MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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any recommendations - prefer to keep the size down but know nowt about them.
TIA
Nikon.
Depends on money; I did a ridiculous amount of research for Pop a few years ago; small, lightweight, clear without ridiculous magnification.
I got totally lost in a world of google; took me weeks to get out.
Bought Canon in the end; I understand Nikon are also good, but I think the people that make the crystal stuff are up there amongst best(Swarskoski?)
Edit: Swarovski!
Opticron are good hawke are also worth alook depends on your budget really
answer a question with a question..
how much can you spend.. what do you want to use them for..
Just stand closer to the item you wish to view.
Barr and Stroud are very impressive for the money .. beautiful clear optics.
Minox if you want a bit of bling on a budget
Porn Knoculars 😉
Sorry nope
Money talks here, purely for quality of image.
I use (Not own!!) Swarovski and Zeiss. Both are lovely but both cost over a grand each. Hawke had some good reviews in the shooting press.
Very simply and to do with what the eye can cope with, divide the lens size, say 42 , by the magnification . I believe the optimum answer is 5. Less means you have too much magnification for the light coming in. More is just too good for the eye.
Reearch this more for more detail.
Avian Trekker 8x32, £89. I've owned a pair for two years, and I promise you won't be disappointed. Waterproof and nitrogen filled, they'll do you for pretty much anything you are likely to be looking at. 10x42 are £119, IIRC.
From Ace Cameras, Bath:
http://www.acecameras.co.uk/asp/web/recorprod/1/product/15698/cat/1291/ph/cat/keywords//recor/1/SearchFor//PT_ID/1/product.asp#endpage
Opticron very good for the money, start Round £100 I think. I have a 180 pair which are plenty good enough reAlly
Ok, links would be really useful too.
Would like a pair for general use and sport.
These any good ?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0002INMK0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
Or these look smaller :
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-BAA725AA-Sporter-EX-10x50/dp/B001CXJVSQ/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ph_2
Opticron Traveller for me. Go and find a decent shop and try some side by side rather than convincing yourself you need a certain size/power. Try these guys - http://www.at-infocus.co.uk/shops.html
I own zeiss in 10x40 BGAT and 10x25 for pocket use - had both for years, still going strong - incredibly clear and crisp image
Leica and Swarovski are both getting up to, IMO, silly money now, especially with the roof prism ones.
best I've seen and used recently, for the price, is the Steiner 8x30 - lovely balance of size/comfort and light gathering.
Bought the OH some Hawkes a couple of years ago from Sherwood's, ex demo model so saved £100, they're superb for the money and should last a life time.
Like your bike you need to try before you buy. Espcially if you and your partner are using them and try in different light conditions as well as they will vary performance wise.
We have a set of Leica which are great lenses but very expensive. They were £600 secondhand over 10yrs ago. They are great quality but one down side is they are quite heavy. Things have probably moved on a bit these days but they were worth every penny and look a performe as good now as the day we got them. We have also got a really old set of ziess which are nice and light and again good lenses. We also have an Opticron scope which has been great value for money and again a great piece of kit so would certainly look at their bins.
RSPB do plenty and they do Demo days and have stuff set up at their reserves.[url= http://www.focalpointoptics.co.uk/ ]These guys are good if your close to them[/url]
Nikon get good review and also Bushnell.
One other thing to remember is if you where glasses then keep them on while using them and make sure the bins can cope with that.
What Scuttler said. Opticron are excellent, I've got some titchy Oasis 10x28's which I carry everywhere & 2nd his 'In Focus' reccommendation.
So what model opticron then ?
Now looking at Nikon Monarch mk3 with dielectric coating....
All help appreciated !
Or these look smaller :http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-BAA725AA-Sporter-EX-10x50/dp/B001CXJVSQ/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ph_2
These look a little on the heavy side you might be better going for the 8x42 version.[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-Sporter-EX-8x42-Binoculars/dp/B001CXHY08/ref=dp_cp_ob_ph_title_0 ]Nikon sporter 8x42[/url]
If it was me I'd tend to avoid the zoom ones.
[url= http://shop.featherswildbirdcare.co.uk/web/reviewExplorer.html ]Opticron review[/url] these get good review and look decent value for money. Hopefully someone has used these and can recommend them but doesn't look like you'd go far wrong with them.
I bought some Nikon Monarch 8x42 DCF NEU and honestly they are superb. Fully waterproof, crystal clear optics and aren't huge and heavy. They're not cheap at £195 but they're well well worth the money over the cheaper Nikon models. I'm not Nikon biased either as all my camera gear is Canon.
[url= http://www.camlink.eu.com/products/optical-products/binoculars/RUTLAND2.html ]Camlink 10 x 42[/url]
Bought these cheaply once when I forgot my main pair and they are actually very nice. More magnification. Think I paid 80.
You would have thought that would have taught me, but no, did the same again and ended up with Delta Infocus 7x36. Again very nice. Wider field of view so they are good for spotting birds in flight. Was just going to say that you don't have to spend a fortune, then looked at the price of he delta's now. Around 300, don't think they cost me that.
My best pair are Nikon high grades which are lovely but not that much better than the others and the price is awful now.
I would definitely try them out. Seem to remember that I found some of the recommended models to be poor.
i bought these last year,
http://www.steiner-binoculars.com/binoculars/army/military-7x50-r-lpf
amazing !
Just been using my old Carl Zeiss Jena's (Jenoptem 8x30W), from +30 years back. Can't beat quality; solid, dependable and look like a German Army officer 🙂
Loads for sale s/h on ebay
Sorry to have to do this (again!) but ref above links for [b]Ace Cameras of Bath,[/b] be aware the business is still owned by one David Uwins who was jailed for particularly nasty child porn offences in 2008. Will leave it up to you but suffice to say locals now find other places to shop and as a result he is concentrating more on internet sales:
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/photo-news/537019/camera-shop-owner-jailed
Opticron discovery 8*32
400g, light compact and great optics
£115 from Sherwoods
They're fab and work really well in varying light conditions. I looked and tried many different pairs and these were the best all round package for my budget.
If you can go down to a local RSPB centre on optics day and try some out, preferably on a bad day with low light then it will really help you decide what's important to you.