I am in the market for a really good pair of binoculars 10x50 or larger,I am really tired of the sorry quality low cost ones I keep seeing(buying).Does anybody have any experiences?Thanks in advance.

I love my Steiners Military 10x50, amazing clearity and low light capability, as soon as I figure out how to use the range finder...

Do you have a price range you are looking at?  I mean we could say Zeiss or Leica and be done with it, but that is some $$$ glass.  Burris, Nikon, Leupold and Pentax have good reputations.  Also, are you insistent on roof prisms or are porro prisms OK?  Porros are bigger/heavier/bulkier, but typically you can get a bit better glass by going porro than by insisting on the lighter roof prism models.

I like my IOR bino's.. People who I've let use have commented on their clarity.

Quoted: I love my Steiners Military 10x50, amazing clearity and low light capability, as soon as I figure out how to use the range finder...

+1 Steiner.  
mine are  "night hunters"

I've got a pair of Leica 10x42 Ultravids (titanium and magnesium).  They are lightweight, clear, and have a fantastic field of view.

-z

I know you said 10x50, but, If you are willing to go a little smaller, try to find a pair of Zeiss/Jena or Docter EDF 7x40 binos. Here is a pic:



These are considered the finest field binoculars ever made. They are not "rare" but they are not very common either. They can be found and are worth every penny......

Check out birdwatching sites.  They have good information on optics.  For example, www.betterviewdesired.com.

Swarovski and Zeiss are the best.

Some of the high-end Japanese glass is right up there, for a lot less money.  I have a pair of Pentax DCF WPs, and they are within a whisker of my friend's Zeiss Victory binocs.  Mine were $250; his were $1,400.  Pentax has a new model called the DCF SP, which are rated right up there with the best European glass; here is a review.

The Leupold Pinnacles have surprisingly good glass.

Steiner is not in the same league.

I have a Leupold/wind river 10x50 binocular that was about $200.  I like it alot.  Very clear and bright.

The Pig

Quoted: Check out birdwatching sites.  They have good information on optics.  For example, www.betterviewdesired.com. Swarovski and Zeiss are the best. Some of the high-end Japanese glass is right up there, for a lot less money.  I have a pair of Pentax DCF WPs, and they are within a whisker of my friend's Zeiss Victory binocs.  Mine were $250; his were $1,400.  Pentax has a new model called the DCF SP, which are rated right up there with the best European glass; here is a review. The Leupold Pinnacles have surprisingly good glass. Steiner is not in the same league.

I agree with [almost] everything said here!  I've got the 8x43 Pentax DCF SP's, and they are outstanding.  If I remember right, they are the first Pentax's with phase-corrected coatings (important on roof prism binos).  Only drawback for me is that the eye relief is a little too long (great for when wearing eyeglasses or sunglasses).  The ergonomics are the best I've tried.  Sharpness/chromatic accuracy as good as the several Swarovski's I've used.  Love the twist-out eye cups with click stops.  The armor is perfect (has just a little "give").  Swarovski is the other brand I'd consider, but they didn't offer an 8x40/42 size, which I strongly prefer.  Leica has a great image, but the one's I've tried didn't have the same great "feel" in the hand as Swarovski or these Pentax's.  Zeiss just doesn't seem to be what they used to, to me.

Steiner's really are over-rated.  Of the bino brands mentioned in this thread so far, only ones I haven't tried are IOR.  I'd be interested to learn more about them, just because I'm a bino junkie (I'm not shopping myself).  Kahle (sp?) is one brand to check out for sure, I was actually going to buy a pair before the DCF SP's came out.  Kahle is a subsidiary of Swarovski.

Be careful about getting too much magnification, there are several drawbacks.  Personally, I really don't enjoy using 10x binos for general use, but if you are just using them at the range 10x is probably appropriate.

About 10 -12 years ago I bought a Steiner  military/marine 7X50 for about  $300    At various times they went for almost $600 and now I think about  $400. I use them mostly on my small boat.They get banged around-have been dumped on the hard deck at least a dozen times.Salt water to wash off the sand at the beach-forgoten and left wraped in soggy towels for a week.I have treated them like shit. I try to keep people from polishing fingerprints with grubby tee shirts but have not always been succesfull.They are still crystal clear and sharp as new.The marine 7X50 actually gather so much light that at dusk and dawn you can actually see stuff that just fades out with your bare eyes.If you guard your night vision you can see stuff with just a little moonlight that you would swear would take night vision
They are a little on the heavy side but to get clear and bright you need big chunks of glass. When trying out
at a store or shop try to go at low light to be able to look across the dim parking lot for a good test.High power is not always desiriable,but if you can stand the weight and the hit to your wallet go for the large lens.(7X50 will be clearer and brighter than 7X35 if quality is the same) Go too high on the power and the ability to hand hold and see shit goes out the door.
If some dork salesman tells ya brand Z is just as good as one of the brand names just caues it is the same color and has the same power,walk away. Bottom line is real quality in glass costs real money.Some of the mid range stuff isn't bad ,but shop hard and spend some cash and you will be happy for a long time
High priced stuff generally has a real warantee as opposed to replacement insurance

I have a baush&lomb 8-24x50....super clarity.....$225...but It's much cheaper if you order.......can't get any better for the price....

+1 for Swarovski.

I have the 10x50.
Cost  ~$500 fifteen years ago.  Best money I ever spent invested on optics.

Get the Swarovski High definition 10x50.I looked through my buddies and I could see individual pebbles at 700 yards and thats no BS!There pricy at around $1300 but there the last glass you'll ever buy!

The best deal for the money is the Minox 10x42

I did my research.  Wanted Swarovski and just couldn't flip the bill, Leica was my second choice, started looking into Zeiss and did not think they were better than Leica and then came across Minox.  Now my 10x42 Minox I got for $350 brand new and now they are in the $400 range (check out www.hotbuyelectronics.com).  They are great and I wont go into the details other than to say that Minox is a division of Leica and that should tell you something about their quality.  If you don't want to get into the super high dollar range these should work for you.  As fa as Binos go these are far superior to Leupolds.  Leupold makes a great scope (all I have on my rifles) but for the money you can do better on Binos.  IOR/Valada are also very good for the money but they are HEAVY.  While hunting mule deer in the mountains of west Texas I didn't want the extra weight.  If you have to have 10x50s and the  10x42 Minox do not work you the IOR/Valada are what I'd pick.   I kinda babbled here but you get the point.

Take it easy,

ADH

For under $200.00 I found the BEST kept secret are Minolta's!!  Take my word for it....I've been an avid astronomer for years as well.  A REAL test for glass is to look at some stars on a very dark night and see how sharp the stars look, as well as edge to edge sharpness.  I've looked through LOTS of glass from Steiner to Zeiss and yes, a brighter image at times...Is this worth 300.00 to 500.00 more??BEST bang for under 200.00 bucks has always been the armored Minolta's 10x50's.  Good luck.

Vic

I purchased some Steiners surplus (Isreali) from www.savvysurvivor.com for $150.  They have the range finder lines built in.  I love them!  Duffy IF yours are anything like mine, the stadia lines are 18" @100yds.  That should give you a basis for measuring distance.  And I contacted Steiner about these and they think they were manufactured in the '70s.  Still really nice for their age.  LOL

I would have to go with the Swarovski'.  As a Pre-owned optics dealer I get the chance to use just about all makes, past and present . With the Swarovski's I can see the difference .

+1 for Steiners - great customer service. I bought a used pair of 7x35s and after lots of use noticed a small nick in a lense - Called them and they said they could fix it for $30 I shipped it to them and they sent me a brand new set within a week.

I would love to get a pair of the 7x50s