I'd like to buy my Grandfather a sub $200 bino, could I get a few suggestions (1 Viewer)

At the top of my list is the Celestron Trailseeker. They seem to tick all the boxes with coatings, fov, etc. 48 reviews on Amazon and not a single one under 4 stars. The Opticron Oregon I have used myself and really liked that little bino. Any others I should consider? My grandpa has a small lake out his back door and he sits on the porch watching the geese and other critters. He's currently using some zoom tascos. They are not good.

I will recommend the Nikon Prostaff 7, in either 8x42 or 10x42. They are a nice solid binocular
with good optics, light in weight, and well regarded in this price range.
Either size would work well, but the 8x42, would be brighter and easier to hold steady.

I have owned both, and have mentioned on the forum several times how I find them a nice
value in this price range.

I have no experience with the ones you mention. But I would recommend going with Nikon for many reasons.

Check out some reviews, you will see how some others see them.

Jerry

JasIA said:

At the top of my list is the Celestron Trailseeker. They seem to tick all the boxes with coatings, fov, etc. 48 reviews on Amazon and not a single one under 4 stars. The Opticron Oregon I have used myself and really liked that little bino. Any others I should consider? My grandpa has a small lake out his back door and he sits on the porch watching the geese and other critters. He's currently using some zoom tascos. They are not good.

Click to expand...

JasIA,

I wasn't familiar with the Trailseeker, so I looked it up and found a favorable review on bestbinocularsreviews.com. I was surprised the specs were this good for the price point.

The Trailseeker has a wide 8* FOV, FMC, phase coatings, and dielectric coatings, and get this, a magnesium body. My, my, that's a load of upscale features not usually found in a roof costing only $219! If the view is sharp, this bin might give the venerable Blue Sky II a run for the money. Better check it out, Frank. You might have another 3-year thread in the works.

I couldn't bother to wade through all the usual basic education sections that he always has on every review, so I skipped down to the Image Quality section and read a one-liner that surprised me:

"Whilst there is some blurring of the image right along the edge of the view, it is negligible and no more than the best in their class."

An inexpensive, WF Celestron bin with a big sweet spot unlike the Japanese-made Celestron 8x32 Ultima or the Japanese-made 8x32 Noble, both of which had "crummy" edges?

He also didn't notice any excess distortion (pincushion or "barreling"). That's also VG.

I like the shape, too. The "high-bar H" style, with the bridge set back near the EPs for more room in between the barrels for your fingers.

I tried the Prostaff 7 8x42, in fact, I tried Jerry's Prostaff 7 8x42. It's very long, good for big hands like mine, and I liked the view better than I did the more expensive 8x42 Monarch 5. However, the P7 doesn't have dielectric coatings, nor a magnesium frame (polycarbonate). The edges are VG, but the FOV is only 6.3* so that's not as hard to accomplish as it is with an 8* FOV bin like the Trailseeker.

Based on the review, I would check out the Trailseeker. Your grandfather would probably prefer a wider FOV since it makes it easier to find birds and wildlife, and it's smaller size would probably make it easier for him to hold and carry.

Does he wear glasses? The ER is listed as 17mm, but that doesn't mean all of that is usable since eyeglass design and eye socket depth vary from person to person. The P7 has been discontinued but replaced with the P7s, which has a wider FOV (6.8*) but still moderate compared to the Trailseeker.

I would go for the Celestrons and buy them from Eagle Optics or another store with a generous return period so you have time to check them out to see if you agree with the reviewer, who gave them two thumbs up.

Here's the review:

Celestron 8x42 Trailseeker

Brock

Can grandfather hold 8x steady? Can he hold a 20+ ounce bino steady? A person in our shooting club is in his late seventies. He liked our 6x Leupold Yosemite, and ended up buying a 6.5x Vortex Raptor. I can see why. The Raptor is sharp and bright in view, and since it is not highly magnified, is *extremely* easy to hold steady by just about anyone. It also weighs less than any 42mm bino I've ever seen, so an older person will not tire as quickly as they would holding up a 42mm bino. The size/shape is also easily "gripable" by any adult.

If you are confident he can hold 8x steady, the Sightron SII Blue Sky 8x32 would also be a good choice as long as he is viewing when the sun is above the horizon. Would not be a good choice however if his viewing area is covered with a heavy tree canopy.

We have a 32mm Trailseeker. It is a decent little bino, although I would say that the Sightron SII and Leupold Mojave are better. I would estimate that the 42mm TS is a decent bino too, but I've not used one.

The Celestron 8x42 Trailseeker has good ratings on the Eagle Optics site. It sells for $219.00 there. It has a wide field of view and long 17mm eye relief and is a rather light 23 ounces.

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/celestron/celestron-trailseeker-8x42-binocular

Eagle Optics has a 30 day no fault return policy if you don't like the binocular.

Bob

Hi,

I would recommend a pair of porro bins as they usually offer the best view in that price range (unless you get a screaming deal on some roofs normally priced a lot higher). Leupold Yosemite or the very similar Kowa YF are both available in 6x and 8x and great for the money and very light - the 6x version offers 20mm eye relief if grandpa wears spectacles and is very easy to hold steady.

Another idea is an Action EX in 8x40 - nice field of view with 8.2 degree and still 17mm eye relief so it might work with spectacles.

I'd stay away from cheap chinese roofs and if you can't, make sure you can test them - either in person or with a good return policy.

Joachim

My default $200 and under binocular has been, and will very likely always be, the Sightron Blue Sky SII 8x32. The image quality is so far above its price point even now, 4+ years after they were introduced. It also has good ergonomics and is lightweight at 17 ounces. There really isn't any one area that this binocular scores poorly in.

As for the Trailseeker Brock, I haven't tried the 8x42 yet. I did try the 8x32 for a time. It was pretty much a carbon-copy of the Zen Ray ZRS HD 8x32. I included both of those models, the Opticron Oregon and the Sightron in that inexpensive 8x32 binocular comparative review that I did a couple of years ago. My opinion was the Sightron was better than the Trailseekers but, again, that was the 8x32 not the 8x42.

JasIA,

The Opticron Oregons are a great little binocular and very inexpensive at $135. Their compact size sets them a bit apart from the Sightrons and the optical quality isn't that far off of the Sightrons. The Oregons actually have another 0.5 degrees field of view but not quite the contrast of the Sightrons. Both have very relaxing image quality in my opinion.

Excellent input, thank you. I wish there was a place to get some hands on time with some of these, very limited selection around here. Might just have to order two or three binos and keep the winner.

While considering Opticrons, you might like to look at the Savanna WP models. These are porros and the eye relief is specified at 18mm for the 8x30 and 21mm for the 6x30. I have the former but the latter has an even greater exit pupil which may help with viewing.

The 8x is about 10% over $100 and the 6x is a tad under $100, as best I can tell.