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Best 10x42 Binoculars (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter else918
- Start date
Hi Danny,
you have my sympathy. It's not easy finding good optics on a limited budget, and while the advice here is frequently excellent, it can be tough to follow as many of the brands and models suggested can be hard to track down and try out.
For what it's worth here's my contribution. Please try out some models first including some expensive ones if you can to get some idea of what you get for your money. If you can't get to a specialist optics shop, most good camera shops will carry a limited range. You should be able to find the Nikon EX porro or similar. Even John Lewis usually has one or two. It's normally a little over your budget but there are a few deals around. Porro's like this or the Opticron SR GA are are going to be a lot better than any of the roof prism's at your price point. However they tend to be bulky and heavy are are not to everyone's taste. Unfortunately you will probably need to spend 3 or 4 times your budget to get a roof prism with comparable performance, but with the porro's in mind you can make an informed judgement on what compromises you find acceptable. My own preference would be to try out compact reverse porros such as the Nikon Travelite EX, Opticron Taiga, Olympus PC1 or if you can push the budget, the excellent Bushnell Elite Custom 7x26 (about £180). From my own testing I think you would find any of these better than the Discovery you mentioned. The plus is, should you you move on to better optics in future you are more likely to keep a compact as a standby pair.
As a total wild card. Out of curiosity I bought the £20 10x42 for 7DayShop that Keith Reeder reccommended in a recent post. A bit of a lottery. Mine had one surprisingly good barrel and one not so good. To match the good barrel with my dominant eye I use them upside down and focus with my thumb.
You might get lucky and get two good barrels and a usable stop gap to save for something better.
Hope this helps.
David
you have my sympathy. It's not easy finding good optics on a limited budget, and while the advice here is frequently excellent, it can be tough to follow as many of the brands and models suggested can be hard to track down and try out.
For what it's worth here's my contribution. Please try out some models first including some expensive ones if you can to get some idea of what you get for your money. If you can't get to a specialist optics shop, most good camera shops will carry a limited range. You should be able to find the Nikon EX porro or similar. Even John Lewis usually has one or two. It's normally a little over your budget but there are a few deals around. Porro's like this or the Opticron SR GA are are going to be a lot better than any of the roof prism's at your price point. However they tend to be bulky and heavy are are not to everyone's taste. Unfortunately you will probably need to spend 3 or 4 times your budget to get a roof prism with comparable performance, but with the porro's in mind you can make an informed judgement on what compromises you find acceptable. My own preference would be to try out compact reverse porros such as the Nikon Travelite EX, Opticron Taiga, Olympus PC1 or if you can push the budget, the excellent Bushnell Elite Custom 7x26 (about £180). From my own testing I think you would find any of these better than the Discovery you mentioned. The plus is, should you you move on to better optics in future you are more likely to keep a compact as a standby pair.
As a total wild card. Out of curiosity I bought the £20 10x42 for 7DayShop that Keith Reeder reccommended in a recent post. A bit of a lottery. Mine had one surprisingly good barrel and one not so good. To match the good barrel with my dominant eye I use them upside down and focus with my thumb.
You might get lucky and get two good barrels and a usable stop gap to save for something better.Hope this helps.
David
YourBirdOasis
Well-known member
The Vortex Stokes 10X42 Talon are a great pair of professional level yet modestly priced full-sized roof prism binoculars. They are designed specifically for birding and will be your most trustworthy piece of equipment in the field. I know many birders and bird researchers that have enjoyed years of faithful service from these binoculars. Check them out at http://www.yourbirdoasis.com/swtln1042.html. Good luck!