Kammerdiner
Well-known member
My sister got into nature/birding this year when a family of green herons camped out in her backyard for the summer. Now she's volunteering for the parks department and seems headed toward life in the outdoors like me. I'd like to get her a good pair of binoculars in the $175-250 range and would welcome opinions about the following:
Vortex Diamondback (2009) 8x42, $220. Out of stock at EO for awhile. May not be available for Christmas.
Nikon Monarch 8x42, $250. Is this being discontinued/replaced?
Pentax DCF HRc 8x42, $270. This one is new to me. On the high end pricewise. Seems like it might be good though. On the other hand, if I go this high I might just jump for a Zen ED (the original).
Minox BL 8x42 BR, $250. This one's discontinued, but I bought my other sister one of these a few years back and I thought they were really nice. Does anyone know if the eyecups were updated to be multi-position instead of just in-out?
Personally, I lean toward lightweight mid-size bins so any recommendations along those lines would be welcome as well. There doesn't seem to be as many mid-size in my price range. The Minox, Pentax, and Nikon mentioned above are really quite light for full-size bins. Not so the Vortex.
In any case, I'm looking for lightweight, good eye relief to accomodate all users, and sharp bins, the kind of thing that will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime purchase (unlike me, I seriously doubt she'll ever obsess over bins. I just want the best that's currently available in this price range).
Thanks in advance for any input,
Mark
Vortex Diamondback (2009) 8x42, $220. Out of stock at EO for awhile. May not be available for Christmas.
Nikon Monarch 8x42, $250. Is this being discontinued/replaced?
Pentax DCF HRc 8x42, $270. This one is new to me. On the high end pricewise. Seems like it might be good though. On the other hand, if I go this high I might just jump for a Zen ED (the original).
Minox BL 8x42 BR, $250. This one's discontinued, but I bought my other sister one of these a few years back and I thought they were really nice. Does anyone know if the eyecups were updated to be multi-position instead of just in-out?
Personally, I lean toward lightweight mid-size bins so any recommendations along those lines would be welcome as well. There doesn't seem to be as many mid-size in my price range. The Minox, Pentax, and Nikon mentioned above are really quite light for full-size bins. Not so the Vortex.
In any case, I'm looking for lightweight, good eye relief to accomodate all users, and sharp bins, the kind of thing that will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime purchase (unlike me, I seriously doubt she'll ever obsess over bins. I just want the best that's currently available in this price range).
Thanks in advance for any input,
Mark
