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Tasco National Audubon Binoculars (1 Viewer)

dasteve

Member
Has anyone had any experience with a "Tasco National Audubon Society Rare Bird 8x40mm Binoculars"
Saw them at Goodwill...What's the most you would recommend to pay for them.
It says 1789 Japan on them. Would it be a waste of money?
Researched your forums here on bins..didn't see any reviews on Tasco...maybe cause their 'junk'???
Looking for some good birding binoculars...used, if possible. Hoping to find some from an estate sale...
Ideally I would like Atlas Radian 8x42, or Nikon Monarch ATB 8x42, Kato Group BV Eden 8x42,Eagle Denali 8x42...
Maybe I'm a dreamer...but I'm a persistent one!

Thanks to all....
 
If you want/need to go inexpensive, look at the Nikon Action series or the new Action replacement the Aculon.

There are older Tasco binoculars from the 60-70's on internet sites that are better than the Tasco you reference. I have no experience with that model, but a lot of later model Tasco optics were in fact, junk.

Other than that shoot out a budget figure. Lots of recommendations will depend on that figure.

Looks like a welcome to Bird Forum is in order too!
 
Thanks so much for your reply & info. I will most definitely forget about the bins @ Goodwill & look into the ones you referenced.
And thanks for the welcome :)
 
If goodwill only want $20 for them there is no reason to not pick them up, since it's from Japan it's an older model before tasco becomes bushnell's super budget line.
 
Stephen Ingraham in this article from about 2002 mentions how the Tasco Rare Bird series came about :
http://www.betterviewdesired.com/Roof-prism-Binoculars-for-500.php
The full-size roof model there reviewed well. Recall seeing a pretty favourable review of the contemporary roof prism compact (not phased coated of course). I've heard reports from elsewhere that the full size porros were a bit of a disappointment though.

Norm:

Good of you to post this review of top binoculars. I had not seen this review
and I have spent too much time looking at the BVD site, and this one is very
interesting.

Ingraham had firmly placed the Nikon SE 8x32 in the #1 spot, and I am wondering
when or if he has ever displaced it.

For the BVD archivists, in the 32mm size, the NEED testing does score these
in a reasonable way.

When BVD ceased the reviews, which of the top bins. were the best in the NEED
score?

Jerry
 
Jerry, I don't think anything ever did surpass the Nikon SE in the NEED test at 8x before Stephen left to work for Zeiss (and not sure the later reviews by other folk on that site used that test). At that time I think the Nikon SE was competing against an early 8.5x Swarovski EL, the Zeiss Victory (not the FL), the original (heavy) Nikon Venturer LX and probably the equivalent of a Leica BA.
 
Jerry, I don't think anything ever did surpass the Nikon SE in the NEED test at 8x before Stephen left to work for Zeiss (and not sure the later reviews by other folk on that site used that test). At that time I think the Nikon SE was competing against an early 8.5x Swarovski EL, the Zeiss Victory (not the FL), the original (heavy) Nikon Venturer LX and probably the equivalent of a Leica BA.

Norm:

Thanks for that, I am thinking you are right. I have seen the later tests, in
the early 2000's and the Nikon SE was still right at the top.

I am thinking Zeiss and Ingraham still have the Nikon SE on hand to do optics
comparisons.

The Nikon SE is a reference standard, and so is very much today.

Jerry
 
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