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Posted: 2/11/2008 11:34:16 PM EDT
| Anyone have suggestions for a good pair of bino's? |
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I recommend you start looking at some bird watching forums and see what they recommend. No group is better at weeding out a lousy pair of binoculars than birders! If you are willing to cry (a lot) once then look to the leaders in the industry. A nice pair of Leica, Zeiss, Nikon and Swarovski (sp?) will serve you well for the rest of your days. Unfortunately, they are all north of 1k. I am a hunter primarily, and I wanted a pair of binoculars that would work in the conditions in which I hunt- close cover, overcast days, etc. I needed a good wide field of view, I needed excellent light gathering abilities, and I needed crisp clean optics. I went with (this is years ago) a pair of Zeiss 7x42BGATs. I haven't looked back, but I admit it was tough to pay that much for "just a pair of binoculars". That model today is outdated, and a friend's pair of Leicas are frankly better optically. The "all around" binoculars these days are 8x42 roof prism models from one of the top makers. They run from 1k to about 1.5k. As you live out west, consider where and under what conditions you will be using them. I wouldn't go with over 10x in magnification, and if I needed more I would strongly look at a pair of image stabilized binoculars. Canon makes an excellent pair. Nikon has several grades of binoculars available and fortunately the mid level binoculars of today are about as good as the best were 15 years ago. People ask "if there really is a difference". The answer is yes, there is a difference. You can get 90% of the performance of the best binoculars of today for between 500-800 bucks. Look at Kahles and perhaps Minox as well when you are shopping. Again, consider what you want to do with them. Certainly search out the opinions of birders. If at all possible look through the pair you want to buy before purchasing it. Hunters tend to grade their binoculars by how tough they are, which doesn't tell you much. "I fell down a ravine, sliding 200 feet on my forehead and spent three months in traction, but by GOD those binoculars only got a little scratch on the outside armor! Damn fine binoculars!" |
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If you can, go to Cabelas or sportsmans warehouse. they generally have a good selection of outdoor glass. their prices are ok but not great, but it's very important to try binocs out yourself. Two very good reasonably priced binoculars are 1) Leupold Wind River Katmai. Should be around $350-400. I have a pair of the 8x32 and they are very good, plus they are compact and they are Leupold. they are probably not as good as my Pentax 8X42 DCF SPs, but they are not nearly as big, and I have been able to seriously damage the pentax's thru my own foolishness. 2) nikon monarch in 8x42 or 10X42. look around and a pair should be $300 or less. Two of my co workers have these, and while they are made in China, they are damn good. A little flimsier than some. BTW, while it's possible that 8x42 transmits more light than 10x42 or 8x32, i feel this is a loser magnification/objective, as the field of view generally isn't much better than 10X, or 8x32, and does things generally slightly worse. Really liked the feel of the Steiner Merlins. Another version of steiner: I think Steiner military marine binocs are the coolest looking things out there and I have owned 2 pair. If you get these, you will be getting an ok binoc. But not as good as what you could get for the same $$$. eta: Cheesebeast's 7x42 are the all time classic binoculars. In their current iteration, Zeiss FL 7x42s have a much larger field of view than higher magnification models. If you are tracking moving small stuff, it's a big advantage. this, along with resolution and field durability are way more important than durability imo, which is worth zilch. |
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