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

Which binoc's (1 Viewer)

Shirley Roulston

Shirley Roulston

Well-known member
I need a light pair of binoculars to carry round my neck without being strangled when I am carrying my monopod with my camera.
I thought that 7x35 were good but not many firms sell these, my 8x45 have just come to an end when I dropped them to-day, less said on that subject the better.
Any ideas would be most grateful. Thanks
 
Shirley Roulston said:
I need a light pair of binoculars to carry round my neck without being strangled when I am carrying my monopod with my camera.
I thought that 7x35 were good but not many firms sell these, my 8x45 have just come to an end when I dropped them to-day, less said on that subject the better.
Any ideas would be most grateful. Thanks
Click to expand...

Nikon Monarch 8x42.
 
The Nikon 7x35 Action Extreme (or EX) are a fantastic value and the EX are well regarded here. Waterproof as well. Just don't get the non-Extreme version (doesn't say EX or Extreme) - poor quality and small price difference with the good ones.
 
Hi Shirley,

I'm sure any on the above porros would be an excellent choice. At £150 I haven't found a roof that I thought accetable let alone close to the porros, though others might disagree. We hear on the forum that LCE has the Hawke Frontier ED at £200, if you "speak to them nicely". Not tried it but sounds very good. However, my vote would be the Bushnell Elite (Custom) 7x26 that Bob reccomended. A bit over budget, but for me definitely worth the extra. Best price I found was here:
http://www.microglobe.co.uk/catalog...bushnell-binoculars-bushnell-elite-binoculars

They did have the previous, and still very good, version at £150. Might be worth giving them a call.

David
 
The Opticron Discovery WP PC 8x32 would appear to fit the bill. Very light and compact, good field of view, very close focus for insect watching and decent eye relief. They are available from around £115 from Sherwoods and other places. It's always preferable to try any binoculars out before buying though, if possible, to see if they suit you.

http://www.opticron.co.uk/Pages/discovery_wp.htm

Ron
 
typo said:
Hi Shirley,

I'm sure any on the above porros would be an excellent choice. At £150 I haven't found a roof that I thought accetable let alone close to the porros, though others might disagree. We hear on the forum that LCE has the Hawke Frontier ED at £200, if you "speak to them nicely". Not tried it but sounds very good. However, my vote would be the Bushnell Elite (Custom) 7x26 that Bob reccomended. A bit over budget, but for me definitely worth the extra. Best price I found was here:
http://www.microglobe.co.uk/catalog...bushnell-binoculars-bushnell-elite-binoculars

They did have the previous, and still very good, version at £150. Might be worth giving them a call.

David
Click to expand...

The Nikon Monarch 8x42 is WAY superior to the Bushnell Elite (Custom) 7x26. They can be had on E-bay for within your price range.
 
Hi Dennis,

When I did the side by side, I thought the Monarch was brighter and had a flatter field of view. I much prefered the contrast, colour rendition, field of view, depth perception, size, weight and price on the Customs. A matter of personal taste I guess.

Denis
 
NoSpringChicken said:
The Opticron Discovery WP PC 8x32 would appear to fit the bill. Very light and compact, good field of view, very close focus for insect watching and decent eye relief. They are available from around £115 from Sherwoods and other places. It's always preferable to try any binoculars out before buying though, if possible, to see if they suit you.

http://www.opticron.co.uk/Pages/discovery_wp.htm

Ron
Click to expand...

There are some more pictures and comparison of these binos in the "Equipment Review" section.
 
8x32 or the lightest 8x42 you can find in the price range. The 8x42 is a good compromise. Bright enough in winter.
 
I tried a pair of Opticron bins recently, can't remember the specs, which cost £150 & was very surprised how good they were. Very good value for money.
 
[email protected] said:
The Nikon Monarch 8x42 is WAY superior to the Bushnell Elite (Custom) 7x26. They can be had on E-bay for within your price range.
Click to expand...

It's probably better; it should be--at 42mm it is twice as big! I don't know about being WAY superior. It actually has a smaller FOV.

Anyway she did mention light weight and I believe that it will be hard to find a compact binocular in her price range that is better than the Bushnell 7 x 26 and has as wide a FOV.
Bob
 
I think the 8x42 Nikon Monarch is inferior to the 8x42 Bushnell Legend Ultra HD, The Olympus Magellan and the Zen Ray ZRS HD. The newer Monarch III with dielectric coating may be slightly better than the regular Monarch.

The 8x32's are somewhat smaller with the Vortex Fury 8x32 a good choice. Don't know about the Opticrons as we don't see many in the USA.

As I can also attest, the compact 7x26 Bushnell Custom Elite reverse porro is an OUTSTANDING little bino and weighs about 1/4 of a kilo less anything mentioned above. (12 oz)

Try a few out and see what tricks your trigger.

Tom
 
Another excellent compact that hasn't been mentioned yet is the Opticron Taiga 8x25. Not waterproof but very light and optically excellent. Fov is only 6* but to look through they don't feel tunnel-like and they are very comfortable for me with my glasses on.

Only £65 at Warehouse Express when I was looking for the lowest price a while ago.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 14 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

B
Companion pair to NL pure 12x42
Replies
15
Views
1K
Birdiee
B
M
No black ring please
Replies
10
Views
863
BOKEH
B
C
Swarovski Curio 7x21 shaky image
Replies
13
Views
1K
chill6x6
chill6x6
Will K
Are binoculars good for posture?
Replies
5
Views
622
Mikbul
Mikbul
G
Leica, Zeiss & Swarovski binoculars compared: A personal report
2 3
Replies
42
Views
4K
Paultricounty
P

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top