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Cheap Compact question (carson, brunton, bushnell...) (1 Viewer)

Dennis

It never ceases to amaze me that when someone states that they want a bino in a certain price range (in this case $70 max), that you recommend an alpha bino that costs 10 to 15 times what they want or can afford. I often wonder what part of the English language you don't understand. Not everyone wants an 8x30 EII, Canon IS, Zeiss 8x56 or whatever else your Baskin Robbins flavor of the month is. Contrary to your viewpoint, for many people cheap compacts have a place both optically and pricewise.

Cameraland has been selling the little 6.5 Papilio demos for $69.99 for the past 8 months on their site as well as ebay, but other than the close focus, I don't think the optics are as good as the 8x25 Olympus Tracker. In the past 10 months I have never read a negative review on the little Tracker for what it is - other than yours. As most have stated, they are not far behind the 7x26 Customs ( which you also don't like), and some of the 8x20 Alphas.


BrightIdea

For your original question about binos in the $70 and under range, you have some good recommendations. A single hinge roof such as the 8x25 Olympus Magellan will not fold up smaller than the 8x25 reverse porros. The only one of these small binos that will fit in your shirt breast pocket is a double hinge roof such as the Nikon Trailblazer/Sportstar EX. All of them will fit in a jacket pocket. Optically, the 8x25 Olympus Tracker reverse porro is the best, and beats the view from any of the small roofs mentioned - except the $1200 8x32 Zeiss FL mentioned by Dennis.

Find a few of the ones mentioned and try them.

tom
 
Dennis

It never ceases to amaze me that when someone states that they want a bino in a certain price range (in this case $70 max), that you recommend an alpha bino that costs 10 to 15 times what they want or can afford. I often wonder what part of the English language you don't understand. Not everyone wants an 8x30 EII, Canon IS, Zeiss 8x56 or whatever else your Baskin Robbins flavor of the month is. Contrary to your viewpoint, for many people cheap compacts have a place both optically and pricewise.

Cameraland has been selling the little 6.5 Papilio demos for $69.99 for the past 8 months on their site as well as ebay, but other than the close focus, I don't think the optics are as good as the 8x25 Olympus Tracker. In the past 10 months I have never read a negative review on the little Tracker for what it is - other than yours. As most have stated, they are not far behind the 7x26 Customs ( which you also don't like), and some of the 8x20 Alphas.


BrightIdea

For your original question about binos in the $70 and under range, you have some good recommendations. A single hinge roof such as the 8x25 Olympus Magellan will not fold up smaller than the 8x25 reverse porros. The only one of these small binos that will fit in your shirt breast pocket is a double hinge roof such as the Nikon Trailblazer/Sportstar EX. All of them will fit in a jacket pocket. Optically, the 8x25 Olympus Tracker reverse porro is the best, and beats the view from any of the small roofs mentioned - except the $1200 8x32 Zeiss FL mentioned by Dennis.

Find a few of the ones mentioned and try them.

tom

Yes. I tried several samples of the Olympus Tracker back when there was E-bay seller selling them for $10.00 to $15.00 shipped. For that price I guess they were OK. I sold them all for about $30.00 so I did make a profit on them. I guess just for surveying the surroundings they are satisfactory but I could not recommend them as a serious birding binocular as I would be doing that person an injustice. Aren't the lenses plastic?
 
I seem to recall that the Olympus uses an aspheric plastic element. Not sure where I heard that, though. An aspheric reduces field curvature and sharpens the edges.

Whatever it is, it works, and pretty much everyone except Dennis agrees. For the price, or even three times the price, I don't think you'll see anything better--in terms of the view. They are amazingly sharp, and also very light.

Mark
 
I seem to recall that the Olympus uses an aspheric plastic element. Not sure where I heard that, though. An aspheric reduces field curvature and sharpens the edges.

Whatever it is, it works, and pretty much everyone except Dennis agrees. For the price, or even three times the price, I don't think you'll see anything better--in terms of the view. They are amazingly sharp, and also very light.

Mark

I guess they were pretty good for $15.00. At first I thought they were pretty good and then I compared them to an alpha compact and I decided to sell them. Heh, for $15.00 they weren't bad at all. There was alot of talk about them on Bird Forum when you could get them for $10.00 plus $5.00 for shipping. They were calling them the disposable binocular I believe. I had about a half dozen pair of different magnifications and colors. Yes, you could get them in blue and red I believe. Pretty snazzy little binoculars. Heck, they get scratched up and dirty just toss em in the trash.
 
The Carson Ravens are a pretty decent view, but the build quality is not all that great.
...]

Compact update:
I received the Ravens as a gift last night. Great fit and feel, but the optics are completely unusable. Collimation is way out and the focus knob seems to be uncalibrated. They are headed back to NYC.
 
Tracker...SKIP...Tracker...SKIP...Tracker...SKIP...;)

$53 on Amazon. 8x25 reverse porro.

I've had a pair since 2001 (They were Minolta back then, I guess before Olympus took the model over). They're dirty, but still work just fine. I don't think they're disposable unless you feel like beating them up and disposing of them.
 
I guess they were pretty good for $15.00. At first I thought they were pretty good and then I compared them to an alpha compact and I decided to sell them. Heh, for $15.00 they weren't bad at all. There was alot of talk about them on Bird Forum when you could get them for $10.00 plus $5.00 for shipping. They were calling them the disposable binocular I believe. I had about a half dozen pair of different magnifications and colors. Yes, you could get them in blue and red I believe. Pretty snazzy little binoculars. Heck, they get scratched up and dirty just toss em in the trash.

Next time, donate them to a school or a kid's birding club. So much disposable trash to you, perhaps, but there's a happy kid with a pair at my kid's bird club.

David
 
Next time, donate them to a school or a kid's birding club. So much disposable trash to you, perhaps, but there's a happy kid with a pair at my kid's bird club.

David

I never disposed of them. I guess somebody just called them that. I think what they meant was if you dropped them in the lake or something you didn't have to worry about it as much as if it was a Zeiss or Leica. I would never dispose of a serviceable binocular no matter how inexpensive. In fact they were using the Olympus for Birding Clubs for kids that could not afford binoculars. I don't know what happenend to that wholesaler that was selling them on E-bay for $15.00.That was a real bargain. Excellent for kids trying birding out for the first time and a great tool. Once you have been spoiled by a $2K Alpha they are certainly a step down but nonetheless a great starter binocular.
 
$15, huh? Yikes.

95% of Alpha view for <1% of the price... Could be the best bino deal ever?

Only one way to find out. There's no $15 deal out there that I know of. Give it a shot at $53; if it doesn't work out return it.

I never returned it. That's all I'm saying.
It's silly to say "it's not as good as a 2k alpha." Of course it's not as good as a 2k alpha. If you feel like carrying a 2k alpha, carry it.

But for the price and the weight, I defy anyone to beat it.

By the way, for me compact is 10oz, everything included. The Leica 8x20 with strap and case comes in under 10oz. The Olympus comes in at 10oz. The wonderful Zeiss 8x32 FL, with supplied bloated neoprene strap and anal-compulsive case, comes in at something like 26oz. A huge difference. You can drop some of that weight with a different case and strap--neoprene is just silly in a strap, heavy and sweaty and useless. But that's what it comes with. If you like it, that's just fine.

In the end, you have to try these things. They are surprisingly personal, which shouldn't be surprising, I guess, since they are connected to your eyes.

Welcome to the persnickety-ness that is BF.;);
 
Only one way to find out. There's no $15 deal out there that I know of. Give it a shot at $53; if it doesn't work out return it.

I never returned it. That's all I'm saying.
It's silly to say "it's not as good as a 2k alpha." Of course it's not as good as a 2k alpha. If you feel like carrying a 2k alpha, carry it.

But for the price and the weight, I defy anyone to beat it.

By the way, for me compact is 10oz, everything included. The Leica 8x20 with strap and case comes in under 10oz. The Olympus comes in at 10oz. The wonderful Zeiss 8x32 FL, with supplied bloated neoprene strap and anal-compulsive case, comes in at something like 26oz. A huge difference. You can drop some of that weight with a different case and strap--neoprene is just silly in a strap, heavy and sweaty and useless. But that's what it comes with. If you like it, that's just fine.

In the end, you have to try these things. They are surprisingly personal, which shouldn't be surprising, I guess, since they are connected to your eyes.

Welcome to the persnickety-ness that is BF.;);

I kind of like the case and strap the Zeiss 8x32 FL comes with. The straps padding helps when you carry them all day and the case would offer some signifigant protection if you dropped them. Maybe I am anal-compulsive. Let me think about it. Yea I probably am especially with my binoculars. When you start getting up to the best alpha binoculars probably only a few percentage points seperate them from the less expensive binoculars. You have to decide for yourself if it is worth the extra weight and cost to carry a 32mm alpha. For me when I lift that heavy 20 oz. to my eyes and I get this beautiful image of the bird or object or what ever I have them pointed at carrying that extra 10 oz. is worth it. I have those images burned in my memory and when I use a lesser binocular they tend to dissapoint me. I spent $1100.00 for my Zeiss 8x32 FL's which is quite a bit of money but they bring me alot of enjoyment for that investment. If the Olympus satisfies that is great but on the other hand I fully understand people spending several thousand dollars for a top quality binocular as a life investment for a hobby they love. If you really watch E-bay you can still find the Olympus binoculars for less than $25.00. Here is a used pair that went for $8.52 with free shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Olympus-RC-8x21-Binoculars-/130501203130?pt=Binocular&hash=item1e627a54ba
 
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I am always amused by threads that start of with requests for advice on cheap (less than $70) binos gravitating to recommendations for $1200 and up alpha binos.

Dennis has the Trackers confused with the cheap Roamer 8x21's, as no Tracker has gone off on ebay for less than $44 in months as I have been looking for another for my brother.

And if Dennis thinks the cheap Olympus Roamers had a decent view, then I guess the Trackers would amaze him for the $$. For anyone out there that actually compares binos, you might just discover that the the 8x25 Tracker outperforms the older venerated Nikon Venturer II's and the Diplomats, and comes within reasonable distance behind the 7x26 Bushnell Customs. It was fairly easy for me to ascertain from Dennis's comments on the Trackers that he probably has never looked thru one.

I would say the 8x25 Tracker PCI is 75-80% of the Alphas for 5 to 7% of the cost - which makes them an outstanding bargain for what they are - cheap binos!

tom
 
I am always amused by threads that start of with requests for advice on cheap (less than $70) binos gravitating to recommendations for $1200 and up alpha binos.

Dennis has the Trackers confused with the cheap Roamer 8x21's, as no Tracker has gone off on ebay for less than $44 in months as I have been looking for another for my brother.

And if Dennis thinks the cheap Olympus Roamers had a decent view, then I guess the Trackers would amaze him for the $$. For anyone out there that actually compares binos, you might just discover that the the 8x25 Tracker outperforms the older venerated Nikon Venturer II's and the Diplomats, and comes within reasonable distance behind the 7x26 Bushnell Customs. It was fairly easy for me to ascertain from Dennis's comments on the Trackers that he probably has never looked thru one.

I would say the 8x25 Tracker PCI is 75-80% of the Alphas for 5 to 7% of the cost - which makes them an outstanding bargain for what they are - cheap binos!

tom

The Trackers outperform the Nikon Venturers! Wow! I didn't know there was a big difference between the Tracker and the Roamer. I always bought the cheaper Roamer. What actually is the difference between the two? A higher grade of plastic! I might have to get me a Tracker.
 
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I am always amused by threads that start of with requests for advice on cheap (less than $70) binos gravitating to recommendations for $1200 and up alpha binos.

Dennis has the Trackers confused with the cheap Roamer 8x21's, as no Tracker has gone off on ebay for less than $44 in months as I have been looking for another for my brother.

And if Dennis thinks the cheap Olympus Roamers had a decent view, then I guess the Trackers would amaze him for the $$. For anyone out there that actually compares binos, you might just discover that the the 8x25 Tracker outperforms the older venerated Nikon Venturer II's and the Diplomats, and comes within reasonable distance behind the 7x26 Bushnell Customs. It was fairly easy for me to ascertain from Dennis's comments on the Trackers that he probably has never looked thru one.

I would say the 8x25 Tracker PCI is 75-80% of the Alphas for 5 to 7% of the cost - which makes them an outstanding bargain for what they are - cheap binos!

tom

Yeah, when Dennis started talking about different colors and whatnot, I began to suspect he just wasn't paying attention to the subject. I suspect he never looked through the REVERSE PORRO Tracker. Cheap roofs are indeed--as of this date--not worth looking through. So, don't look through them.
 
Cheap roofs are indeed--as of this date--not worth looking through. So, don't look through them.

Can't entirely agree... we can get these in the UK for about £65 and they seem fine to me. I love my Nikon 10X35 EIIs but for sticking in a bike handlebar bag or a jacket pocket when in town I'd say they were hard to beat (at the cheap end of the market, of course).

>>>Silva Lite-Tech Compact Binoculars

Features:

* Like the Eterna, Lite Tech Compact has a high class, nitrogen-filled optical system that gives you a crystal clear image.
* However, Lite Tech is a little shorter and wider and does not have attached lens covers.
* Waterproof Available in two models: 8x25 and 10x25.
 

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I've pretty much given up the search.I have the reverse porros, but I like a little bigger eye piece. The Columbias in 8x25 are good but sold out.
 
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