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short review of 8x42 bushnell excursion (1 Viewer)

sfrazee

New member
Hi everyone. First of all, I am not really a bird watcher (though have a little now with my new binoculars- I looked at a dove i think from about ten feet away the other day and I never knew it had what almost looked like gold leaf on its neck- never knew that).

Thanks everyone- I have read many posts on this forum to help decide on what binoculars to buy. I wanted to give a short review of my new bushnell excursion 8x42 binoculars from a laymans perspective:

Just for perspective- I have never looked through a pair of leicas or swarovskis. I have only looked through binoculars you might find at a big 5 or similar place. I also have a pair of cheap zoom bushnells.

I was astounded when I first looked through the excursions. Everything looked so bright, clear, and sharp. looking through my old pair is like looking through two dark cloudy tunnels in comparison. Again I have never looked through any expensive high end stuff, but I just cant imagine how it would be possible for them to be hugely better (and I will never look through any- just in case :).

I have read posts where people talk about them not being sharp at the edges, and also some have suggested there would be some distortion because they are so wide angle (FOV= 426 feet).

To me they look sharp period. I dont spend a lot of time looking at the edges. I mainly point them at things I want to look at, but even intentionally looking at the edges, they still look sharp and nice to me (I just tried this and edges still look sharp and fine). I was just looking off my balcony at a tree about 25 feet away and can even clearly see the individual strands of a spider web in it...

About them having "barrel distortion" (this is when a wide angle lens will bend the sides of an image making any vertical lines at the edges appear bowed or rounded). I dont really see much of that either. Even when I line up a door frame or something totally straight up and down at the edges, I dont see much... Maybe a VERY slight "bowing" but all wide angles lenses do that, and its not something a person would ever notice in use.

I have also seen post saying the focusing isnt precise and has a "dead spot" or something. Again I disagree. I think they focus great. No problems whatsoever getting things in sharp focus, and I feel zero slop or dead spots in focusing. I can even easily focus using just one finger- nice and smooth and have no problems getting precise focus- even using just the one finger.

The other thing I have seen people comment on is problems with attaching the neck strap. Unless the neckband design was different in the past you just need to be sure when you put the tabs on the neck band into the slots to be sure the part that pivots snaps back up into place. That is the only way I could see someone having them fall off or anything (if you didnt snap the pivoting part back up into place) They are very secure- no glue or anything required.

I also like the "fit and finish". Nice rubberized finish and a nice solid feel to them.

All in all I think this may have been the best $160 or so dollars I have ever spent. They focus to about 6 feet I think. They have a very wide FOV. They are sharp, bright, and clear. I love them! Couldnt be happier. I have lent them to two friends. One took them to a hockey game. Both of the friends (also non bird watchers) were blown away by them as I was. One has ordered a pair for himself already, and the other also want to buy a pair soon too.

Just wanted to "give back" as all the posts I have read helped me. Hopefully this will be of help to someone too. Scott
 
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good to hear a positive review about the bushnell excursions and it is always good to hear someone picking up birding. I ordered a pair of 8x32 Excursion from Eagle Optics last week (should arrive on Tuesday). Hopefully, they are good as you are describing.
 
I hope you like them as much as I do too. Post something here on them if you have time after you get them. Interested in hearing if you agree with me (and my friends).
 
FYI: I was just looking off my balcony again. I guess the spider we thing at 25 feet isnt much of a test. I noticed I could see individual strands of spider webs on the roof across from me at about 30 yards away. I also tested positioning the web at the edges of the lenses, and still could see them just fine.
 
Thanks, sounds good. We may be able to recommend them after all. I would stick to 8x with all the Excursion options, not the 10x.
 
I got my 8x32 Excursions and 10x42 Stokes Talon this week and have been testing them out all weekend. Overall, the Excursions are a nice little pair of binoculars, they have a great FOV and quite clear. They could be a little brighter, for evening hours, but still good. The strap is wide, but the way they attach to the binoculars could cause problems down the line. The focus wheel allows for quick focusing on quick warblers in thick vegetation (which is something I really needed in a binocular). The close focus is also very good. The overall size is pretty good for guys with smaller hands and women. They were worth the money I paid. The 10x42 Stokes Talon are great. They are extremely bright for a roof in the $200 range. Great FOV. Wide comfortable strap. They are a little bigger than I thought they would be, but not overbearing. And you cannot beat the warranty offered by Vortex. I was going to purchase the 8x42 Stokes Talon for my girlfriend, but the 8x42 are the exactly the same size as the 10x42. They are simply to big for her to be carrying around, the 8x32 Excursions are great for her. Overall I am very happy with the combination of 10x42 Stokes Talon and the 8x32 Bushnell Excursion.
 
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The Excursion comes in both 28mm and 32mm, not sure why. Not having seen them I guess I might pick 32mm. I have held another 28mm pair and the ergonomics were good.

The Stokes series does offer some mid price choices. Even the Broadwing had good FOV http://www.eagleoptics.com/index.asp?pid=4100

Generally we expect only 315ft at 10x40, I have two models at that and both are generally useful. When I go out with 8x32 as my main bin and carry a 10 as well, I want it ro be light. If I go with 10x, weight not a huge issue.
 
Finally got to see some Excursions, and the 42mm models are the best of the bunch. You can get them for $160-200, worth the price.
 
Sounds good. Thanks for that review sfrazee and the update Tero (finally found the posts you mentioned!). Am about to order a pair of the 8x42 so it's good to read this. I'm in the same position as sfrazee, haven't tried GOOD bins, not really a hardcore birder (yet...) but want something that's reasonably good and sharp. Sounds like these will push the right buttons.
 
I can also recommend the 8x32 Excursion, it is a fine beginner binocular. I have the 8x28 as I did not need one more 8x32.
 
Thanks Tero... sounds like you have plenty of pairs of bins! |:D|

Have just ordered a pair of Excursions 8x42 along with some photo bits and bobs - should get them tomorrow so I hope I feel ok and can get out to try them out Saturday afternoon or Sunday!

Edit: this is where I ordered them from in case anyone is interested - Warehouse Express.
 
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Received my Excursion 8x42's about 30 minutes ago and I'm really happy with them so far! The caps are a 'little' awkward, the eyepiece cover seems to get the strap a bit twisted but may just have been because I was messing about with the bins. they feel a nice size and weight, the eye width adjustment will be easy to set when I use them as I pretty much set them as close as they could go and they are very usable with my glasses on (which my Minox's were definitely not!). They handle well, although I've only used them for a few minutes they seem easy to set up, the controls are ok and positioned well and the weight feels right too - enough to steady your view but not so much that they feel bulky.

Image quality looks very good - a lot better than my little Minox 10x25's. A little colour fringing on objects against the overcast sky but sharp and good depth of field and width too. I found viewing without glasses was better, you cut out side light and get a slightly better and sharper view but that says more about my needing new glasses than it does about the bins!

I like that they include a cleaning cloth and a spare set of strap ends in case you break/lose one, and the case is ok too. I also like the styling of the bins, they look reasonable quality but understated - the Natureview Plus ones I looked at were big and grey and had a huge BUSHNELL logo down the side of the barrel. Not really important, but not quite what I wanted really.

Yeah, very happy - just need to get out and try them properly now! |:D|
 
Thanks Tero. I did yesterday, I had a really good trip out even though I'm still feeling a bit iffy (post-ear infection dizzy/nausea still playing up a bit)... I wrote about it in the Your Birding Day forum.

The bins worked really well, very comfortable around my neck and easy to use and I got brilliant clear views using them - I saw a lot of common birds much, much better than I ever have before and it has opened up my enjoyment another level - much better than watching them through just the telephoto lens on my camera, although I still used the camera too a bit... won't be giving up the photography! ;)
 
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