Binoculars

[dsonyay]

I would like to know if any of you have a pair of binoculars and if you paid under 150.00 for them. How do you like them? I could ID the SYs so much better if I had binoculars.

My budget is 150. I know I'll have to sacrifice a bit of high end quality, but my pole is less than 50ft away and "decent" glass will be able to do the job.

At work I have a pair of West Marine 7x30 and they do a great job. I think they were about 200. With those I'm able to ID male and female SYs with ease.

But I want my own for the house- thanks.

[Jeff Robinson]

David,

I've owned Nikon Binoculars for years. Using them for long distance viewing for hunting, and now also for martineering. I owned other brands prior to, but was unhappy with them. I've rarely been disappointed with Nikon beyond my own eagerness to get the next best set for greater distance, waterproof, glare reduction, and fog proof. You can Google for values, and sometimes still come out ahead even with shipping costs. Often discontinued versions are sold online at great value.

I currently use the Nikon Monarch which are out of your quoted range; however, I have an older pair of Nikon binocs that are definitely within your budget, and will easily get the job done - I think they're the Nikon Travelite version. My son has them in his car.

[dsonyay]

Yes I love Nikon Optics. I'll try to see if anyone still sells them.
I found a website that rated the top birding binoculars and a couple of them fell in my range. One was made by Leupold but it was one of their "budget" lines. It was given very high marks.

Thanks for the tip..... will Google it tomorrow.

[Tim Stover]

i have apair pentax 20x60 $219 pair nikon 12x50 $199 and pair of simmons 10x50 $49 two pair of bushnell one 10x50 $49 and 16x60 $59 and i like the bushnell 16x60 well my favorite is pentax 20x60 ifound all these where you bid on them bushnell for the price imo you cant beat

[Guest]

Tom I'll bet David would buy a pair from you

dick

[KellyG]

I paid $150 for my Nikon 10X50's a few years ago. They are great.

[flyin-lowe]

If you are just mainly using them for martins I would say you can get some cheaper ones. If you are going to be hunting and looking at/for things hundreds of yards away and glassing for long periods of time then the more expensive ones can make a big difference. I find myself looking out a lot through my bino's but when it comes to martins you can usually walk out to the house and get withing a few feet of them if they are staying at your site.

[bwenger]

Like it was mentioned earlier, look for birding binoculars. I have a pair of Bushnell birding binoculars and they can view a bird clearly down to around 10-15 feet.

You can try hayneedle.com, they have a optic department and can advise you on some of these models. I believe you can return binoculars to them with no costs, but it would be best to check with them on those matters.

Good luck,

Bill

[bwenger]

duplicate entry

[dsonyay]

Tim- yeah, let me know if you ever have a garage sale

good info so far. I'm surpised at some of the high magnification used. I assume some are using for other purposes besides birding? I don't think I'll get more than a 10x for what I plan on using them for.

Yes I know I could nearly walk up to them, but sometimes from inside the house I can't ID the SY males from females. Also sometimes perched in my neighbor's tree are birds I'm not sure of.

Also the binoculars show so much more detail even when fairly close.

[Indiana_Tom]

Hey dsonyay,

I have several older pair also. The only ones that I like are the Bushnell 10 x 50. I think it is important to have the wide view provided by the 50mm lense and 10 power is good for watching martins.

I have been looking for a second pair on e-bay. I have 5 pair of binoculars in my watch list and three are the bushnell 10 x 50.

I do not plan to spend more that $30 for them. If you are interested in a good used pair that work well, this is not a bad place to look.

Let me know your thoughts

[dsonyay]

yeah a 10x50 would be fine. Never thought of lookong on ebay. Will check it out.... thanks!

[Chriscreole]

When I was looking for binoculars I ended up getting a spotting scope so I can take photos too. Digiscoping. I can look at wildlife clearly at 1000 yards, star gaze, use it at the gun range and take photos through it to. Very versatile.

[dsonyay]

When I was looking for binoculars I ended up getting a spotting scope so I can take photos too. Digiscoping. I can look at wildlife clearly at 1000 yards, star gaze, use it at the gun range and take photos through it to. Very versatile.

Yeah I thought of that too, but I need something a little quicker to get on subject.

Gun Range? Me and you would get along good!

[Scully]

The good news is that decent optics can now be found for less than $150.

I always have a pair around for bird watching, thrown in the trunk, in the saddlebags of my bike, in my desk at school whatever...

For me they are like a tool, and likely enough to get lost/stolen that I generally go with the cheapest or sufficient quaility.

Many people fall into the trap of thinking higher magnification is always better, which is why 10x binocs sell in greater quantities than the lower powers.

A few actually prefer 10x, but many (including me) find the magnified hand tremble and smaller field of view to be fatiguing when glassing for any length of time.

All else being equal, I can see at least as much detail in 8x, 7x or even 6x as I can at 10x due to the wider, steadier image, usually having greater depth of field as well.

All the really good inexpensive binocs are porro prism (the old style) rather than roof prism (look like two tubes) due to the nuances of how the prisms are arranged vs refraction of light in them.

Eagle Optics is a great outlet, widely used by serious birders.

Here's a few recommendations, what I would buy in your shoes, I own/have owned every one of these....

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/l ... -mossy-oak

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/v ... -binocular

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/n ... -binocular


Mike Scully

[dsonyay]

thanks Scully--- I'll be sure to check out the links. I'm a bot like you. I find 8x to be plenty. On the boat I work on we have a 7x30 (West Marine). I find the optics to be very good and I use them to watch the martins when we are docked at work. I see so much detail I feel like I'mn just a couple feet from the nest. Of course I'm usually about 50 to 60 feet away at these times.

I will likely go with an 8x with a 40mm objective lens, if I can find something in a price that suits me.

Do you have any leanings when it comes to roof prisms or porro prisms? Does it even matter with casual use? Bak4 or Bak7 lens materiel?

[Scully]

At your price point, definitely go with porros.

Probably due to mechanization/computerization of the production lines, the glass on many of these is as good as expensive binocs from a few decades ago. I'm not sure if you'll have a choice of prisms though.

I forget the particulars just now, but IIRC the porro design is innately "prism-friendly", in that the same prisms will give you a better image over roofs. I know this especially applies to the coatings.

The major drawback of inexpensive binocs is the relative fragility, they are easier to break, but even this has inproved by leaps and bounds in recent years.

Birdwatcher

[dsonyay]

Thanks Scully--
I appreciate everyones help. Gonna do a little research now.

BTW.. this morning at our Corps of Engineers boat dock, there were two Bald Eagles about 100 feet away wading in the grassy bank, picking at a piece of fish.

I could see them Ok, but not much detail. I grabbed the West Marine 7x30 binoculars on board, and the two eagles were amazing to watch. It was like I was standing a few feet away. 8 power will be plenty for my needs.

We have an older set of old beat up binoculars, they worked fairly well too, but nowhere as nice as the West Marine brand-- which are fairly new.

[dsonyay]

Hey dsonyay,

I have several older pair also. The only ones that I like are the Bushnell 10 x 50. I think it is important to have the wide view provided by the 50mm lense and 10 power is good for watching martins.

I have been looking for a second pair on e-bay. I have 5 pair of binoculars in my watch list and three are the bushnell 10 x 50.

I do not plan to spend more that $30 for them. If you are interested in a good used pair that work well, this is not a bad place to look.

Let me know your thoughts

You know, you can get those Bushnell Falcon series for 30 bucks at amazon.com -- without the bidding.

[Jeff Robinson]

Lot's of great choices David - I think you'll easily settle for a great set within your price range.!

Scully - thanks for the Eagle Optics site. I'll rarely visit a retail store again for similar items. Leopold and Nikon have always been my favorite - in that order. Now I see Leopold hunting and birding options within my price range.

Jeff