Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • Pocket Binoculars
  • Merak
    Full Member

    I’m off touring on Jura/Islay shortly and I’d like to have some bins for stops.

    Money is an issue! I realise bigger is better but could you recommended me some?

    Ive never had binoculars in my life!

    BillMC
    Full Member

    I got some Barr and Stroud, Sierra, 8 x 24, to take on a drive round southern Africa. They provided sterling service.

    Merak
    Full Member

    Excellent, will check them out.

    BoardinBob
    Full Member

    I know nothing about the technical ins and outs, but I got these as a present a few years ago and they are excellent. I can spy on people miles away

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pentax-10×21-UCF-R-Binoculars/dp/B0001W1CXG

    nbt
    Full Member

    Go to a local shop and try them out. different bins suit different folks. If money is no object then swarovski 8*25CL, but since it is the you will be making compromises. I’ve got a couple of pairs of cheap 12*25 binoculars from Aldi, they were £10 and are great for the money, but the small objectives (25mm aperture) and high magnification (12*) means the image is quite dark. There’s a huge leap in quality when I check out the same view in my “good” pair, they’re “only” 8*42 so the magnification isn’t as high but the image quality is sooo much better – but then they cost a LOT more. I spent an hour in a shop around dusk (4pm-ish in winter) trying out different binoculars in low light conditions to see if I wanted to spend swarovski money or not. I decided that swarovski were indeed far better, but not twice the price better – but the pair I bought did justify the price increase over the cheaper ones. I use mine quite a lot for birdwatching though

    chorlton
    Free Member

    Got some Opticron Vega 8×25 free when I joined the BTO (not on offer at the minute) a few years ago and they were great. Had them as my only pair for quite some time till I dropped them. Can be had for about £50 on Amazon.

    wysiwyg
    Free Member

    7day shop get excellent reviews iirc

    willard
    Full Member

    I got one of these (http://www.vortexoptics.com/category/solo_rt_monoculars and it worked well when I went to the Western Isles last year.

    BigButSlimmerBloke
    Free Member

    Bigger isn’t always better it depends on what you wnat to do.
    How much of an issue is money? I have a pair of these which I keep in the car and for what they they’re excellent, small, cheap, surprisingly bright and clear optics for 8×21
    Pentax bins
    Not much more gets you these, bigger apertures which would give a wilder field of view and brighter image. Not used them but Olympus is quality stuff on the camera front so I can’t see the bins being kak
    Olymous bins

    Ran up to £100 on the wex web site but couldn’t find anything else to recommend but dd find these at £110. 12*50 is probably a bit heavy on the magnification v aperture front, but of magnification is what you’re after, Pentax is optically good kit IME
    Pentax bins again
    BTW, I used the wex site deliberately, may be not the cheapest but I’ve always had a positive experience dealing with them

    Merak
    Full Member

    I appreciate all the feedback. I’m really looking for something compact for the bike.

    Some excellent suggestion’s. Keep them coming!

    globalti
    Free Member

    You can buy a monocular, which is half of a binocular. Useful if you want compact and lightweight.

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