 year old daughters a pair of $500 Steiners.

Which models did you buy? What is your impression of them? Interestingly, none of my friends or co-workers seem to own a pair of binocular, so I really haven't been able to compare them to anything else.

 

[BruiseLee]

Re: Binocular Buying Guide

Good post Sotyakr! Where were you before I went on my four binocular buying spree?

Too bad they didn't review any of the Simmons binoculars I bought. I would have been very curious how they would have stacked up against the much more expensive competition.

 

[xochi]

Re: Binocular Buying Guide

Were there 'top picks" in each price range? I just scanned it quickly but didn't see anything.

Edit: I found em

 

[Josey]

Re: Binocular Buying Guide

It's too bad they didn't look at image-stabilized binoculars. That technology makes a huge difference.

 

[Numbers]

Marine Binoculars

Anyone here who knows if Nikon Marine binoculars are well regarded. Looks like about $350 buys the "sports & marine model with built in compass".
I dont want to spring for Steiners. So if anyone has any recommendations for a marine binocular, with built in compass, for $500 or less please post.
Thanks

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Re: Marine Binoculars

I wouldn't know about marine binocs, but I swear by Nikon!

I have an almost 10 year old pair of Nikon Lookout II that still amaze people!

Of course this doesn't mean you'll get the same quality this many years later.....

 

[elgarak]

Re: Marine Binoculars

I have the Nikon 7x50 Marine w/ compass, and it's an awesome scope. Great optics, long eye relief (great for us eyeglasss wearers), rubberized and ruggedized. My only critic: The strap is filled with rather stiff foam blocks, to act as flotation device if the scop falls into water. It's a little uncomfortable to wear, however, that's a very minor point. Funny flashaholic feature: A red LED illuminating the compass for night use.