Bin Advice Required!!

[Des!]

I'm looking to buy myself a pair of Birdwatching Binoculars - What would people advise / suggest I look at? Makes & sizes?

I wear glasses.

My budget is upto £150(ish) :-O

I need to get them in the UK either internet or high street store.

Cheers!

Des

[Tero]

8x36 Nikon Sporter, Warehouse express,£99, was 199.

The eye cups wear out fast, not a problem for you as you need them screwd in, they have a problem staying out.

[elkcub]

I'd suggest either the Swift Audubon 828 HHS, or Audubon 820. The HHS is wonderful with eyeglasses, and the optics are first rate. It is, however, at the high end of £150(ish).

Ed

[kmiernik]

As a exceptionally satisfied owner of Swift HHS 828 8.5x44 I would highly recommend you buying this model but their price is 230£. Talking about Swift's you could get Swift 820 8.5x44 which are also very nice for 180£. But as I understand these are also above budget.

I always say that with budget less then 200-250£ you should look for good Porro system design. Buying roof prisms below that number you won't be satisfied in a longer period.

Once again I say that Nikon Action EX 8x40 or 7x35 are nice binoculars for a good start. They are priced around 100-120£ in UK.

[Des!]

Hi

Thanks for your thoughts - I'll have to raise my budget by the looks of things!! :-O :-O :-O (Lets not tell the wife!!)

Cheers!

Des

[davem]

Hi Des,

depending on what side of Birmingham you're on, try Focus Optics at Corley, Coventry. He's got a fantastic range of bins and it's a great place to try and buy in a relaxed atmosphere.

Dave.

[postcardcv]

You certainly don't need to spend more than the £150 budget to get a decent pair of bins (though obviously more money will mean better bins). You can get Hawke Blackwatch bins for just £90, they're fully waterproof, have twist up eyecups and are exceptional optics for the money. There are numerous other binoculars out there within your price range, the best bet is to get along to a shop and try them for yourself - different bins work for different people. Also consider buying secondhand, you may be able to get better optics for your money.

As for overall size I'd recommend starting with 8x magnification, some people use 10x and get one well with it, but most find 8x easier to handle. Look for bins with objective lenses of between 30-42mm (so look for either 8x32s or 8x42s). Bins with smaller objective are smaller and lighter, but are not as easy or comfortable to use.

Beware of recommendations, everyone will have their own favourites, but you need to find the best bins for you. So don't buy blind on the strength of a recommendation, make sure you try before you buy. That said if you can stretch your budget a bit the new Nikon Monarch 8x36s are outstanding at £199.

[rezMole]

Opticron iMagic for porros and Nikon Sporters for roof. We have Oticron imagix 10x42 and Nikon Sporter 10x36. Both are good value for money, but the opticrons are a bit brighter. £115 for the Nikons and £149 for the opticrons. 8x magnification are a bit cheaper and often recommended over the 10x ones we have.

Both pairs came from Warehouse express.

[MacGee]

I agree that you would get a better optical performance with Porros, if that's what you want, but you need to decide what it is you do want. Magnification? Brightness? Sharpness? Weight? Size? Close focus? Field of view? Waterproofing?

If you're looking at the Nikon Action Ex 7x35, it might be worth also having a look at the Minolta Activa 7x35 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-MINOLTA-ACTIVA-7x35W-WIDE-BAK4-Prism-Binoculars_W0QQitemZ7601204668QQihZ017QQcategoryZ1 0955QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem). Like the Nikons they have long eye-relief (good for glasses), and a wide field of view (9.3°), but they have a close-focus of 3m, as against 5m, and they're a lot lighter than the Nikons.

But at 685g, some people would still find those too heavy and there's no point getting a pair that you're not happy to carry draped round your neck. My wife insisted on getting binocs that weigh 185g, but at least she's never tempted to leave them behind.

Michael.

[Tero]

My Actions get a little less use just because of the weight. I have even used a cheap 8x32 roof in their place on sunny days. But I like the Action EXs pretty much, I have the 8x40 that is a little heavier yet. The EX 10x50 are definitely heavy.