GeneralEverything
Member
Hey there, stumbled upon your site in the quest for the perfect binoculars. Went through the typical shock of how expensive they could get, and then the secondary shock of the minimum amount necessary to get quality binoculars. After picking my jaw up off the ground, and reading up, sizing up the field, etc., I'm ready to say I want to confirm my personal thoughts, and get some help.
First off, I can be an obsessive type, I like good gear, but, I'm not even out of school yet (higher education seems to go on forever...). So first off, that means that my budget REALLY doesn't have too much flexibility, and that I can take full advantage of large exit pupils (I have rather good night vision even for my age, so the bigger the better- read on). I don't generally wear glasses, so diopter adjustments for comfort are fine, but I don't need the same level others do.
What am I asking for? Well, I can obsess, so I'm going to try to keep it simple, to 2 binoculars, and perhaps a spotting scope in the future. My system (as I envision- constructive criticism helpful) is:
1 Compact Roof (I'm about to pull the trigger on the Zeiss Victory 8x20)
1 Everything else binocular: Huge, heavy, whatever.
1 (Possible, in future) Spotting scope- see anything anywhere (joke).
Compact
The compact is a must, as that is what I will mostly use. The Ultravids seem to be too far out of my price range, even when appearing on samplelist, cameralandny nra/samples, or eagle optics hot deals. I can't wrangle any more than $400 for a compact. I'd like to buy this first, as I will use it the most, and haven't ever had nice optics, big or small, so it will be nice to think something so tiny is so amazing! I'd like my disillusionment to be slow, okay? :king:
Everything Else
Not to be bought concurrently (unless actually cheap enough), but the everything else binocular. Now, I know there are tradeoffs and all that. Let me know about them. I want (good luck, I know): Good low light performance, easy glassing at a distance without eyestrain (both are partially solved by large exit pupils, right?), great detail... yeah, what everyone wants. They can be as big as Steiner Senators, heavy as a daypack; but... I'd like to do $500 or under, and I'm not averse to saving money. Yeah, ouch, I know, and if you have something REALLY worthwhile a little above, then I will consider it, but Leica Geovids are not in my near future. However, while I do love durability, waterproof, etc., I'd be fine with going with porro prisms. I'd like longer distance out of them, but will accept 6x or 7x if that seems to be a consensus. I was thinking either the Minox BD 8x44 BP, the Leupold Cascade porros, or the swift audobon 8.5x44. I've read about superior es, and the EII, but haven't fully gathered information on availability and such. Additionally, I've done my best to extrapolate what the best porros are, and the Swift and SE seem to be the top competitors. I've read all the wonders of the Promaster ELX mumbojumbo (that name... escapes me) and the Hawke, and the Vipers. However, because this is maximum bang for the buck, I don't give a hoot about size, roof prism elitism, weight, or whatever, I just want the best "cover (as much of) everything a compact doesn't" binoculars, though I do want to make a solid investment.
Possible future scope: Probably something cheap if in the short-term, something awesome in the long term. May buy cheap one (sandpiper) to have as a backup anyway and in future have good scope to reach out and see anything. Not a big consideration at this point, but consider that I would probably go at least $900 for the scope, quite possibly reaching into the 1500+ ones (Kowa 883... :smoke, so you can help me with advice with this range of optics in mind.
Criticism appreciated. Yes, I know, blasphemy to propose only 3 different methods to deal with all my viewing! I may end up making it more complicated, but right now, let's pretend I'm going to make it simple, and you're going to help me, OK ?
Thanks for reading, and sorry for any painfully stupid terminology mistakes, assumptions, etc. I will most likely be very responsive to this thread, but... I'm going to have to limit my contact with you all beyond the thread, as my wallet is already shaking in fear at how a simple single binocular for ~$200 has morphed into a well over $1000 plan. :-O
GenEv
First off, I can be an obsessive type, I like good gear, but, I'm not even out of school yet (higher education seems to go on forever...). So first off, that means that my budget REALLY doesn't have too much flexibility, and that I can take full advantage of large exit pupils (I have rather good night vision even for my age, so the bigger the better- read on). I don't generally wear glasses, so diopter adjustments for comfort are fine, but I don't need the same level others do.
What am I asking for? Well, I can obsess, so I'm going to try to keep it simple, to 2 binoculars, and perhaps a spotting scope in the future. My system (as I envision- constructive criticism helpful) is:
1 Compact Roof (I'm about to pull the trigger on the Zeiss Victory 8x20)
1 Everything else binocular: Huge, heavy, whatever.
1 (Possible, in future) Spotting scope- see anything anywhere (joke).
Compact
The compact is a must, as that is what I will mostly use. The Ultravids seem to be too far out of my price range, even when appearing on samplelist, cameralandny nra/samples, or eagle optics hot deals. I can't wrangle any more than $400 for a compact. I'd like to buy this first, as I will use it the most, and haven't ever had nice optics, big or small, so it will be nice to think something so tiny is so amazing! I'd like my disillusionment to be slow, okay? :king:
Everything Else
Not to be bought concurrently (unless actually cheap enough), but the everything else binocular. Now, I know there are tradeoffs and all that. Let me know about them. I want (good luck, I know): Good low light performance, easy glassing at a distance without eyestrain (both are partially solved by large exit pupils, right?), great detail... yeah, what everyone wants. They can be as big as Steiner Senators, heavy as a daypack; but... I'd like to do $500 or under, and I'm not averse to saving money. Yeah, ouch, I know, and if you have something REALLY worthwhile a little above, then I will consider it, but Leica Geovids are not in my near future. However, while I do love durability, waterproof, etc., I'd be fine with going with porro prisms. I'd like longer distance out of them, but will accept 6x or 7x if that seems to be a consensus. I was thinking either the Minox BD 8x44 BP, the Leupold Cascade porros, or the swift audobon 8.5x44. I've read about superior es, and the EII, but haven't fully gathered information on availability and such. Additionally, I've done my best to extrapolate what the best porros are, and the Swift and SE seem to be the top competitors. I've read all the wonders of the Promaster ELX mumbojumbo (that name... escapes me) and the Hawke, and the Vipers. However, because this is maximum bang for the buck, I don't give a hoot about size, roof prism elitism, weight, or whatever, I just want the best "cover (as much of) everything a compact doesn't" binoculars, though I do want to make a solid investment.
Possible future scope: Probably something cheap if in the short-term, something awesome in the long term. May buy cheap one (sandpiper) to have as a backup anyway and in future have good scope to reach out and see anything. Not a big consideration at this point, but consider that I would probably go at least $900 for the scope, quite possibly reaching into the 1500+ ones (Kowa 883... :smoke, so you can help me with advice with this range of optics in mind.
Criticism appreciated. Yes, I know, blasphemy to propose only 3 different methods to deal with all my viewing! I may end up making it more complicated, but right now, let's pretend I'm going to make it simple, and you're going to help me, OK ?
Thanks for reading, and sorry for any painfully stupid terminology mistakes, assumptions, etc. I will most likely be very responsive to this thread, but... I'm going to have to limit my contact with you all beyond the thread, as my wallet is already shaking in fear at how a simple single binocular for ~$200 has morphed into a well over $1000 plan. :-O
GenEv