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What to buy (1 Viewer)

Duke Leto

Duke Leto

Without habitat, there is no wildlife. It's that s
All I have absolutely no idea when it comes to binoculars, but I do have the chance of getting a pr of RSPB/Viking bins at cost price.
Not knowing whats available do any of the forum members have a view on the RSPB / Viking range?
What magnification are most suitable for general use 8x or 10x
Are there any other brands that I should consider at that price range? Liked the look of the Swift Audubons 8.5x44HSS and seen some good write ups.
Don't wish to spend a fortune as I'd rather buy photographic gear but my trusty Pentax compacts are not adequate 12x25's and the cheap pr of Bushnells I picked up in Walmart in the US have proven to be a bit of a mistake (these are 10x40s and never seem to focus properly)
Must be waterproof and very tough

Look forward to the comments

A binocular novice

:-C
 
Hi Steve

the best bet would be to get along to either Titchwell or Minsmere and try out some of the bins for yourself, whatever anyone can tell you about them it's no substitute for personal testing. My wife uses a pair of RSPB 8x32 BG.PC, they are lightweight, fast focusing and deliver a good image.

Without knowing your budget it's hard to suggest others to look at... but a couple of ~£200 suggestions would be the Minox 8x32 BLs and the Nikon Monarch 8x36. I think you'd do best to look ath 8x32s as this will keep the weight down which is ideal when you're lugging all that camera gear around!
 
I use the RSPB 8x32 BG.PC ,which is an excellent binocular. I compared them directly with the Leica Ultravid 8x32 and Swarovski 8x32 EL (both at least £600 more expensive) before I bought them. Although the Swarovski was better, it was not a huge difference (certainly not £600-worth of a difference!). I could hardly see any difference between the Leica and the RSPB.
 
Steve if you're not too far from the Essex border, maybe consider popping along to the rather grandly named "optics day" on Sunday at Abberton Reservoir :
http://www.essexwt.org.uk/centres/Abberton.htm
Basically a few scopes set up in the visitor centre and a table with a selection of binoculars to play with, mostly Opticron models I think. Might be useful to get a feel for what's on offer.
 
You should be OK with RSPB. I would go for 8x42, rather than 8x32. The HGs are better than the BGs, but heavy. My HG 7x42s are optically brilliant, but have the ergonomics of an iron bar.

Michael.
 
Good points to start birding:
8x40 porros or 8x42 roof prisms. Pay at least 250, dollars, for the roofs, porros should go about 150 in dollars. Less than that, you will waste your money. Good luck. Try Opticrons, Nikons.
 
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Theres also an optics weekend at Minsmere, but thanks for pointing the other one out.
Seems my budget will be no more than £250.00 as that around what I will pay for a pr of 8x42 HGPC RSPB optics, other I will try are the 8x42 BGPC, 8x32BGPC and the Viking 8x42GR.
Postcard as you say try before I buy but as a complete novice I'm hoping for some expert guidance before I hand over the credit card.
Thanks for the comments so far
Steve
 
MacGee said:
You should be OK with RSPB. I would go for 8x42, rather than 8x32.
Click to expand...

The 8x42s will be slightly better in low-light conditions, but when I tried them alongside the 8x32s in normal daylight there was no discernable difference. The 8x32s are a more convenient size and weight too.

Still, try before you buy is the best advice.
 
Duke Leto said:
Postcard as you say try before I buy but as a complete novice I'm hoping for some expert guidance before I hand over the credit card.
Click to expand...

The experts can tell you which bins in your budget have the widest field of view, the closest focus, bench tests will even show different levels of resolution... however in real term a selection of bins within a price range will have very similar performance. The best bet is to test as many bins within your budget as you can and get the ones that work best for you. Get some recommendations as background information, but make your choice based on personal testing. My personal favourite in this price range are the Minox 8x32 BLs, so I'd recommend trying them if you can.
 
Thanks all sound advice as always, technicalities aside I will obviously try before I buy and will try all those listed in the responses, looking forward to it. Apart from the obvious ie how they feel, handle and look are there any tests that help define what makes a good pr of bins?
Once again I really appreciate your advice, Tero, would love the $'s to be £'s at the moment so it would only cost me £125.00....
Steve
 
Spend some time testing any pair of bins over a range of distances, better quality tends to show when viewing over greater distances.

Binoculars tend to be sharper in the middle and fall off a bit at the edges so look for a pair with a large 'sweet spot'.

The coatings on binoculars can give a colour cast often showing as blue (cold image) or yellows (warm image), look for an image that suits you and delivers colour as acurately as possible.

Focus on different bins will be geared differently (some run fast, others slow) find a pair that you can 'snap' into focus without any overrun.

If possible do your testing in dull conditions, any binocular can look good in good light, in poor conditions good binoculars will stand out more... hope tha helps.
 
Postcardcv spot on, will adopt the suggestions, no doubt dull conditions will be the order of the day at the moment, as long as there all waterproof shouldn't be a problem!!
Thanks all once again
Steve
 
Capercaillie71 said:
The 8x42s will be slightly better in low-light conditions, but when I tried them alongside the 8x32s in normal daylight there was no discernable difference.
Click to expand...
The better twilight performance isn't the only (or the main) reason for preferring 8x42. Having a bigger exit pupil makes for a more relaxed view. I see a difference even between bins with a 5mm and a 6mm exit pupil; I wouldn't like to use anything smaller than 5mm, except for compacts. Also, and possibly more controversially, in general the bigger the exit pupil, the higher the quality. So a Zeiss FL 7x42 will be better than a Zeiss FL 8x42, which will be better than a Zeiss FL 10x42. Same with other makes.

I agree that weight of 7x42s and 8x42s is a problem, which is why I generally leave the 7x42 HGs at home, stunning though they are to look through, and take the 6x30 Yosemites.

Michael.
 
Steve, you should be aware that there are cheaper clones of RSPB bins available. Helios AM-6s and Opticron Veranos are the same as the BGs and Bushnell Discoverers are the same as the HGs. There are other HG clones made by Eschenbach and Meade and others. I know you can get the RSPB ones at cost price, but it may still be worth checking out the alternatives, because RSPB bins are almost comically overpriced.

Michael.
 
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FWIW I had a pair of Helios AM6 8 x 42 from January until May when they were lost. Got mine from Kay and they were very good bins IMHO. Nice to hold and focus, very good view thru.

I see the RSPB bins are around £299. Helios are available at around the £200 mark.

obm
 
MacGee said:
Steve, you should be aware that there are cheaper clones of RSPB bins available. Helios AM-6s and Opticron Veranos are the same as the BGs and Bushnell Discoverers are the same as the HGs. There are other HG clones made by Eschenbach and Meade and others. I know you can get the RSPB ones at cost price, but it may still be worth checking out the alternatives, because RSPB bins are almost comically overpriced.

Michael.
Click to expand...

In the above, for "made by" read "sold by".

The bins will all have been made by the same factory (in China?), and finished with different rubber armouring etc to make them look different.

Even with them all made to the same design in the same factory, there could still be differences in what you end up with, in that there may be different levels of quality control applied to the final product. If that's the case, it's quite possible that items rejected from the higher quality batches end up in the cheaper ones.
I have no knowledge that this actually happens, but as a paid up cynic I believe it quite likely.
 
I thought that all these, in all there miriad variations, came from the kamakura fatcory. and the only difference as mentioned above, is in the final skin and maybe the number of knurls on the focusing wheels?

so to get good bins you have to go for a specialist maker, top end of market?

obm
 
Nikon 8x40 Action Extreme (EX) Waterproof Binoculars available for £99 at Microglobe are a bargain and probably adequate for your purposes. Being the porro prism type they're a bit old fashioned but to get a similar quality of view in a roof you'll be looking at £300+. I tried out a load of cheaper roofs at Leighton Moss several months ago and I was unpleasantly surprised with the poor quality of the sub £300 roofs. As a keen photographer I'd be surprised if you could live with the relative lack of sharpness the lower and mid range roofs provide. At the other end however the Swarovski EL 8x32 was exceptional and despite its high cost worth every penny.
 
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