• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

8x32s recommendations please. (1 Viewer)

Nick1976

Active member
I really like the 'view' from my old Tasco 8x32s, however I'd like to treat myself to a new pair of bins.

I don't wear glasses (yet!) but I do like lightweight bins with a reasonable close focus (for butterflies & dragonflies and such like).

I think my budget is £200 max. Anyone got any recommendations (or links to 2nd hand pairs!)?
 
Hmm not sure about Nikons, the OH has a pair of 8x42 Monarchs and I don't like the way they handle bright contrast - oh can't think of the name for it, where you get a kind of halo-effect.

Would kinda like waterproof too?
 
You're asking a lot for £200. The Monarchs are roofs aren't they? These EII's are porros and at this price no roof is going to touch them optically. They would handle backlit subjects better than the roofs I would have thought, (or did you mean flare?).
Obviously the choice is yours but if you could look through them I doubt you would be disappointed.
They have long been recommended at your pricepoint though I know porros are a bit passe now.
You didn't mention waterproof originally!
 
Nick1976 said:
but oh I don't know fashion-wise? ;)

Oh, ok so now they have to be fashionable as well!

How did you manage to go in public out with the Tascos?!

So you really don't like the Nikon's do you?

So you probably want 8x32 roof prisms (fashionable), waterproof for a budget of £200, hmm. Opticron might do something but nothing really springs to mind as great optics.
 
Nick1976 said:
Hmm not sure about Nikons, the OH has a pair of 8x42 Monarchs and I don't like the way they handle bright contrast - oh can't think of the name for it, where you get a kind of halo-effect.
Maybe you mean [size=-1]chromatic aberration. The only binoculars I've ever seen CA in were also Nikons - the HG L. I think the best 8x32 roof under £200 is the Helios AM-6: 7.5° field, 1.8m close focus, 530g.

Michael.
[/size]
 
Nick1976 said:
Hmm not sure about Nikons, the OH has a pair of 8x42 Monarchs and I don't like the way they handle bright contrast - oh can't think of the name for it, where you get a kind of halo-effect.

Would kinda like waterproof too?
Avian 8x32 are superb roof-prism, nitrogen purged, lovely in the hand, great view, etc. etc. etc. Available from www.acecameras.co.uk in Bath, don´t know the exact price but I´m sure it´s around your target. Check out the reviews.
 
Sancho said:
Avian 8x32 are superb roof-prism, nitrogen purged, lovely in the hand, great view, etc. etc. etc. Available from www.acecameras.co.uk in Bath, don´t know the exact price but I´m sure it´s around your target. Check out the reviews.
£269
They do have a secondhand pair for £189
 
There are reverse porro models that are satisfactory for close viewing. In fact you may know that perhaps the most highly recommended insect viewing glass is the Pentax Papilio 6.5x21 (dead cheap from Tecno); it is not waterproof however. Here are four reasonably close focusing (3m or so) reverse porros which have some degree of waterproofing :
Opticron HR WP 8x26
http://opticron.boson.posiweb.net/pages/page11.html#HRWP
Swift Trekker 8x26
http://www.pyser-sgi.com/productdetail.asp?ProductID=142
Nikon Travelite EX 8x25
http://www.ave.nikon.co.jp/bi_e/products/compact.htm
Bushnell Legend 8x26
http://www.jjvickers.co.uk/new/binopages/190826.html

Hopefully though some testing with more roof prism models will turn up one in which you don't find excessive false colour; perhaps the Nikon Monarch you've tested is not good in that regard. To add to roof prism models suggested above, this could be another possibility (haven't used this retailer though) :
http://www.uttings.com/?Categories/Optics/Binoculars/Browning/#8x32
or if you think camo finish is cool and are prepared to stretch budget a bit to accomodate it, how about this model from WarehouseExpress ;)
http://www.jjvickers.co.uk/new/binopages/193209.html
 
Pentax SP 8x32 can be had now in US for as low as $350 - no other waterproof roof under twice that will beat it overall.

But, the Nikon EII view DOES beat it - no question. However, DO NOT GET AN EII!!!! It will ruin you! You will eventually decide you want a roof for the compactness, weatherproofness, and rapid focus in cool weather - and you will have to spend ALOT more find one with a comparable view. It's really quite a dilemma.
 
I'd definitely go with the Pentax. I've had mine a couple of months and they are fantastic for the price. I agree that the image in the Nikon is superior, but the slow focus and lack of close focus rules them out for me -- and I would imagine for you since you said you wanted close focus for butterflys. Good luck.
 
APSmith said:
Pentax SP 8x32 can be had now in US for as low as $350 - no other waterproof roof under twice that will beat it overall.
The cheapest I've seen the Pentax in the UK is £269 ($526), but in any case at 670g they hardly qualify as "lightweight bins."

Michael.
 
Thanks everyone for some good recommends. I will look into them.

Yes, I did mean chromatic abberation - it just trips off the tongue! LOL!

I have a pair of Pentax 8x32 DCF WP on order from Amazon, but it now says they're 'out of stock/discontinued'. I don't think I can afford the new Pentax 8x32s (I've also seen them at Microglobe - which is where I got the Monarchs from).

I guess lightweight is subjective, but for full-size bins I think 670g wouldn't be too bad. :)

I like the 'sound' of the Helios & the Avian's who make them?


ps. not sure about the camo norm - they're a bit noticeable, in an odd kinda way. lol!

pps. Oh god now I feel *really* stupid, I've actually got a pair of Tokina (begins with a 'T'!), multi-coated, bak4, 690g, water resistant porro's!!! I've just looked 'at the wrong end' to check the field of view specs - 143m x 1000m to compare them. (See, when I bought them I knew Tokina made SLR camera lens.)

Big oops!!!! Senior moment! |:$| :-O |^| |:D|
 
Last edited:
Check out the Minox 8x32 BL (£219) they're just over your budget but are extremely good for the money - fully waterproof, very close focus, lightweight and a 30 year warranty... also look at the new Nikon Monarch 8x36, they should tick all the boxes and come in at £199. The best bet is to get along to a shop and test these bins side by side.

Helios are made by Helios... a company better known for astro stuff, but their 8x32's are good for the price. Avian are a retailers own brand, I'm not sure where they're made, but they do look very similar to another well known make.
 
Nick,

The porro's - EII's etc are not so good in the close focus department. I would like a pair of the EII's though (was hoping that no one else had noticed the 2nd hand pair for sale in that well known optical retailers!). I think that the Minox 8x32 BLs (£189 at Bristol Cameras) or the Helios 8x32 AM-6 (£165 at Custom Telescopes UK) would be the ones I would look at in your price range - I thought the BLs were excellent in particular. Just my two pennies worth.

Paul

P.S. If you enter "TECNO5" into the voucher code box at the checkout stage at Tecno's you will get another 5% off the price. Makes those 8x36 Monarchs even better value at £121 post free!!
 
Last edited:
In the optics field, I think Helios used to be a brand of Soviet goods imported by Technical and Optical Equipment (headquarters Zenith House) but that is no longer the case. Current importer Optical Vision seems to import mainly Chinese and some Russian optics while the Helios AM6 is apparently from some Japanese factory (as is the Avian and I suspect the Browning too). This is a shrug in response to Nick's question "Who makes them?".

Michael's quoted price for the Pentax could well be courtesy of Microglobe. When I first saw it I thought the lowness of the price may indicate it was about to be discontinued. Maybe others factors are responsible for the low price. If you've had satisfactory service from them before...

Those Tokinas have a wide field of view which you will probably not be quite able to match in an 8x32 roof prism. Rather than camera lenses, Tokina makes me think of the mini outcry caused by their advertising involving young ladies wearing T-shirts bearing the words "Tokina" and "handles beautifully" emblazoned across their chests. So I guess the advertising worked; unless it wasn't Tokina at all of course (I definitely remember the other bit... ;) )

Anyways plenty of other sorts of models to think about already. Wonder where one can get to try out optics in Wiltshire?
 
Nick1976 said:
I like the 'sound' of the Helios & the Avian's who make them?
:D
The Helios is the same binocular, bought from the same Japanese supplier, as the RSPB BG.PC that Capercaillie71 mentions. It's also the same as the Opticron Verano. For the £165 that Paskman found it at, it seems like a good deal.

Michael.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 17 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top