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Bushnell power view (1 Viewer)

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si654

Well-known member
Anyone used these bins powerview 8x42, there are loads going cheap on ebay, i am not a new birdwatcher but i'm new to buying bins..
I just birdwatched without any before now..
I bought the wrong ones i made the mistake of buying some praktica ones 20x50 opting for power another mistake from argos which i though were good beacuse they were made in germany.. cant even see throught them probally better viewing if you used them the wrong way round lol..
i know poeple are gonna say buy the best you can afford but my budget doesn't stretch that far at the minute..
T.I.A Simon
 
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Aren't they the old design with the triangular focus knob? If so, they were truly aweful. Don't be a fool twice.
Can you go to a store and try any bins? what is your budget? How much being asked for the powerviews? Northwest, is that the USA? Canada? England?? It will help us conclude what bins are available in your market....
You are better off buying an inexpensive modern design than an inexpensive historical design from Ebay.... Have you tried the Nikon Action EX, costing about $100? At least try them in a store to see what you can get by going to that price range. the very least, you willl have a standard by which to judge the $50 bins....
 
jedku said:
Aren't they the old design with the triangular focus knob? If so, they were truly aweful. Don't be a fool twice.
Can you go to a store and try any bins? what is your budget? How much being asked for the powerviews? Northwest, is that the USA? Canada? England?? It will help us conclude what bins are available in your market....
You are better off buying an inexpensive modern design than an inexpensive historical design from Ebay.... Have you tried the Nikon Action EX, costing about $100? At least try them in a store to see what you can get by going to that price range. the very least, you willl have a standard by which to judge the $50 bins....
Click to expand...

Yea its those with the rocker focusing there asking £30 plus £7 postage on ebay, my budget will be prolly about £50
not alot really..
buying bins is really confusing me.
 
Don't buy Bushnel Powerviews. They are terrible. I owned them in the late 80s. The optics are very dark and often out of alignment. That bin design is several generations old. Also, the rocker focus inhibits fine focusing, essential for good birding.
I think you should really consider a 7x35 bin. It will magnify the flaws in a cheap design less than 8x. You'll get a brighter image and wider field of view. Seems like you have a very tight budget though. And I dont know what bins are on the British market. one of your compatriots will be able to help you better than I.
Here I would recommend the Nikon Action 7x35. This is the non-EX version which costs $60 USA. It can work if you don't wear eyeglasses. The EX version is much better, but maybe too far out of your budget at $120.
If you are going to keep looking on ebay, try to find something by Nikon, Pentax or Minolta that was new not too long ago. there have been huge improvements in Bins since the days of the Bushnell Powerview!
 
jedku said:
Don't buy Bushnel Powerviews. They are terrible. I owned them in the late 80s. The optics are very dark and often out of alignment. That bin design is several generations old. Also, the rocker focus inhibits fine focusing, essential for good birding.
I think you should really consider a 7x35 bin. It will magnify the flaws in a cheap design less than 8x. You'll get a brighter image and wider field of view. Seems like you have a very tight budget though. And I dont know what bins are on the British market. one of your compatriots will be able to help you better than I.
Here I would recommend the Nikon Action 7x35. This is the non-EX version which costs $60 USA. It can work if you don't wear eyeglasses. The EX version is much better, but maybe too far out of your budget at $120.
If you are going to keep looking on ebay, try to find something by Nikon, Pentax or Minolta that was new not too long ago. there have been huge improvements in Bins since the days of the Bushnell Powerview!
Click to expand...

I Read a thread that 7 dayshop were selling some for cheap and poeple were raving about them might have to check them out im really wary of cheap bins now having just bought some crap praktica ones from argos..
 
Richard D said:
Those old Powerviews aren't great by any standards - for your budget i'd suggest the Nikon Actions from www.warehouseexpress.com £49 for 7X35 or 8x40, £59 if you want the heavier but brighter 7x50.
Click to expand...

Just Been to that site a saw the nikon ones 8x40 and it was right on my budget at 49 are they recommended for birding? i am pretty tempted to buy some now.
 
si654 said:
Just Been to that site a saw the nikon ones 8x40 and it was right on my budget at 49 are they recommended for birding? i am pretty tempted to buy some now.
Click to expand...

8x40 is great size for birding, and in terms of image quality, I personally haven't seen anything better for under £50.
 
Yes, the Nikon Action 8x40 is definitely recommended for birding. It has a wide field of view (429ft) and probably the best optical image in this price range. It's a bulky and somewhat heavy bin, but that is how Nikon is able to give you such a good image at this price, so remember that when you are cursing its weight.
 
8x40 by Nikon, Opticron, Pentax, whatever, is fine. The Powerview porros are poor. Maybe the 7x Powerviews are of limited use. Not worth the waste of money, unless you are really desperate for ANYTHING.
 
Thanks for the advice from you people, i will get some nikon action 8x40s from warehouse express.
I should have came on this forum earlier, then i wouln't have ended up with some crappy praktica 20x50s that are like looking through a needle eye Probally wont be able to give away cant belive i paid 19.99 for them.
I used to think binoculars didnt agree with my eyes i guess im just to used to putting up with crappy ones...
thanks to all who gave the advice once again..
Simon
 
Simon,
Please tell us what you think of the Nikons when they arrive.
About the Prakticas:
20x50 is designed to be mounted on a tripod. They might make a good first scope for you! You won't be able to hold them steady in your hands, as you have discovered. You have to mount them on a tripod.
However, to the extent that the Prakticas are dark and fuzzy, even on a tripod, they may not be useful, even as a "scope."
For example,
I remember my first scope. It was a Bushnell Spacemaster that my Uncle had bought in the 60's, stored in a shed in Florida til they had just the right amount of dust and mold on the lenses. Then he gave them to me. I spent several weeks trying to decide if I saw more detail with my 7x bins or the scope when looking at distant birds. Back and forth. Finally, I decided the scope even with 20x was so bad, it showed me less of the same bird than my 7x bins (7x35 Minoltas in those days, not unlike your Nikons). So, I stopped carrying the scope until I got a good Kowa used a few years later.
 
jedku said:
Simon,
Please tell us what you think of the Nikons when they arrive
Click to expand...

They arrived today just tried them out they are great pretty nice and clear for the money i paid i did notice that was a slight concern, i did get a slightly better Fov with eye cups folded back and and im not even a eye glasses wearer...
 
Have any of you actually tried the new 8x42/10x42 Roof Prism Powerviews that Bushnell just introduced this past year? I ask that because, like most of you, I owned the horrible Bushnell Powerview products in the late 80's and early 90's simply because they were cheap and I "needed" to have a binocular...despite the fact that I rarely used it.

Last night, while at Cabelas, I picked up a pair of the 8x42 roof prism powerviews and was a bit shocked by the image. It was actually half decent. It was by no means "great" but definitely passable. I am going to take another look at them when I hit the store next week. I do not remember the price but if they are under $80 then I would consider buying them as a window bin or back-up car bin.
 
FrankD said:
Have any of you actually tried the new 8x42/10x42 Roof Prism Powerviews that Bushnell just introduced this past year? I ask that because, like most of you, I owned the horrible Bushnell Powerview products in the late 80's and early 90's simply because they were cheap and I "needed" to have a binocular...despite the fact that I rarely used it.

Last night, while at Cabelas, I picked up a pair of the 8x42 roof prism powerviews and was a bit shocked by the image. It was actually half decent. It was by no means "great" but definitely passable. I am going to take another look at them when I hit the store next week. I do not remember the price but if they are under $80 then I would consider buying them as a window bin or back-up car bin.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried the new roofs but I seem to recall reading a positive for the price review a while back. I'm surprised they didn't come with a new name to more clearly distinguish them from the old sort the original poster found on ebay.
 
Admittedly, my experience was simply "in the store" but I tend to think that I can distinguish optical quality better than the average person. I am going to definitely give them a second look the next time I stop in. I am going to have to look up the specs at some point. I think they are only fully coated (maybe multicoated) but definitely not fully multicoated or phase coated. I would consider them a step down from the Sporters in image quality but they were lighter in weight.
 
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