Minox 8x24 BD - best sub £75 compact? (1 Viewer)

Hi all, just getting into birding and wanting some compact bins. Just bought some 8x36 Nikon Sporters as my main pair (good entry level item by all accounts).

Wanted a similar pair of compacts, and have come across Minox 8x24 BD BRs at Jessops for the low price of £69. I have an old pair on Nikon Sprint 8x21, but they are not too good, particularly with my glasses on.

The question is, for say £75, are the Minoxes worth a shot or should I be looking somewhere else. Main criteria are good eye relief, optical performance (of course, not expecting Leica or Swarovski) and good ease of use i.e. a good sweet spot.

thanks in advance, Bakaman.

I have always found Minox products to be an excellent balance of price versus quality.

ranburr

Tried any Minox Compacts?

ranburr said:

I have always found Minox products to be an excellent balance of price versus quality.

ranburr

Click to expand...

Thanks Ranburr, have you tried any of their compacts by any chance?

I used to have the Minox 8x24 BD. I sold it in the end because I just don't get on with small binoculars. Optically it was nice and sharp with a pretty flat field. If you want a binocular this size you'll have to pay a lot more to get anything better. The eye relief was very good and you can see the entire field with glasses on. Hope that helps.

LCE reading were doing the Opticron Taiga on special offer recently, which puts them on your price range, if they still have them. These are a 8x25 reverse porro compact which I find bright and clear, but with a narrower field of view than some (I bought a pair full-price at WWT Slimbridge recently). They aren't quite as compact as the compact roofs you get where the barrels fold into the centre to collapse together, but I find it harder to maintain the right distance between the barrels with those.

Thanks for response

Thanks for the response. I couldn't resist plumping for the Minox 10x25 at the same price. Same Field of View, I think I can experiment with them and sell them if they don't work out for virtually no risk.