Help me choose my first binoculars! (2 Viewers)

[dham340]

I'll add some food for thought and throw out that you might want to look at the celestron nature dx. The 8x42 was recently highly reviewed and I got the 8x32 for free using my airline miles. Waterproof, fog proof, small, good close focus and both can be had for right around $100. It's way better than the bushnell poro I had.

 

[PhilR.]

Throw another vote in for the Yosemites. Are the 8x30s more than $100 these days?

I think that normal retail is often around $119, but they can be found for under $100 if one is willing to buy off the internet. I think it was CDNN that had the blaze-orange camo version for about $69 a short time ago......

 

[OPTIC_NUT]

Throw another vote in for the Yosemites. Are the 8x30s more than $100 these days?

$95 at bhphotovideo. I 'witnessed' the pair I bought at REI for $120.
All less than abut $125 2-5 yrs ago.
Things are very competitive out there.

The build quality / parts on the Yosemites are more solid than the Celestron or
Barska, which look almost identical and are cheaper. I've opened all three
(and fixed/tweaked the other two). Still an excellent value. One pair I don't
think about getting rid of.

 

[eitanaltman]

If you really don't want to spend more than $100 then I will throw in another vote for the Lehpold Yosemite and its kin (like Kowa YF). I have a pair of 6x30 that I got for a pittance used and they are simply stunning for the price. IMO they are the best "starter binocular" you can get under $100. I greatly prefer then ergonomically to the much fatter Nikon Action/Aculon series.

Most decent roofs (assuming new not used) start at $200+, the exception being the blowout pricing on the Vanguard Endeavor mentioned above. If you have your heart set on a roof then grab a pair of those and don't look back, you'd have to spend a lot of money to get something significantly better optically.

 

[perterra]

Damn, y'all bout talked me into buying another pair of Yosemites

 

[FrankD]

Most decent roofs (assuming new not used) start at $200+, the exception being the blowout pricing on the Vanguard Endeavor mentioned above. If you have your heart set on a roof then grab a pair of those and don't look back, you'd have to spend a lot of money to get something significantly better optically.

Ok, you said "most" so I can excuse you for not mentioning the Sightron SII 8x32. it betters the Yosemite but then it is $180.

 

[vulcanraven]

I'm thinking of getting the legacy over the h20 bushnell porro and yosemite. That's what my gut is saying.

It's got bigger lenses, middle price wise between the h20 bushnell and the yosemite.

 

[perterra]

Main thing is just get something and start using them. They will probably be fine for you. In a few years, you may decide you want something else but by then you will know what you like or dont like.

 

[FrankD]

I'm thinking of getting the legacy over the h20 bushnell porro and yosemite. That's what my gut is saying.

It's got bigger lenses, middle price wise between the h20 bushnell and the yosemite.

There is nothing "wrong" with the Legacy. I had a pair of the 8x42s once. They are probably one of the better "relatively inexpensive" Bushnell models. However I do have vague recollections of a color bias to the image (yellow-red) and notable field curvature in the field of view.

The Yosemite, on the other hand, has neutral color representation and a much flatter image. In my opinion it is worth the few extra dollars you would have to throw at it.

 

[OPTIC_NUT]

Main thing is just get something and start using them. They will probably be fine for you. In a few years, you may decide you want something else but by then you will know what you like or dont like.

Well said! Can't tell for sure yet, and there are great starters.

 

[vulcanraven]

Wouldn't the 8x42 give be better image quality vs the 8x30?

also, not to follow in with popularity fallacy, but, more people have bought the legacy and hence more reviews from all these sites I am going on.

 

[perterra]

Wouldn't the 8x42 give be better image quality vs the 8x30?

also, not to follow in with popularity fallacy, but, more people have bought the legacy and hence more reviews from all these sites I am going on.

Is the quality of the glass in the legacy better than the quality of the glass in the yosemite?

 

[OPTIC_NUT]

Wouldn't the 8x42 give be better image quality vs the 8x30?

Usually, yes. Brighter and usually better contrast.
Bigger and heavier, though. Big lenses bring a lot of good things,
but size and weight is the burden. The width, height, and length all increase and the
volume of prisms and lenses goes up as the cube of the objective ratio (roughly).

There is another subtle factor in image quality: the mechanical tightness and smoothness.
Is is very easy and repeatable to get the highest sharpness from the Yosemites.
I haven't tried the Legacies, though.

also, not to follow in with popularity fallacy, but, more people have bought the legacy and hence more reviews from all these sites I am going on.

There should be many reviews of both out there. Amazon and bhphotovideo are high-volume review sources.
As always, evaluate the credibility of the witness first, and look for specific qualities or comparison
with other models.

 

[vulcanraven]

The legacy is slightly lighter (1.65 pds vs 1.7 pds) and there are only a handful of reviews on amazon and b&h (6 max) for the yosemite. The legacy has 60 reviews.

Is the quality of the glass in the legacy better than the quality of the glass in the yosemite?

No idea dude. Something subtle like that could be a deciding factor.

 

[perterra]

Usually, yes. Brighter and usually better contrast.
Bigger and heavier, though. Big lenses bring a lot of good things,
but size and weight is the burden. The width, height, and length all increase and the
volume of prisms and lenses goes up as the cube of the objective ratio (roughly).

There is another subtle factor in image quality: the mechanical tightness and smoothness.
Is is very easy and repeatable to get the highest sharpness from the Yosemites.
I haven't tried the Legacies, though.




There should be many reviews of both out there. Amazon and bhphotovideo are high-volume review sources.
As always, evaluate the credibility of the witness first, and look for specific qualities or comparison
with other models.

The yosemite has a larger sweet spot.

 

[FrankD]

My opinion.....

There are a few "truths" that I have learned over the years from trying and buying an uncountable number of models. One, an 8x30 is going to have a larger field of view than its 8x40 counterpart. There are exceptions of course but because of the optical design itself a 30 mm model typically has a wider field of view than a 40 mm model. If the 40 mm model has the same or greater field of view then it is typically because the manufacturer created the 40 mm first and put all of their effort into designing that configuration as they thought it would be their best seller.

Having said that, I would assume that an 8x30 of the same design would have a more well-corrected view, in terms of aberrations and distortions. The Yosemite, in this case, is a very simple design. Because of it being simple there is less chance of there being more optical issues with it. The Legacy, on the other hand, has a wide field of view for an 8x40-something model. Since it is relatively inexpensive that usually means one of two things. Either a) it has a simple eyepiece design which then leads to short eye relief (a result of trying to achieve a wide field of view in a low cost instrument) or b) it is going to have a great deal of optical aberrations or distortions in the image.

Basically, at the low price points, there is only so much you can do with the optical design. Since the Yosemite is a simple design in an 8x30 configuration you are likely to get better overall optical performance.

Further more, the Yosemite has only been around for maybe 5 or 6 years....and it has had at least one "upgrade" in terms of design. Because of this I would expect it to have the latest coatings. The Legacy, on the other hand, has been around for much longer and I don't ever remember reading anything to suggest that the current model is any different than the one I sampled 8+ years ago.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[FrankD]

Also, as for the review concern, I think that may be because of the "upgrade"/redesign I mentioned. I can't believe that more folks haven't reviewed the Yosemite but I checked a few sites and what you said is true. However, if the reviews "reset" after the redesign then that might explain it. I did find 18 reviews on Amazon though.....

http://www.amazon.com/Leupold-Yosem...96A/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1

 

[eitanaltman]

I would advise you strongly to trust the experienced and expert opinions on this site over the collective of amazon reviews.

At your budget price point it is very easy to make a poor decision, there is a lot of garbage and a wide variance in quality. You have been steered towards a few proven performers which exceed their price point -- the Leupold Yo or Nikon porros, the Vanguard Endeavor.

If you decide you want a roof I STRONGLY advise you to spend a few extra bucks and get the Vanguard, as it is competitive with $300-500 binoculars (it placed 1st in a crowded field at birdwatching.com and has many amazon reviews to boot). It is miles beyond any other roof you can get for $100 and is only this cheap due to blowout pricing.

 

[vulcanraven]

Okay, I went with yosemite, just bought them from b&h. Let's see how this goes. I am so excited!

 

[perterra]

My opinion.....

There are a few "truths" that I have learned over the years from trying and buying an uncountable number of models. One, an 8x30 is going to have a larger field of view than its 8x40 counterpart. There are exceptions of course but because of the optical design itself a 30 mm model typically has a wider field of view than a 40 mm model. If the 40 mm model has the same or greater field of view then it is typically because the manufacturer created the 40 mm first and put all of their effort into designing that configuration as they thought it would be their best seller.

Having said that, I would assume that an 8x30 of the same design would have a more well-corrected view, in terms of aberrations and distortions. The Yosemite, in this case, is a very simple design. Because of it being simple there is less chance of there being more optical issues with it. The Legacy, on the other hand, has a wide field of view for an 8x40-something model. Since it is relatively inexpensive that usually means one of two things. Either a) it has a simple eyepiece design which then leads to short eye relief (a result of trying to achieve a wide field of view in a low cost instrument) or b) it is going to have a great deal of optical aberrations or distortions in the image.

Basically, at the low price points, there is only so much you can do with the optical design. Since the Yosemite is a simple design in an 8x30 configuration you are likely to get better overall optical performance.

Further more, the Yosemite has only been around for maybe 5 or 6 years....and it has had at least one "upgrade" in terms of design. Because of this I would expect it to have the latest coatings. The Legacy, on the other hand, has been around for much longer and I don't ever remember reading anything to suggest that the current model is any different than the one I sampled 8+ years ago.

Hope this helps a bit.

Off topic a bit, but I wonder how well the Yosemite would be recieved if Leupold produced an upmarket version with prime glass, sort of a poor mans Nikon SE.