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Help a newbie find the best pair of Binoculars :) (1 Viewer)

Pragmatist

New member
Hi
I would love some advise on Binocs. I would use them for Broadway shows (I like seeing the actors expressions from the cheap seats)
Ballgames (looking for faces in the crowd, player faces, jersey numbers), and the occasional famous Hawks that appears over Central Park :).
And they MUST be pocketable.

Ive seen great recommendations for Zeiss Victory and Leica Trinovoids, but i cannot afford these.
I have also seen websites recommend Nikon Travelites (IV,V or VI).

I must admit i tried the Canon10x30 Image Stabilized binos and liked them! Tested against Swaravskis that cost over a 1000
and others; it was the only one that allowed me to read the house numbers down the block. But they are simply too big.

My current cheapo Binos cause me to see double images no matter what i do.

I could spend 100 - 250$ figuring while i wont use it more than 10 times a year, i would have it for life.

One friend said to get a Zeiss Monocular which is around $250 thinking that half of great is better than full mediocre.


THANKS!!
 
This sale sounds like a heck of a good deal. CL has a great return policy and they are everything you want in a dealer - excellent service and great prices.

I've used binoculars for concerts including down to 8x20. They do quite decently. I think I enjoyed my 7x26 reverse porros more but they don't fit your pocketability requirement.

Do you like monoculars? It sounds like a pain to me less'n you are Captain Ahab or something.

If you went a bit up budg, you could get a Nikon LXL 8x20 which is every bit as good as the Euro 8x20s with one or two little quirks, just like each of the Euros have.

Any event, I'm very tempted by that deal above and I already have the primo compacts!

Have fun.
 
The Columbia (Kreuger) 8 x 25, now on sale at CameralandNY,- is a very good binocular-especially at that closeout price- but it might be too big for Pragmatist. It is a bit bulky and will only fit into large shirt pockets such as the flannel and chamois shirts Eddie Bauer and Cabelas sell. It will fit easily into a jacket pocket or even the pocket of a sport coat.

Bob
 
The Columbia is a really nice bin, with top notch accessories (nicest compact strap I've ever run across, excellent rainguard and objective caps, etc.). Not really pocketable, though, and the case is a big, hardshell.

For less money, less weight, and a smaller size, you just can't beat this Olympus:

http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Tracker-Compact-Lightweight-Binocular/dp/B00006G33J/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295444939&sr=8-1

It's actually the sharpest compact I've ever seen. Even sharper than a Leica 8x20 UV. It's not as rugged as the Columbia, but for occasional use it's simply unbeatable.

Mark
 
Those Columbias sound good! You certainly give them high praise.

I keep reading great things about the Travelite V 10x25 or Olympus Tracker 10x25. These are under $100 ....and posters are saying that it has better optical quality than roofs costing 3 times as much!

Also - so many posters are writing that if you can scrounge together $425, Leica Trinovid 8x or 10x are a no brainer...


I really have to find a place to touch and see them. Will try to go this weekend.
 
Pragmatist,

For me the 10x compacts generally have narrow fields of view and feel like looking out of a tunnel. The last one I tried was a Nikon 10x25 Prostaff (Ecobin actually--same thing in green). At first I liked them, but soon they seemed too dim and narrow. I sold them to a hunter friend of mine who loves them for squirrel hunting (although anything would look great compared to the cruddy thing he had been using).

But consider that the Nikon 10x25 has 262' while the Columbia 8x25 has 370'. That's a huge difference. And for me the added shake of a 10x pretty much negates any increase in detail.

Try both, but consider the tunnelvision of a narrow FOV.

Mark
 
I would love some advise on Binocs. I would use them for Broadway shows (I like seeing the actors expressions from the cheap seats)
Ballgames (looking for faces in the crowd, player faces, jersey numbers), and the occasional famous Hawks that appears over Central Park :).

And they MUST be pocketable.

I could spend 100 - 250$ figuring while i wont use it more than 10 times a year, i would have it for life.


THANKS!!

Depends upon the size of the pocket. Shirt pocket? Jacket pocket? Overcoat pocket?

I recommend the Eagle Optics Ranger SRT 6x32 Binocular for jacket or overcoat pockets. However, it will not fit into a shirt pocket.

The views are bright, easy to focus, easy to hold, and waterproof. You may find you will use them more than 10 times a year.

. . .

The Vortex Fury 6.5x32 Binocular might also work for you. They are cheaper, but larger than the Ranger 6x32.

. . .

I suggest you avoid any binocular with an objective smaller than 30mm size--the objective end is that part of the binoculars pointing toward the object viewed. And I would definitely stay away from any magnification larger than 8x for small binoculars.

Here are some problems I have experienced when trying out 8x25 or 10x25 sizes.

  1. Eye placement to the eye cups is critical, resulting in a slight delay in viewing the action. This is related to a concept called exit pupil size. Divide the objective size by the magnification: 25mm/10mag=2.5mm exit pupil; 25/8=3.1, 32/8=4, and 32/6=5.3. I just am not happy viewing through an exit pupil smaller than 4mm.
  2. Viewing for periods of time longer than a few seconds can be fatiguing.
  3. So can repeated viewings of quick peeks.
  4. Difficult to use in low light situations because of the small objectives. The larger the objectives, the more light that is let in and passed to your eye pupil--the brighter the view. Bright views may not be a problem in central park during a bright day or at an afternoon sporting event. However, this changes when you view theatrical productions where the stage may not be well lighted.

. . .

I hope these opinions help.

...Bob
Kentucky
 
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Depends upon the size of the pocket. Shirt pocket? Jacket pocket? Overcoat pocket?

I recommend the Eagle Optics Ranger SRT 6x32 Binocular for jacket or overcoat pockets. However, it will not fit into a shirt pocket.

The views are bright, easy to focus, easy to hold, and waterproof. You may find you will use them more than 10 times a year.

. . .

The Vortex Fury 6.5x32 Binocular might also work for you. They are cheaper, but larger than the Ranger 6x32.

. . .

I suggest you avoid any binocular with an objective smaller than 30mm size--the objective end is that part of the binoculars pointing toward the object viewed. And I would definitely stay away from any magnification larger than 8x for small binoculars.

Here are some problems I have experienced when trying out 8x25 or 10x25 sizes.

  1. Eye placement to the eye cups is critical, resulting in a slight delay in viewing the action. This is related to a concept called exit pupil size. Divide the objective size by the magnification: 25mm/10mag=2.5mm exit pupil; 25/8=3.1, 32/8=4, and 32/6=5.3. I just am not happy viewing through an exit pupil smaller than 4mm.
  2. Viewing for periods of time longer than a few seconds can be fatiguing.
  3. So can repeated viewings of quick peeks.
  4. Difficult to use in low light situations because of the small objectives. The larger the objectives, the more light that is let in and passed to your eye pupil--the brighter the view. Bright views may not be a problem in central park during a bright day or at an afternoon sporting event. However, this changes when you view theatrical productions where the stage may not be well lighted.

. . .

I hope these opinions help.

...Bob
Kentucky

Bob:
Agreed about a 30mm being better than a 8x20 or similar. I guess the key
word is pocket, so that means small, 8x20 or 10x25, fits in pocket, to go
to a theatre, or sporting event.

This is a stiff requirement as the smaller you go, the better you need to be.
Pocket optics, the under $100. types need not apply, unless you are happy
with a quick look. Then there is a large gap in quality, only filled by the alpha
types, including Nikon.

Jerry
 
I have little time to go birding but they seemed pretty good, I am not returning them. I only had a Bushnell 8x28 that was similar and have misplaced it. Better look in all 3 cars.

I did ID some grackles with it.

OK I found the Excursion 8x28s. I have had some trouble with the eye cups on those, they are otherwise solid. I tested both and the Columbias are very similar. Neither is sharper, but the 25mm does not look dimmer, and fov is similar.
 
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