justabirdwatcher
Well-known member
Very hard to beat the Leopold Yosemites for a quality pair of inexpensive binoculars.
-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Cheap binoculars to start (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Sbiriguda
- Start date
Now you really want to spend money.
Absolutely nothing will demonstrate how bad cheap optics are more effectively than taking photographs through them.
I'm curious ...... what didn't you want in a premium binocular?
justabirdwatcher
Well-known member
Of course, if a person knows what to look for and is patient, they can score a pretty darn good deal on a mid-priced optic on the used market. Binocs in the $400-500 range typically don't hold their value well on the used market, so the patient smart shopper can often find a $500 pair of binocs for $125-200. That's what I've done for many years. I'm not afraid of dropping or losing a pair of binoculars I only spent $150 on, but I do also enjoy the view from something that started life out at $500.
Mid-priced binoculars are IMO like drivers in golf. Just wait a year or so and get them for 1/3 of retail.
Mid-priced binoculars are IMO like drivers in golf. Just wait a year or so and get them for 1/3 of retail.
I really do not like chromatic abberation, slow focussers and glare. I can live with a smaller fov, occasional flare, ghosting or less then 90% transmission.
If you are aiming at a "hidden joke" let me know. I am not the quickest at picking these up
It was a straightforward question.
What made you think it was a "joke"?
Some people are very straight forward, other people communicate more indirectly with subtle hidden messages. Instead of wondering whether someone was trying to pull my leg, I just ask. Avoids confusion.
In another thread I spoke of "sun collimation" a sloppy term probably (although used on Cloudy Nights quite frequently) and that could easily be turned into a joke as well. I found it a bit hard to imagine that you were not already familiar with the technique...
No hard feelings here, not at all. Just like clarity |:d|
Be well Maljunulo, greetings from Holland.
Yes, I think so
This is why I said it is a different thing
I mean, if you want to use binoculars in full daylight, at certain conditions of distance, perhaps cheap optics can still be useful
As you said, for photography it is different
Anyway, what do you think a starting point would be for digiscoping?
If I have to spend 300 euros or more, perhaps it could be a good idea to step up a bit to like 400 or 500 and get equipment good enough both for digiscoping and to be used as binoculars. Just guessing though
I accept your greetings, and return them.
I have been accused of many things, but using "subtle hidden messages" has never been one of them.
Cheers!
Richard
That is, again, a not so good choice of words from me. Sorry about that. I was kind of thinking along the lines of irony, sarcasm, or speaking metaphorically.
Cheers
Terra Ed 8x32 would be my first choice. I was surprised of how expensive are the customs duties. Delivery plus tax and customs would be the equivalent of 380 or 390 USD, for binoculars Zeiss that unless I am mistaken are made in Germany. I tried to search German websites and price is much higher than B&H
Hi,
the Zeiss Terra series is made by Kamakura Koki in Japan (8 and 10x25 models) and China (the rest).
Regarding Customs and VAT - I don't know the procedure in Italy - in Germany you take the sales price plus shipping, add 4.7% customs duties (this was for hand-held optics last I checked) and add again 19% value added tax to the total. You then deduct the sales price and shipping and pay the difference (so roughly 25% extra).
Sometimes stuff slips through, it has happened that even parcels clearly marked as Customs Office only - do not deliver to recipient were delivered to me - I didn't complain...
PS: since you consider ordering stateside, you should have a look at the Sightron Blue Sky II 8x32 and the Cabela Guide 8x32 - both are pretty nice for the price (the Guide needs to be on sale though).
Joachim
Last edited:
edwincjones
Well-known member
Let me give a golf story here
As a teen most of my friends were into golf, and they invited me to go with them.
I am left handed, and the club only had an old, very old, odds and ends set of left handed clubs to rent.
I needed a better set to play, but buying the best, most expensive, premium set of golf clubs not knowing how my interest would develop would have been , as it turned out a waste.
moderation to start and see how the interest develops
edj
I wouldn’t bother with digiscoping at this stage. Most adapters are very clunky and inconvenient to use compared to a proper telephoto lens. I use as my lightweight birding camera a Canon Rebel SL2 with the EF-S 55-250mm STM lens, which at full zoom is equivalent to a 8x pair of binoculars. My “serious” rig is a Fuji X-T2 with 100-400mm lens and 1.4x teleconverter.
The reason why it’s discounted is Zeiss released a new version that is optically identical but cosmetically différent. There were similar bargains 6 months ago on their top-of-the-line Victory SF, available at half list price.
Let us know how you like them. I think you will be happy with them.
I don’t know if you can get vortex optics where you are.... but if you can, I’d look there. Honestly I’d check for some vortex viper HD bins on eBay. They have a good warranty and are dang good glass for the money. It’s a fantastic starting point and if you want to go a different route, they would be fairly easy to re-sell.
gr8fuldoug
Camera Land / Supporting Vendor
With some of the offerings from Kowa, Athlon, Hawke and Meopta there are much better choices in the same and lower price range than a Vortex Viper.
Please feel free to give us a call, 516-217-1000 to discuss what would be best for you and your BF member pricing.
Thank you for the suggestion. I already bought Zeiss Terra, so I don't need them but I checked. On amazon.it we have viper HD binoculars starting from about 550 euros so also out of budget for me
I will save the website address for the future, I am interested in offers on binoculars, cameras, etc.
