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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Deciding on a new pair of binoculars (1 Viewer)

I have the 12.5x50 SP. Don't know how it compares to the Elite, but the specs are very close. Those are going for $900-1000 while you can get the SP for much, much less since they've been discontinued. I paid $530 a few months ago, but they're even cheaper now.
Haven't used this seller, but buydig.com has them for $480.95 shipped.
http://www.buydig.com/shop/product....&utm_campaign=PKB12550DCFSP&sku=PKB12550DCFSP
Hope you're planning to mount these on a tripod, or at least a monopod. IMO, the extra magnification is wasted, handheld.
 
Both are inappropriate for birding. 10x is the maximum for handheld use. 12x would give a narrow FOV, less light and poor depth of field. 8 x is probably the most common magnification used by birders although I prefer 7x personally.

Dave
 
Well the truth is that i'm not using it for bird watching at all but this was the only forum with knowledgeable people that is active that deals with such subjects as binoculars.

So I guess I was hoping for a specification difference that made one better than the other because after looking at the details of them online it became apparent that it was all greek to me >.<

Its for a gift hence the pupose they are put to could be anything. But the reason I was looking at these 2 models was because of their power and compact size. Although the Pentax looks allot bigger than the Bushnell
 
Given the two, I'd get the Bushnell. As a strictly personal matter, I can see color fringing too easily in the Pentax. You might post this at the Hunting Optics Forum at the 24 Hour Campfire. There is often some discussion of tripod mounted high magnification binoculars. What I would personally look at first in this class glass is the Minox 13x56.
 
So, anuthamutha, what is the intended use?

EDIT: then I noticed

Its for a gift hence the pupose they are put to could be anything. But the reason I was looking at these 2 models was because of their power and compact size. Although the Pentax looks allot bigger than the Bushnell

Do not buy the 12x bins you suggest!

For general purpose bins look at 8x bins. Either 8x32 (smaller, compact, lighter) or 8x42 (just a but more relaxed). They'll be useful for anything.

Forget the x12 or even x10. The magnification buys you nothing if it's not on a tripod for x12. And x10 is just more difficult to use for a tyro than it needs to be.

Take a look at 8x30ish and 8x40ish bins like:

Pentax SP or ED
Vortex Fury, Razor, Viper
Stokes DLS
Zeiss Conquest 8x30
Nikon Monarch (or the next range up)
Leupold mid range roofs
Bushnell

there are plenty of other manufacturers to add here.

If you can't think of anything else the Pentax SP 8x32 or 8x43 is an excellent choice!

Eagle Optics are a good provider (I'm just a customer). And the site is easy to brows (though the just removed some nice filtering features).

http://www.eagleoptics.com/index.asp?dept=1&type=19&purch=1

You'll be very happy with something in the $300 to $600 price range.

I'll leave the rest of the posting though it's not revelant!

Just on market placement both are high middle bins ... just below to the "top" alpha bins. So both of a decent quality.

I would have guess the Bushnell would have a wider FOV than the Pentax (given the house design styles) but in this case the Bushnell has the smaller FOV by a not noticeable amount.

The specs look very similar. Not sure if these have the newer Bushnell 4 stop eyecup but they look very similar on the other counts. Bushnell has rainguard which might be a win if you are using the glass in the rain.

The SPs I think are being continued so more hunting might reveal a better price.

This might come down to getting them both and trying them and returning the one you don't like (buying from a place that doesn't charge a restocking fee ... there are quite a few places out there and it's common practice for optics nuts like us).

BTW you will need a tripod for these. They aren't handheld bins for any period of time (unless perhaps you are a strongman). Don't forget that. One that is rated at twice the bin weight: 4lbs or 2kg.
 
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I have the 12.5x50 SP. Don't know how it compares to the Elite, but the specs are very close. Those are going for $900-1000 while you can get the SP for much, much less since they've been discontinued. I paid $530 a few months ago, but they're even cheaper now.
Haven't used this seller, but buydig.com has them for $480.95 shipped.
http://www.buydig.com/shop/product....&utm_campaign=PKB12550DCFSP&sku=PKB12550DCFSP
Hope you're planning to mount these on a tripod, or at least a monopod. IMO, the extra magnification is wasted, handheld.

Buydig is a very reputable company to do business with. If it sells for $480, I have no idea how much Opticsplanet is trying to profit from this. :)

If you are buying for birding, don't go over 10x as Dave suggested. Stick with 8x or 10x format.
 
Buydig has the Pentax SP's because they're currently being discontinued (from another post on the forum). This is a grat time to buy them (if you don't need the latest and greatest).

But not the 12x ;)
 
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