Recommend me some binoculars please.

[PeteXXX]

Recommend me some more practical, and, no doubt, newer, than these binoculars please..

As these weigh in at about 27lb, they are a tad impractical for plane spotting and a bit of bird watching.

I also have a Greenkat 12X-40x40 telescope that is reasonable for star gazing, but not of much use to me otherwise.

What do I need for aeroplane and bird spotting duties?
8x42, 15x70, 8x25, 10x25?
I don't even know what these criteria are supposed to mean.

Thanks

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I've just bought a pair in the past week for birdwatching and general wildlife nosiness. I trawled through quite a few sites until I came across www.bestbinocularsreviews.com , where I found everything I needed to know before spending my money.

I'd been drawn to the Nikon Prostaff 8x42 or 10x42 but in the end I went for a pair of Vortex Diamondback 8x42, even though they were a few pounds dearer.

The numbers refer to magnification x lens size. A bigger magnification will get you closer but this could come at the expense of a far narrower field of view and less light reaching your eye. With these bigger magnifications any handshake is also magnified so it becomes harder to keep track of your target - especially if it's moving.

What's your budget? Take a look through that site and you should find he points you towards something suitable. He has helpful guides on how to determine what you need.

 

[slowmotion]

Spookily enough, I was wondering the same thing last week and stumbled on this website....
http://procular.co.uk/how-to-choose...lM_EzDIXlD74y64EkCr4mrcLCuAmiFPxzoRoCL7Lw_wcB

Edit: It's worth shopping around. Prices vary wildly.

 

[Andy_R]

The first number is the magnification, the second is the diameter of the objective lens.
The bigger the objective lens, the more light enters, so you get a brighter clearer image. Additionally you also get a wider field of view.

I keep a pair of Nikon Action 7-15 x 35 binos in the car - they give a lovely crisp image, even at highest magnification.

 

[PeteXXX]

I've just bought a pair in the past week for birdwatching and general wildlife nosiness. I trawled through quite a few sites until I came across www.bestbinocularsreviews.com , where I found everything I needed to know before spending my money.

I'd been drawn to the Nikon Prostaff 8x42 or 10x42 but in the end I went for a pair of Vortex Diamondback 8x42, even though they were a few pounds dearer.

The numbers refer to magnification x lens size. A bigger magnification will get you closer but this could come at the expense of a far narrower field of view and less light reaching your eye. With these bigger magnifications any handshake is also magnified so it becomes harder to keep track of your target - especially if it's moving.

What's your budget? Take a look through that site and you should find he points you towards something suitable. He has helpful guides on how to determine what you need.

Cheers for that. My budget is not massive, but I'd rather pay a few quid more and be happy with what I get. I want something that is easy to carry on a walk, of even on a ride, plus something the grandkids can 'borrow'

 

[Bobby Mhor]

I bought a pair of Hawke Endurance 8x42 for bird watching and waiting on a price drop of a pair of Hawke 10x42 Nature trek, prices do occasionally have a wee fall.

 

[annedonnelly]

If you're prepared to buy secondhand you can try the London Camera Exchange. I've bought two pairs from them at much reduced prices compared to new. Cheap enough that I'm prepared to keep them in my desk at work or leave them in the bike panniers when it's locked up somewhere.

And if you're near Wildlife Trust places they regularly do "In Focus" events where you can try out different pairs to see how they compare.

 

[slowmotion]

If you're prepared to buy secondhand you can try the London Camera Exchange. I've bought two pairs from them at much reduced prices compared to new. Cheap enough that I'm prepared to keep them in my desk at work or leave them in the bike panniers when it's locked up somewhere.

And if you're near Wildlife Trust places they regularly do "In Focus" events where you can try out different pairs to see how they compare.

The Wetland Centre in Barnes, west London does binocular demo events.

 

[Drago]

You don't want too narrow a field of view for the uses you propose. 7 x 30 or 35 would be about right. Make and features depends on your wallet.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Unless you will be using a tripod, don't get anything with magnification above 8X. That's the "8" in 8 x 40. The 40 stands for the lens diameter. Bigger is better because it lets in more light and makes the image lighter. An 8 x 50 is excellent but expensive. 8 x 40 is adequate. Not all 8 x 40s are equal though. Quality comes with expense. Better quality will produce less colour distortion at the edges of the image as well as make the image up the the edges very bright. Poor quality lenses give you little dots of view.
Then you have to decide what field of view you want. 9 degrees is excellent but expensive. 7 degrees is affordable but not great for watching birds darting around in the sky. A narrow field of view makes finding things through the binocs difficult to do.

Zoom is absolutely out. Unless you pay very big money, zoom is stupid. Besides, it always requires a tripod.

Then you have to decide on size. If you want to take the binocs with you to every sports game and even the theatre, choose compact or ultra compact. If you only use them on viewing outings, standard size is fine.

Price a pair of Leica or Swarovsky binocs whilst seated and then you know what the upper end is. Then view something halfway down the line like a Pentax or Nikon to see what you can get for reasonable money.

Don't buy anything that's sold in an outdoors catalogue or at Lidl. You may as well just squint and give up.

 

[accountantpete]

I have some old Zeiss bins which are great quality with lovely 3-D imaging but rather heavy. Of the newer binoculars check out the Bushnell range - I have a pair of their entry level bins which are very impressive for the price.

 

[HertzvanRental]

May I refer you to @Hill Wimp ? I know she did some in-depth research on this very topic a while ago.

 

[Drago]

I think the words Mr Saddle is looking for is "chromatic abberation."

 

[TVC]

When Lu got hers last year we took advice from Hillwimp and Coffeejo. Though in the end we went over to the shop at the RSPB reserve at Rutland Water and just tried some in our price range and Lu picked the one she liked. So my advice is to try some at a proper shop with a proper expert - not Currys or a camera outlet

 

[the_mikey]

For birdwatching I use a pair of Nikon Aculon A30 10x25 binoculars, they're compact, lightweight and vision is clear without any aberrations or colour fringing. I wouldn't say they're the best, but because they're so compact and lightweight I tend carry them with me without any anxiety about them taking up too much space in my bag or being too heavy when walking.

Binoculars

• the_mikey
• 22 Apr 2017