I'm looking for binoculars for my wife and not quite sure what to get. This is for her birthday and I may just get something or may talk to her about options on her birthday and let her help me choose.
Light weight is a priority. I would also prefer fairly close focus and a wide field of view. Not asking for too much.
I would like to be in the ~$500 range but that's not a hard limit. I hate wonky focus knobs, poor quality control, etc.; that stuff drives me nuts, which is most of my desire to get something not made in China if possible because my quality control experiences haven't been great. I don't mind buying relatively inexpensive MIC binoculars (I have gotten my kids 6x30 and 8x30 MIC Opticron and Kowa porros and they're fine, but my standards are lower in the ~$100 range). I also have an irrationally strong preference for locking diopters (well maybe not totally irrational as it's based on past annoyance, but maybe I'm letting one particular pair of binoculars with a too-easy-to-accidentally-adjust diopter influence me too much).
My own binoculars are Pentax DCF SP 8x32 (no longer available of course), which meet all my criteria except for the x42 part (just to give you an idea of my personal standards of quality, those with fancy ED binos probably are laughing at me at this point). I ended up with them because I liked the 8x43 model (that I saw in an excellent shop that is unfortunately no longer in business) but it had too much eye relief for me (similar I'm guessing to what I've read about the Zeiss Conquest, except that Pentax didn't supply taller eyecups upon request) and I decided that the 8x32 was the closest thing to what I was looking for in my price range at the time. I think given the passage of time and its effects on eyes, and some casual astronomy interest, 42mm objectives would probably be better for my wife.
Kowa BD II 8x42's look like they check a lot of my boxes, except for the MIC part and locking diopter. Wondering if there's something better I'm missing.
I just found some Vixen models that are hard but maybe not impossible to find here in the US. Vixen 8x42 Artes J DCF ED is MIJ and looks like it might have a locking diopter on the central focus knob. FOV (367.5 ft/1000 yds) and close focus (10 ft) not quite what I was hoping for. Mid-$400 range. Anybody used these or have an opinion, or know if they have a locking diopter? Similar looking Vixen Foresta II 8x42 has better FOV and has a locking diopter but I suspect made in China. I have never handled Vixen binos but know it's an old name in astronomical optics.
Anyway, I thought someone on here might know of something I haven't thought of and could point me in a new direction. Thanks for any help!
Light weight is a priority. I would also prefer fairly close focus and a wide field of view. Not asking for too much.
I would like to be in the ~$500 range but that's not a hard limit. I hate wonky focus knobs, poor quality control, etc.; that stuff drives me nuts, which is most of my desire to get something not made in China if possible because my quality control experiences haven't been great. I don't mind buying relatively inexpensive MIC binoculars (I have gotten my kids 6x30 and 8x30 MIC Opticron and Kowa porros and they're fine, but my standards are lower in the ~$100 range). I also have an irrationally strong preference for locking diopters (well maybe not totally irrational as it's based on past annoyance, but maybe I'm letting one particular pair of binoculars with a too-easy-to-accidentally-adjust diopter influence me too much).
My own binoculars are Pentax DCF SP 8x32 (no longer available of course), which meet all my criteria except for the x42 part (just to give you an idea of my personal standards of quality, those with fancy ED binos probably are laughing at me at this point). I ended up with them because I liked the 8x43 model (that I saw in an excellent shop that is unfortunately no longer in business) but it had too much eye relief for me (similar I'm guessing to what I've read about the Zeiss Conquest, except that Pentax didn't supply taller eyecups upon request) and I decided that the 8x32 was the closest thing to what I was looking for in my price range at the time. I think given the passage of time and its effects on eyes, and some casual astronomy interest, 42mm objectives would probably be better for my wife.
Kowa BD II 8x42's look like they check a lot of my boxes, except for the MIC part and locking diopter. Wondering if there's something better I'm missing.
I just found some Vixen models that are hard but maybe not impossible to find here in the US. Vixen 8x42 Artes J DCF ED is MIJ and looks like it might have a locking diopter on the central focus knob. FOV (367.5 ft/1000 yds) and close focus (10 ft) not quite what I was hoping for. Mid-$400 range. Anybody used these or have an opinion, or know if they have a locking diopter? Similar looking Vixen Foresta II 8x42 has better FOV and has a locking diopter but I suspect made in China. I have never handled Vixen binos but know it's an old name in astronomical optics.
Anyway, I thought someone on here might know of something I haven't thought of and could point me in a new direction. Thanks for any help!