Ready to get some new bins - advice please?

[Penny Clarke]

I have owned a pair of Optolyth 10x40's Alpins since 1990 and after looking through most people's binoculars - they all seem a million times better/brighter and clearer than mine!!! (Old eyes getting tired now and need a boost!!!!!)

Now ready to buy a new pair, ideally don't really want to spend £900 on a pair!!! and wondered if anyone can recommend out of all the latest bins, which would be the best for me. I am looking for lightweight (ish) and definately want them to be waterproof. I know you need to obviously need to try them out, but it would be very helpful if someone can recommend some to me please? I have tried the Nikon HGL's (think I have got that right) but did not like the shape of those!

Best Wishes Penny:girl:

[matt green]

Hiya Penny

Trouble is, in my opinion there isn't really anything spectacular in the £300 - £600 price range..

I recently settled for some secondhand Leica trinovids (8x32BA) and would probably struggle to find an 'as good' or better image in a new binoc under
around £500 ish.

I've always liked the Opticron 8x42 DBA oasis though they haven't really done great in mag reviews (but they're always guff anyway!!), I think they cost around £559 and are nice and lightweight roofprism, also the swarovski 7x42
SLC's (£659 if you shop around) are very nice but also quite big and heavy.

You're well placed to try different models at Cleyspy and Infocus..

Matt

[wee kayso]

have a look at the minox range ,they are quality ..

[KorHaan]

Hi Penny,

Try the Bushnell Natureview 10x42 roofs; very sharp, surprisingly bright for 10x , waterproof/fogproof, 652 grams. Saw them myself yesterday on a binoculars demonstration day and liked them instantaneously, after having looked through Swarovski's, Leica's and Zeisses. I swear they were as sharp as my FL's. Only Swarovski 10x32 beat them in resolution and sharpness. Felt nice in my hands and I'm no 10x guy.
Goes for € 279,- which is about 180 Pounds.
Rated best here in Holland in a consumers buying test.

Greetings, Ronald

PS : regret I didn't immediately buy them. Will go and look for them.

[richardwp]

Have to disagree with Matt. There are loads of good mid-price binos out there, some already mentioned. Bins are a very personal thing and I have to say that none of the top names I've tried have impressed me as good vfm whereas my Swift HHS 8.5x44 roofs at around £250 happen to tick all the boxes for me and reviews seem to agree. Slightly limited fov and not quite as good as my old Optolyth 10x50 Alpins for me when wearing specs (though reviews seem to think they're generally good for spec wearers), but much better than the latter, again for me, without specs (which I no longer wear). But excellent all roundersd. Just try as many as you can. Who knows, you may save over £500 and find the mid-price pair that just happen to suit you better than all the 'top' names.

[alan_rymer]

Nikon Monarchs ( I have the 8x36 and love them.
I am also impress by the Helios AM6 range too.

[g8ina]

Swift HHS 8.5x44 roofs again :) Best I've ever used (let alone owned!)

[Penny Clarke]

Thank you all very much for your help and replies. Will have to try some of your suggested bins out at Cley Spy when I next go that way.

Best Wishes Penny:girl: :hi:

[John P]

Have a look in at Titchwell too, try the RSPB bins, my wife has a pair of 8X42 FG PC and they are very good for £330.

I can't actually see them on their website, they are only showing the HG PCs @ £399 so maybe they are discontinued, but worth a look all the same.

The Swifts are good too, I liked the roofs but preferred the porros, (which could not be described as light).

[NoSpringChicken]

I'm yet another fan of the Swift HHS 8.5 x 44 roofs. I've had mine for about three years and have no real complaints with them, apart from the slightly narrow FOV, as has been mentioned before. It sounds a bit silly but they feel really satisfying to hold and exude an air of class. They are available for about £230 from some suppliers which is a terrific bargain.

Ron

[MacGee]

Have a look in at Titchwell too, try the RSPB bins, my wife has a pair of 8X42 FG PC and they are very good for £330.

I can't actually see them on their website, they are only showing the HG PCs @ £399 so maybe they are discontinued, but worth a look all the same.
The FG PC has been replaced by the BG PC. This is the same as the Helios AM6 and was the same as the Opticron Verano before that was upgraded; presumably the Verano is now better than the BG PC?

Michael.

[Pinewood]

Dear Ms. Clarke,

Could the binocular be straining your eyes because the two tubes are out of collimation? Eyestrain could be caused by mis-collimation. Whether it pays to have the binocular serviced is another question. If brightness and field of view are satisfactory, a collimation might pay.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :brains:

[shilo]

You might want to take a look at Minox's new HG series. I bought the 8.5 x 43 and size and weight wise they're not much bigger than many 32mm mid sizes. Optically I've found them to be very very close to my Leica 8 x 50BN. I have spent alot of time going back and forth between the two - look through one and then look through the other to compare. The Minox are right there with the Leica's. The Minox seems to have alittle better contrast and of course the big Leica's have the edge at night. Resolution is about the same between them, the Leica having just the slightest edge, maybe 3% -5%. Overall I am very impressed with the new Minox, especially considering they are about half the price of the Leicas.

[SteveClifton]

Penny, I was in a similar position to you a couple of years ago, and ended up buying a pair of Nikon HG 8x32's. Not the lightest on the market, but with a decent strap you'll hardly notice the 200-or-so grams extra compared to something like the Zeiss 8x32 FL's. Just goes to show not everyone suits the same thing. I have no regrets with mine, and the optics are second to none.

A couple of friends have had Swarovski 8x32 SLC's, which are very good, and their after sales service is the best in the business (should you ever need it). One of them recently sold his pair, but now regrets it!

Another thing to consider is do you really need roofs, as there are some very good porro's out there. My very first decent bins were a pair of Opticron HR8x42's which I still have. A bit tatty now, but still optically excellent. They now make a waterproof version which are very reasonably priced. Like you I also once had a pair of Optolyth years ago, and hated them !!
As you live in Norfolk, Cley Spy is definitely the place to go and try some.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[elkcub]

:hi: The best looking, light weight, waterproof, roof prism binoculars I know of with superb optics is Swarovski's 8x30 SLC. I've used mine since 1993, and the SLCneu model has better eyecups and lens coatings. In the US these market for $999.99, which makes them a best buy in my book. I think SteveClifton meant the 8x30 SLC in the previous post. Or, he could have meant the 8x32 EL, which is more expensive, but ... you decide.

Blue skies,
Ed

[Sancho]

Hi Penny, just to throw another spanner in the works, I got a pair of Swaro EL 8x32´s last year and have never looked back. Not the cheapest, but I think in the UK you should get them for under 700 sterling. Apart from the brilliant after-sales, great glass (IMHO but we´re all democrats;) ), they are seriously light and easy to hold, and I have slim girly hands and little skinny wrists. Great FOV (over 8 degrees), bright, crisp, all that stuff.... give them a try.

[nick scarle]

You could go for my second hand Leica 10x42 BAs
I've sent you a PM with the details.
I'll probably advertise them on here next week.

Nick

[PYRTLE]

As you said such nice things about the Cleyspy Nikon ED50 case I'm sure they'll go out of their way to help you in choosing the correct bins for you!

To help you there are a few things you'll need to think about and bear in mind.

1. Roof prism or porro prism 2. Magnification and objective size . 3. Budget

Majority of bins nowadays are waterproof (nitrogen purged )
If you want to stick to porros (traditional shape) then the Nikon SEs are very hard to beat for all round performance and price.....although not nitrogen filled, forget the Minox and Opticron equivalents.

Try at least three pairs that fall into your wish list and go from there - good luck.

[Tero]

SLC 8x30 very nice. No complaints.

[MacGee]

... I got a pair of Swaro EL 8x32´s last year and have never looked back. Not the cheapest, but I think in the UK you should get them for under 700 sterling.£840 approximately, Sancho. The SLC is a snip at £520.

Penny, I have to agree that CleySpy looks like a good place to go; they have lots of ranges to try. Not just the Opticron, Viking and Helios you would find in some shops, but also Vortex, Meopta, Kowa, etc. Try as many as possible and settle on the ones that are most comfortable to look through, to hold, to carry and to pay for.

Michael.

[Sancho]

£840 approximately, Sancho. The SLC is a snip at £520.
Michael.
Sorry, Michael! Also sorry to you Penny, didn´t mean to mislead you on price....(if you folks would just get sensible and use euros, we wouldn´t need all this exchange rate nonsense;)) . 849 sterling is indeed a lot of money, and many people have maintainted that the SLC are just as good.

[NoSpringChicken]

Sorry to hijack the thread but from all the good reports I'm hearing about the Swarovski 8x30 SLC it is rapidly becoming my 'aspirational binocular' for when I'm rich.

From the illustrations I have seen it appears the focussing wheel is at the objective lens end of the bridge rather than the eyepiece end. Is this the case and, if so, how well does this arrangement work in practice? Which finger do people use for focussing?

Ron

[MacGee]

;)...if you folks would just get sensible and use euros, we wouldn´t need all this exchange rate nonsense...We'll get euros in the UK when the party in power thinks it can introduce them without losing votes—around the time that the US adopts the metric system.

Michael.

[postcardcv]

Sorry to hijack the thread but from all the good reports I'm hearing about the Swarovski 8x30 SLC it is rapidly becoming my 'aspirational binocular' for when I'm rich.

From the illustrations I have seen it appears the focussing wheel is at the objective lens end of the bridge rather than the eyepiece end. Is this the case and, if so, how well does this arrangement work in practice? Which finger do people use for focussing?

Ron

Indeed the focus wheel is at the 'wrong end' one the SLCs, I think you'd soon get used to the positioning. They are excellent bins, though for me the wider FOV and much better close focus of the ELs really does give them an edge (though they are a good deal more money)!

[ThoLa]

;)We'll get euros in the UK when the party in power thinks it can introduce them without losing votes—around the time that the US adopts the metric system.

Michael.


Oh dear!

What an outlook ....

Tom