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Legend 8x42 Porro or the mighty Monarch (1 Viewer)

uki

New member
Hello to all birders!
I am new to this forum and to birding as well. I would like to get my first pair of binoculars. After reading all kinds of guides, reviews and forums I narrowed my choice to:
Bushnell Legend 8x42 Porro - these are quite cheap (you can get them online under 100 bucks), wide FOV, lightweight for the size;
Nikon Monarch 8x36 roof - even lighter, better ergonomics, cost twice as much, but they get raving reviews almost everywhere, can't go wrong with them, provided that I get I good pair (btw. how to do that when shopping online?).
I came across opinions that the Legends, as they are a Porro design should optically be equal or better than 2-3x higher priced roofs (Monarchs?), but I never found a real in-depth review of the Legend Porros. Has anyone experiences with these binoculars? Any advice is highly appreciated, as I cannot find them in stores around my area.
Thanks you!
 
Buy from a reliable dealer on line, so you can exchange. Recommend Eagle Optics or Optics Planet. I returned two to EO, kept my third choice. A good strategy would be to start from the cheaper one and see if you are satisfied with it.

I do not recall the Legends much at all. The 8x32 especially interested me at one time, never did get to see it.
 
You will get a better, and much wider, view through the Bushnell. The Monarch, for triple the price, gets you a slim shape and a little more durability, and throws in a fair amount of chromatic abberations (a bad thing) because of design/price limitations. Unless you absolutely need a smaller-siezd binocular, just about any porro prism binocular from $100-$300 will give you better optics.
 
That much is true: If you can't tell the difference between the two, buy the cheaper one. I paid the same for my Monarchs as the list price is for the Legend roofs version.
 
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The Bushnell Legend 8 x 42's are FMC and the Roof Prisms also have phase coating. The Roofs cost twice as much as the Porro's($282.00 to $135.00) and have a much narrower FOV: 330' to 430.' The roofs also weigh a bit more. Twist up eyecups. Both are supposed to be waterproof.(info obtained from "TIME & OPTICS, Ltd" catalog. No web address listed. 1-866-308-0727.

Bob
 
To answer one of your questions, you buy from a respected optics dealer, like many mentioned already, who will go the extra mile and actually take a look at the specific pair they are going to send to you. I asked for this for a pair of binoculars I bought from Doug and Cameralandny and he was more than happy to make sure I did not get a lemon. ;)

As for the two you mentioned, I have no experience with the Bushnell 8x42 porros. They have caught my eye though on more than one occasion because of their overall size and specs. I have only seen two or three internet posts about them but they all seem extremely favorable especially for the price. The only issue you may gain on when going with the Monarchs would be compactness and possibly weight. I do not know about the latter as I do not have my Time and Optics Ltd catalog in front of me at the moment. :) Sorry Bob, couldn't resist. I have mine sitting on the top of john for handy reading. ;)
 
Thanks everyone for information and advice. I deciced to take my chance and ordered the Legend Porros. They should come on Wednesday and I can share my thoughts. But I'm afraid my opinion won't be worth much as these will be my first binoculars and I have nothing to compare them to. I hope I'll be able at least to tell if they are not lemons....
 
New Legend roof 10x42 is also completely new design from its old version. Much lighter, 24oz vs 29oz. Optically speaking, it is a huge improvement. But just like many other high quality optics, it will set you back by $260..
 
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