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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Birding Bino Recommendation (1 Viewer)

b3rd

Reg1stered User
Hello. Looking to upgrade one my my Celestron 8x42 or 10x42 to something much better. I've been torn a while between making the jump to an alpha bin (the Noctivids are appealing to me) but also have been thinking about something unconventional with higher magnification, or possibly the Duovids. I really like getting the detail look, which is why higher mag is attractive to me. I usually prefer birding with the 10x Celestrons, unless the birds are moving real fast.

I've looked through Leica glass (there is a local dealer where I live) but not anything else. I like what people write about the 'warmth' of the Leicas--coming from photography, I can appreciate that some lenses just have a certain je ne se quoi about them..

I'm a pretty big guy, so lugging around something a bit heavy would be OK for me if I got better stability or image quality out of it. Is there anything I should be looking at? I'm a bit nervous about the rolling ball effect, although I've not put my eyeballs on it yet. I'd definitely want something bright and with good IQ
 
Maybe look at the Canon 10x42ISL, waterproof, excellent image, decent FoV and eye relief, plus image stabilized, all for $1050 at Amazon. The stabilization is a transformative feature that all binoculars will have eventually. Even the head of Swarovski development admitted that that was his longer term goal.

The Canon is heavy and bulky, so a harness or a shoulder sling carry is better than just a neck strap.
The big downside is the meager warranty, only a couple of years, versus at least 10 years or more for the alphas, essentially forever for Swaro. Also, repairs are not cheap, about $500 in my experience.
Still, after 9 years of knocking around all over, with only one recent repair, I can't complain about the durability.
If you can handle the weight and bulk, it is the best birding binocular on the market today imho.
 
"If you can handle the weight and bulk, it is the best birding binocular on the market today imho."

Totally agree with that.
 
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Hello. Looking to upgrade .........., or possibly the Duovids. ..........


I really like my 10+15x50 Duovids with great optics and construction.
My complaints are only weight and cost. I use them mostly for hawks,
shorebirds, solar with filters.
In retrospect -for birding, the 8+12x42s might be a better option.

edj
 
I don't think I want to go with the IS binos from Canon. I have no problems holding my binos steady unless I'm at a weird angle with them. That said, if a heavier bino resulted in a little less shake I'd be OK with that if it meant better optics. Would also be OK if there were no compromises on IQ, but I've read the Canon binos are a very good, but a bit meh when compared to the best.

Should i be looking seriously at the bigger Leica Ultravid 10x50s**, Swaro SLC 10x56 (not available in US??), Zeiss or even something cheaper that is still optically serious? My only concern with midrange optics is that my experience in photography is that the midrange lenses (at least Canon lenses) can't touch the high end (L glass) stuff.

10+15 and 8+12 Duovids are definitely in serious contention. I do wonder if I could handhold something at 15x reasonably well, so that speaks to the 8+12, but then since i bird mostly at 10x, the 10+15 is also an attractive gamble.

I've never met a zoom that can hold a candle to any prime lens, but maybe Leica's gotten around this by having two relatively discrete magnifications?

I'm talking a lot about Leica, because its what I've looked through (wow they were all very impressive), but I am open to other possibilities. Do any other binos have a reputation for a 'beautiful' image? *

** Maybe I am overthinking all of this and should just get what kind of called to me in the store--the Ultravid 10x50

* I know this is subjective, but I've seen it in my photography lenses. My Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro is pinprick sharp, but I'd rather shoot a portrait with the EF 85mm f/1.2L. The image just looks more appealing. Not sure the science behind it.
 
85mm f/1.2L bokeh and shallow depth of field.

My Minolta 58mm f/1.2 was wonderful for portraits at full aperture.

Not to self-hijack but for sure aperture is a factor, but even stopped down there is a difference imho. I'm sure you are right that bokeh is a big factor (number of blades in the iris diaphram for example).
 
8X or 10X would be your decision...but if it were ME....I'd start out with a quality 8X42 for a birding binocular and go from there.

How much you spend will be up to you as well...probably gonna take $800-$1000. In this price range I'd look hard at a Nikon Monarch HG 8X42 or a Maven B1 8X42. A Zeiss Conquest HD 8X42 would be another one for consideration which I have no experience with( I have the 10X42 of this model.)

Moving up a notch in price...Swarovski SLC 8X42 would be hard to beat. Literally a top binocular for about $500 less. Look around on eBay for the previous model which is just as good, maybe better for a lower price.

If you choose to go all the way flip a coin between the Zeiss Victory SF 8X42 and the Swarovski EL Swarovision 8.5X42.

But quite honestly, you won't go wrong with any of the Leica's,
 
8X or 10X would be your decision...but if it were ME....I'd start out with a quality 8X42 for a birding binocular and go from there.
This is the pair I share with my wife (Celestron) right now. I consistently prefer the 10x, although it may just be because we spend a decent time looking at shorebirds.

Thanks for the ideas though--I can scour ebay for previous models and save a bit. Also, particularly the Mavens look like they might be a good compromise if I wanted to test the waters a bit more before plunging into an alpha bin. They seem to have a return policy that would support getting them, and returning them if I wasn't happy.

Any advice on how to try so many binos? Even if I could find an REI or something that had all these, it seems like you'd really need to be out birding to get a sense of comparison.
 
I settled on a compromise that I think will be interesting. I just ordered the following bins:

- Zeiss Terra ED 8x25 Binocular
- Maven B.2 9x45

I ran across the compact Zeiss a bit by accident, but the price was low enough that i thought they might be a useful set to have around and to carry on more casual walks.

A lot of people have good things to say about Maven. I'm doing it on demo, so I'll get a chance to try them out and see if I like them. 9x is halfway between what I'm pretty sure I prefer (10x) and what most people consider optimal (8x). The larger objectives will hopefully give a little more brightness, and people say color rendition on the Mavens are neutral, which I think I'll appreciate over the colder Zeiss or Swaros. And I can always send them back if they aren't any different from me Trailseekers.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions everyone
 
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