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Sunagor Binoculars (1 Viewer)

Eviepoohs

Eviepoohs
Does anyone know anything about a make of binocular 'Sunagor'. I am looking for a small pocket sized binocular thats light, as two dogs plus camera and my large binoculars can be hard to handle.
thanks for any advise, also alternative suggestions would be welcome, also not too expensive I have about £150. to spend.
 
Eviepoohs said:
Does anyone know anything about a make of binocular 'Sunagor'. I am looking for a small pocket sized binocular thats light, as two dogs plus camera and my large binoculars can be hard to handle.
thanks for any advise, also alternative suggestions would be welcome, also not too expensive I have about £150. to spend.


A quick google search showed that they specialize in mostly zoom binoculars, which will all be worthless. They do have some fixed power minis but, they are way to high in magnification (12x +) with very small objective lenses (21mm) which means they also will be worthless.

Do yourself a favor and buy from one of the more well known manufacturers. Companies such as Nikon, Pentax, Bushnell, etc. all offer high quality compact binoculars that will cover your needs, provide a bright and sharp image, have a warranty that will actually mean something, and can be had for your budget of £150.
 
Eviepoohs said:
Does anyone know anything about a make of binocular 'Sunagor'. I am looking for a small pocket sized binocular thats light, as two dogs plus camera and my large binoculars can be hard to handle.
thanks for any advise, also alternative suggestions would be welcome, also not too expensive I have about £150. to spend.
Put 'Compact Binoculars Review' into Google and you'll get plenty of practical advice. I like Opticrons, but that might be a personal thing. Many people swear by Opticron Taiga (about 69 sterling), but I haven't seen a pair myself - can't find a pair in Ireland to test. People seem to agree that to get good roof-prism compacts, you have to spend a lot of dosh, whereas the better porro-prism, or reverse porro-prism design compacts at the lower price ranges often outperform the expensive roofs. The big advantage to roofs is that they really are pocketable, whereas porros would fit only into a roomy coat pocket. The Opticron Taigas (another member advised me), rated better than expensive Swarovski or Zeiss compacts for performance in a review in the current 'Alula'. I wouldn't touch the brand you mentioned, really not high-enough quality for birding. 'Birdwatching' magazine a few months ago also had a review of compacts under 100 sterling, but I can't remember which month and I recycled my copy. Maybe phone them? One other thing: I wouldn't buy anything over 8x, or at most 10x magnification, because your Field of View and Brightness will suffer. Best of luck, don't rush into anything, test a few pairs before you buy.
 
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A postscript to that reply: Yesterday I tested two other compacts in a shop (I'm looking for a good pair for walking the kids). I tried two others recommended by birders, the Nikon Travelite V 8x25, and the Olympus PC1 8x25. I don't 'do' technical, I just go with what my eyes tell me, and these two are brilliant, my eyes found them as good optically as smaller but much more expensive roof prisms by Leica and Zeiss. They retail here at 130-170 euros, which means you can get them in the UK for less than 100 sterling. I haven't decided yet, but I think I'm going to go with the Olympus PC1. They have a 6 degree Field of View, they're bright and crisp, weigh only 280g, measure 114x98x48mm, and even though they're chunkier than porros, they still fit in a small pocket. So check the Nikon Travelites, the Opticron Taigas, and the Olympus PC1, you won't be disappointed and you'll save a lot of your 150 sterling budget! Best of luck, Éanna
 
Eviepoohs said:
Does anyone know anything about a make of binocular 'Sunagor'. I am looking for a small pocket sized binocular thats light, as two dogs plus camera and my large binoculars can be hard to handle.
thanks for any advise, also alternative suggestions would be welcome, also not too expensive I have about £150. to spend.


I have never tried a Sunagor binocular. But beware of every brand which use high magnifications as a selling argument. And beware especially of everything with zoom. The most of the magnification range of Sunagor binoculars is practically unusable. It's obvious that Sunagor's idea and purpose is to reach the mass of consumers who are not knowledgeable about binoculars. There is a relevant comparison to the small astronomical telescopes at hobbys stores with tremendous (and totally unusable) magnifications as a selling argument.

Regards, Patric
 
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