Seeking Binocular Advice...

[700club]

I am in the market for a set of binoculars but am not very knowledgable on the subject. Anyone able to point me in the right dierection? My current price point would be apprx. $100. and these would be multi purpose.

Thanks

700

 

[LumenHound]

Dr. Binoculars at Binoculars.com is an easy to follow set of very short (less than 1 minute) lessons that can help bring you up to speed on what you need to know in order to pick what's best for your needs.

 

[700club]

Very helpful, thank you.

 

[mightysparrow]

At $100, I would not buy roof prism binicolars (straight barrels). Buy porro prism binoculars (kinked barrels). Roof prism binocs required more prisms, and that induces a fuzzier image when it hits the eyes, unless the prisms include "phase correction" -- and that's going to cost money. More than $100.

I would also stick with a maximum power of 8x in a general purpose binoc. That will ensure your "field of view" (size of the area you see) is big enough to easily find what you want to see through the glasses when you look through them.

 

[bjn70]

I've got some Nikons, something like 9x25, that work pretty well. They are small and light but have good performance.

Stay away from zoom binoculars. You don't need magnification beyond 8 to 10 power, and zoom binoculars are way too fuzzy compared to regular binoculars.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I used to live about 10 minutes from Ellington Field. In the middle 80's to early 90's we got quite a bit of transiant traffic.

I have a pair of Nikon LookoutIII 10x50 that always amazed my buddies, especially at night for getting the numbers of Navy planes!

I think even back when I gave about $150 for them, but I have never EVER regretted it!

 

[fnmag]

PM has been sent

 

[CLHC]

Same recommendation by LumenHound regarding Binoculars.Com—

Also with said price range that you're approximating to spend, I'd stick with the Nikons as the others stated above and add to that the Leupolds.

Hope you find what you're looking for and Enjoy!

 

[elgarak]

+1 on Nikons. All my last ones were of them, no regrets.

If you don't mind the size, the standard recommendation should still be a 7x50. Pretty wide field of view, best low-light capability. Nikon has one <$100. Large, though.

For more compact, I have a 10x25. Could be had for about the same price as the 7x50, if you don't need anything like watertight.

 

[MicroE]

Three quick pieces of advice:
1.) Search on "binoculars" in this forum because this topic has been discussed before.
2.) Look into a Chinese manufacturer named Barska at barska.com They make low priced binocs with reasonably good quality.
3.) There are NO great binoculars under $100US. In optics, cost is definitely related to quality. If you look through a pair of expensive binocs (i.e. Swarovski, Zeiss, high-end Japanese brands), you will see the difference.

 

[tomcat017]

Ditto what mightysparrow and bjn70 said: for under $100 stay far way from roof prism designs, zoom binocs, and don't go much higher than 8X. You might also want to check for reviews at bird-watching sites. They have tons of experience with the type of binocs that your looking for...good luck!

 

[cdf]

Bass Pro Shoppes has Steiners , at very attractive prices . Stieners are in the same ball park as the top European brands . Nikon and Pentax are among the best for bang for buck . Do not cheap out , binocs are potentially a lifetime investment . You are looking for brightness , clarity , and resolution - prefferably in the ruggedest possible envelope . It's not about magnification , a top quality 8x trumps a POS 10x .

The 8x22 Stiner predator I got from Bass Pro set me back a tad over $100 Canadian , so would be a bit over 100 US .

Bushnell has sadly tanked in quality in recent years .

Chris

 

[Flying Turtle]

The sharpest and brightest ones I have are probably the same as bjn70 mentioned. They are Nikon Travellite II's. 9x, I think. Best thing I ever won in a drawing.

Geoff

 

[polymath]

I have the Nikon 8x25 Travelite V.

$74 from B&H Photo, lightweight, good image quality, and great for EDC.

 

[700club]

Thanks for the help guys, I have it narrowed down to Nikon Action or Leupold Yosemite. Both are at the $100 price point.

Thanks Again Everyone

 

[700club]

Just wanted to add I purchased a pair of Nikon Action 7x35 for $69 @ Bass Pro Shops. These binoculars got great reviews and I am very happy with them. Thanks again everyone for the help.