Hiking compacts (1 Viewer)

I am looking for some compact binoculars for hiking, I will be carrying quite a lot of other gear inc cameras and lenses, so size/weight is important. All use will be in daylight, not low light conditions. I would like decent performance in relation to resolution/sharpness and CA, but I can't afford to spend hundreds on the likes of Leica or Zeiss (much as I would like to).

I found these two bins, are they ok or are there better choices? I wear glasses, but usually remove them before using binoculars, so correction would be useful. (click on the links below to view)

1. Minolta Sport Mini 8x25WR from Morgan Computers (£35.24)

2. Nikon 8x25 Travelite V from WarehouseExpress (£49.95)

The Travelites are pretty good. Just slightly more bulk, maybe weight too, are the Nikon ATB ProStaff. They are waterproof, so you can store them anywhere on your gear.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=57531
The 8x and 9x are good for birding. If you are used to 10x, you go for the 10x like me.

There are some models that fold smaller, like
http://www.eagleoptics.com/index.asp?dept=1&type=19&purch=1&pid=3860
I can't see if those have the two hinges. There are number of similar 8x and 10x models you need to look at and try out. I would not order any of those without testing to see if they work. The eye cups and peoples eyes vary a lot. The ProStaff was best for me of the compact eye cups.

I can't find the 9x25 Prostaff at WE, but the Travelite EX range look identical (may be named different between here and the USA). They are twice the price of the travelite 8x25 at £105 with the special deal on the 8x25's.

I also came across these:

Barska Blackhawk 8x25 (£50)

I agree that trying out the binoculars is a good idea, but it's difficult for me to do as any dealer seems to be quite a distance (unless anyone knows of any dealers within a reasonable distance, I live in Clitheroe, Lancs).

If the Travelite EX is waterproof, then it probably is the same. The Barskas I would not expect too much from. They make a few OK large porros, I would not trust them to make a reliable small product.

Summit 8x26MR has been recommended a few times on BirdForum : compact roof prism, reasonable optically, wide 8+ degrees field of view. Available from :
http://www.mifsuds.com/acatalog/Summit_Binoculars.html

A more modern design with waterproofing and twist up eye cups :
http://www.williamoptics.net/telescopes.htm
Costs more over here of course :
http://www.bazaarbuilder.com/cgi-bin/nickaltair/myshop.php?merchant=nickaltair&prodid=461&sinprod=1

I do believe the Travelite EX and ProStaff ATB are the same bins just different designations depending on where they are being sold. They would definitely get my vote considering your criteria.

I finally got the chance to visit a good binocular dealer.

I tried a variety of bins from sub £50 roof and porro 8x32 models, through Nikon Travelite EX (ProStaff) 8x25 (£109), Helios AM-3 8x28 (£159), Helios AM-6 8x32 (£189), Swarovski 8x20 compact (£315) to Leica Ultravid 8x32 BR (£790). I only looked at the Swarovski and Leica as a comparison.

I ended up buying the Nikons. They are very light, have a very bright, sharp image and no noticeable CA and armoured and waterproof as well. The sub £50 bins were clearly poorer and had a lot lower light transmission. The Helios AM-3 were very close on performance, so the extra £50 wasn't worth it. The Helios AM-6 were better but again I couldn't justify the extra £80 for the relatively small improvement. The Swarovskis were nice, great image but a lot of dosh and I preferred the larger eyepiece diameter. The Leicas were also nice, very well built but the image was not a major improvement and there was some CA on high contrast edges, a bit dissapointing for that sort of money.

If you live in northwest UK, I really recommend a visit to Lamberts in Lancaster. It's only a small shop but they have a great range and really friendly helpful service. They also did spotting and astronomical telescopes. :t:

I've heard that the Opticron Taiga 2 8x25 gets good reviews. It is £58 at http://www.focusonprice.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=5799&substring=taiga+2

I think there must be one decent 8x25 roof prism in the £100 range out there, have not found it yet. My stores have the Leicas and Swarovskis, but less of the other compacts besides Nikons. I have not even seen the Sportstar lately, so I have forgotten how they are.

[I found some good 8x25 Pentax roof prisms. I started a thread on these under $200 roof prisms]

The only possibility that I can see are the Bushnel H2O 8x25 roofs at about £45. I haven't seen them, just going by brand otherwise it seems to be chinese unknown brands in this area.

Bushnell H2O

I'm surprised no one has mentioned or recommended Bushnell's very fine 7 x 26 Custom Reverse Porro Prisms! Granted, they cost over $200.00 but they are quite compact; they are tough and they have a reasonably wide FOV of about 375' at 1000 yards. Their shape is similar to the Nikon Travelite. Their ER is a bit short. They are a Better View Desired Reference Standard. BVD has an excellent essay on compact binoculars, with a comparison chart at http://betterviewdesired.com/Compacts.html.
At the time it was written they were sold under the Bausch & Lomb name. Check it out.

Bob

BTW: I'm not just being helpful here or blowing smoke :smoke: ! I own them. They are as good as the above article states.
They are the only compact binocular that Cornell U. Dept of Ornithology recommends as suitable for serious ornithology.

Tero said:

I think there must be one decent 8x25 roof prism in the £100 range out there, have not found it yet. My stores have the Leicas and Swarovskis, but less of the other compacts besides Nikons. I have not even seen the Sportstar lately, so I have forgotten how they are.

[I found some good 8x25 Pentax roof prisms. I started a thread on these under $200 roof prisms]

Click to expand...

Minox makes a great roof prism in this class. Their 8x24 BR. Not waterproof nor phase coated, but fairly weathertight and almost as sharp as their Leica big (small?) brother 8x20. Rubber coated metal body, 17mm eye relief and US$149 at Eagle Optics.

Charlie