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Light binoculars - need advice (1 Viewer)

CyberKat

Well-known member
I am still new in bird watching, and so far I mostly used other people binoculars to watch birds. I am aware that for birding it would be best to take some bigger binocular like 10x50, 10x40 or something, but the thing is... whenever I go on some bird-watching field trips, I always have my camera around my neck, and it is already heavy to carry around... so I was thinking about purchasing some small binloculars like 10x25, or 12x25 (that would also be handy to carry around in my backpack every day), but I have no idea are they any good for birding, or I will just waste my money on something like that??

I saw in some local store:

Practica 12x25 S
magnification: 12
lens: 25 mm diameter
eye ring diameter: 2.08 mm
brightness: 4.33
twilight factor: 17.32
angel of view: 3.8°
field of view in 1000 m: 84 m
focusing distance: 6 m to infinity
weight: 225 g

and

Practica 10x25 S
magnification: 10
lens: 25 mm diameter
eye ring diameter: 2.5 mm
brightness: 6.25
twilight factor: 15.81
angel of view: 5.8°
field of view in 1000 m: 96 m
focusing distance: 4.5 m to infinity
weight: 200 g

... but I have no idea what some of these specifications actually mean? So any advice is most welcome. Thanks in advance!
 
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Hello,
Greetings to you. Nice to have someone from Serbia with us.
I don't know the Practica brand, but in my experience these compact bins are not very useful. The image is dark, unsharp, possibly even causing headaches.
I guess they make these 10x and 12x because these numbers appeal to inexperienced buyers who think they are getting more "power." With a 25mm objective lens, more power is very bad design. You should not be going above 8x or even 6-7x if they would make them that way.
Notice also the field of view is quite narrow. How does it compare with your current bins? Are you willing to go from what you have now to a peephole FOV?
In this size range, I have some Nikon sprint 7x21 and a minolta 8x25. Both are brighter than most of the other compact binoculars I have tried. But, they are so bad compared to my full sized Swift 8.5x44 820s, that I almost never use them, even when I am burdened by kit or bringing bins 'just in case' to a nonbirding outing.
Sorry to be a downer.
What are your current bins?
Marc
 
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I tend to agree with all that Jedku posted. If you are going to go the compact-style (20-25 mm objective lenses) then I would suggest a reverse porro design like that of the 8x26 Bushnell Legend or the Nikon Prostaff/Travelite EX 8x25. Their size and designs is a good compromise between portability and image quality without compromising your pocketbook too much.

Having said that, and if you have a bit of money to spend and want something closer to a full sized bin, then I would suggest the Zeiss Conquest 8x30s. They are lighweight for their class weighing in at about 16 ounces with very good image quality for their price. If I was looking for a lightweight, mid-sized glass then they would be my first choice.
 
Hi.

I agree with the others. Don't think about a 12x25 model, preferably not even 10x25 (except good names like Nikon / Leica etc.).
First read all you can here on BirdForum and also check www.cloudynights.com, which has very much basic stuff about optics.

You should look for something with less magnification, better close focusing distance (close to 2m), more angle of view.

I have a Docter 8x22 compact which is good for a compact but not sure I would recommend this as first binoculars! 30mm models could be more suitable. They usually have better specifications and are easier to use. FrankD recommended Zeiss Conquest 8x30. I agree, that's a very good binocular and doesn't weigh a lot.

If you are sure you want compacts, look at some reverse porro bins as FrankD suggested.

But first read all you can, don't buy anything in haste.

What brands are available in your location ?
Marko
 
These Prakticas are almost certainly the same binocular as goes under other labels such as Tasco (normally black) :
http://militarne.pl/store/index.php/item_details/item/297.html
The advice to try before you buy is particularly pertinent here since I suspect there is considerable sample variation. There was a report a few years back by a major consumer research organisation here in UK (Which?) which gave a model from this line a Best Buy rating; though that might have been the 8x21 model (certainly wasn't the 12x25) and it may have had little competition then at the price level.
I have looked through a 10x25 model once that looked very similar to these and the image was unspeakably bad particularly in one barrel. Having said that, even for that binocular if its main funtion was to briefly check whether a distant blob is A or B it would certainly be some help. You should probably look elsewhere for enjoyable or extended use though.
 
Have you considered the MINOX BL 8x32 BR?

They are very light and the 8x32 format is well suited to birdwatching.

There have been some good reviews of these and their larger brothers, the MINOX BL 8x32 BR.

They cost around £240 in the UK.
 
No idea what Practica makes these days, but generally 10x25 roof prisms in low price are poor. If Practica makes a standard 8x40 porro prism binocular, those would be reliable but not compact.
 
Thanks a lot for all your advices.

@Marc, you are not being a downer, it is better that you tell me straight before I make a mistake and buy something that would be useless. That is why I asked in a first place. My current bins is some Russian... isn't even worth mentioning since it is all blury, and I never even took it with me on some field trip. A friend of mine has 10x50 Zeiss... but man! It weigts a ton! (not to mention that it costs a lot too :( ) He gave it to me few times to see some birds I could not see with my bare eye, and the view is fantastic (even in low light), and I feel rather silly to ask for somebody elses bins, while we're on a field, whenever I want to see something. That is why I decided to get my own, but my primary interest is in photography... watching birds is sort of "along the way" activity, that is why I don't want some pro beans for starters.

@ Marko, I am not sure what brands we have here. So far I saw Practica, and I think we have some Olympus... but web search proved in vain, and I think I need to go to the city and check the stores to see what is availabe. Thanks to all of you here, I pretty much have a clue what to look for when chosing bins.

@ normjackson
Yap, that's the same one, just diferent color. So.. no good. I get it ;)

Thanks all!
 
zeiss conquest 8x30 £300 weigh 495g

opticron traveller 8x32 £200 454g - odd focus wheel positioning but you get used it fairly quickly.

if you can try before buying.
 
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