Best 10x42 or 10x50 something under $500 (2 Viewers)

Looking for a good set of 10x42/50's for shore birding, hawks, owls.
Yes, I know they're harder to steady and heavier and no, I don't want to hear how good Swaro, Zeiss, Leica are (unless you are willing to contribute the difference

What I'm considering (remember it's under $500)

Nikon Monarch 10x42, 10x56
Olympus Magellan EXWP I 10x42
Leopold Olympic 10X50

I wear glasses and will consider porro bins.

Got any better choices... or experience with any of the bins mentioned above?

Thanks for te help!

Well, some of those. I like the Monarchs though I upgraded to a better more expensive model.

10x is a little difficult to shop for, as many of the 10x30 or so may not be what you want. So you are right to look for 10x42. Many 10x50 have rather narrow a field of view.

I was not impressed with the brightness of several Pentax 10x roofs. They may approach the Monarch but were not brighter. Maybe the top of the line Penatax is worth a look. Actually, check the Pentax DCF WP II 10x42.

If you find any Vortex, the mid price and top of the line are worth a look. Have not seen most of them, hard to find.

We roof prism fans put up with a lot of faults in these mid price models at least. I find roof prisms relaxing to look through, soI don't care so much about the edges. And birds can be placed in the middle for a nice view with a Monarch for instance. I found some more of the sweet spot in my more expensive model, but you can still tell it is a roof prism, not a porro. Porros I like for long distance view, but dont care to haul the big 10x50 porros around.

Have you considered the Nikon SE demo at CameralandNY for $499?

Other than the short ER, I would also suggest the EII - same place.

I doubt if you could find a better view at any price.

I'll have to try a Nikon SE... understand they are great. Eye releif is a must. I can get away with 15 minimum.

Thanks for the help... any others?

Camera Land has Nikon Premier 10 x 35 E2 listed with the Demo Sale binoculars at $299.99. It's a great binocular with a wide 365'FOV and a clear bright view with a great sweet spot! Grab one while you can!
Bob

Rarely do I get to go out in the best light. Usually late afternoon. I thought the bigger the lens the better it is in lower light?

I like a big view... don't care about size or weight. These I'll carry in a backpack for when I need to go longer than my 8x42's.

Nikon 10X42 LX Refurbished if you can find one. I got a 10X32 LX refurb several years ago for a little over $400. Or if you are really patient a Swift 10X50 Kestrel on EBay (if you are so inclined to use EBay for binos). Someone on this forum had a Swift 10X50 several months ago that they indicated might be interested in selling.

Don

JDonley said:

Swift 10X50

Click to expand...

Awesome, but it has 12 mm of eye relief and non-folding eyecups.

My vote for patience and a Nikon LX 10x42.

oleaf said:

Rarely do I get to go out in the best light. Usually late afternoon. I thought the bigger the lens the better it is in lower light?

I like a big view... don't care about size or weight. These I'll carry in a backpack for when I need to go longer than my 8x42's.

Click to expand...

I have both the Nikon 10 x 42 SE and the Nikon 10 x 35 EII. There isn't much of a difference between them in brightness, even in overcast conditions. It is more noticeable at twilight though.
Bob

oleaf said:

Rarely do I get to go out in the best light. Usually late afternoon. I thought the bigger the lens the better it is in lower light?

I like a big view... don't care about size or weight. These I'll carry in a backpack for when I need to go longer than my 8x42's.

Click to expand...

I have both the Nikon 10 x 42 SE and the Nikon 10 x 35 EII. There isn't much of a difference between them in brightness, even in overcast conditions. It is more noticeable at twilight though.
Bob

I just picked up my wife a pair of Bushnell Elite E2s from SWFA.com, but Opical Planet will meet their price for 398.00 US I think they are a great Bino for under 500.00. My wife likes them because they are easy to focus and you can lock the focus and diop. for $400.00 at your door, I think it is a great deal and as good as you will get for the money

If you can stretch it just a bit, the Pentax 10x43 SP is a top-notch optic. Another choice is the Minox BD series - it is supposed to be on closeout and as per a thread going on right now, is being sold for throwaway prices. Vortex Vipers are very good as well. All are within 10% of your $500 limit, and IMO, are the best buys in this price range (based on my recent research into binos in this same price category).

FWIW, I ended up buying the Pentax SP 10x43, Viper 8x42 and Minox BD 8x32 (I travel a lot and have different needs - hence different binos for each need). Am very pleased with all 3 and dont really plan to upgrade to Zeicavski anytime soon (which was my original plan).

Vandit

Just to offer another alternative, a friend of mine uses Bushnell Legend 10x50 poros at the Quaker Ridge Hawk Watch and loves them. He spots and IDs a lot of birds, one of the best observers there, in fact. I have looked through them and felt they were quite good. They are waterproof as I remember, and have a fairly wide view. They would leave you money to spare, too--might be worth a try. I have tried the Nikon Monarchs and never felt comfortable with them, but it might have been sample variation, don't know. If you can find the SEs at a good price, sample them first as the blackouts, fold down eye cups and slow focus are definitely personal preferences. I think they are rugged enough for most people, though. David

I've just spent the last several long and hard days deer hunting (I also do some birding while I hunt as well). I have been wringing out my new Vortex Viper 10x42. I'm in the high Juniper/sage/mahogany country of south central Oregon. The weather has been whatever you can imagine, cold, windy, bright, sunny, gray, gloomy. snow, rain, sleet. The Viper has passed all test with flying colors. It is at least 95-98% of the way to as good as optics gets. I do not see the need for more expensive optics, unless you see the need to posess the very best of whatever that can be purchased. From your post, it seems that that is not you. Personally I would kick myself for spending $1,000.00 more than the Viper for no more improvement than the money buys. I paid $489 @ Eagle Optics. They work well past legal shooting hours, so they should work for almost any birding situation except maybe Owling. Try them and I predict you will like them. In similar class optics the Pentax SP are good as well, but I'd not trade a Viper for an SP. I also have some Nikon Monarchs, which are not as good as the Viper.

Steve

Consider a second-hand Nikon LX if you can find a pair. Also look for a reduced-price show sample of a Vortex Razor. At $500, a good new roof is going to be difficult (probably impossible) to find, especially as you seem to want to use them for twilight birding.

Thanks for the great suggestions... I'm going to give the Vipers a try as I've read a lot of good things about this model.

Okay here are my suggestions. Porro is the magic work and if weight is not a consideration then check "Sportsmans guide" for their incredible 10x50 Steiner Marine/Police model. Waterproof, incredibly bright and very high sharpness. They retail at SG for $300 and definitely worth it. For a lower price but also awfully good are the Nikon 10x50 or 12x50 Action Extreme with aspherical eye lenses and waterproof (always available for less than $200 + shipping). Pentax DCF waterproof porros are also available in 10x50 or 12x50 porros usually available for under $400. I also like the Minox 10x42 BDs I just got. Gr8fulDoug who posts here will sell you a pair of 10x Minox asphericals for under $500. If weight is not a problem search for Fujinon 10x70 FMTs and you might find one for under $500. Even 10x70 Nikon Astroluxes come in under $500 sometimes on ebay.

With a 70mm objective you cannot believe how bright the view becomes, it is astounding. 6am looks like noontime and these bins are all super color corrected. I continue to use my Zeiss Jena Dekarems as my standard with its near 70 degree AFV, and incredible sharpness but some others are looking good too.

It seems certain you could get a pair of 10x50 Dekarems from Germany used. Carson 10x42 XMs are supposed to be good but certainly you could get new Bushnell 10x43 Elites for less than $500 and they are very good. Also on the used market look for Tasco International 10x50s model 410 for a superb superwide view, the Swarovski 10x40 Habichts are also very nice used, as are the Fujinon 10x50 FMTs.

Holger Merlitz also likes the Doktor 10x50 even used. So if you have the carrying capacity, you can even step up to a 10x60 or 10x70. I have a pair of 10x58 LE prototypes from China that are remarkably good with aspherical eye lenses and 20mm of eye relief. I'm sure these were sold as someone's 10x60. You just have to look at the re-labellers like Seben to find one. If you can find a Russian Navy 12x45 in good shape they are also great. I use Yukon 12x50s but the eye relief isn't good. The eye relief on the Dekarems is short also but on the Tasco International 410 for 55 degrees of AFV it is 20mm. Be careful with eye relief. If a binocular has 12 mm of eye relief to see a 65 degree AFV then for reasonable viewing like 55 degrees of AFV the eye relief could be much longer. It's like looking through a window, the further away you get, the narrower field of view you get looking through the window.

Thanks for the info KSBird. You mentioned Minox BD closeouts on another thread.

Care to share where to get them?

Yes, I bought the 8x42 and 10x42 Minox BDs that were returned demonstration units from a bankrupt store, at an auction company here in Kansas City. When you go to preview physical auction items some of the more standard small items like cameras, palm pilots, Ipods, binoculars etc. have "take it" prices you can pay to buy the item outright.

This place is a clearance warehouse for freight that was lost or misdirected and then when the trucking company pays the insurance on the item, and later the item is found, it gets auctioned off. If the item doesn't get at least a certain minimum bid for 2 weeks in a row at their huge auction/sales facility, or if they have dozens and dozens of an item, they put the item up on Ebay.

They sell as "Cargo Largo" on Ebay. I have been buying from this auction company for years. When I looked at Ebay right now, they have 761 items up for bid but only 2 pairs of inexpensive Bushnell binoculars (NIB). I have the luck of being able to bid on their items when I can't visit for auction night every Thursday and if I win one of their items on EBay I can just go get it and pick it up in person. I have gotten astounding deals on Contax cameras and lenses, computer equipment, bulk printing paper, clocks, carpeting, computer printing paper, pallets full of dog food and horse sweet feed, tractor parts, windshield wipers by the case and more other odd lost freight items than I can name. They often have high end binoculars and some spotting scopes on auction.

A friend of mine has a Panasonic WV-NS202A color PTZ Camera set up outdoors in the middle of 4 bird feeders in a quiet remote location. This is an awesome camera that operates remotely and has a 22x optical zoom and operates well in near dark. He paid US$900 for his. Cargo Largo has a new one up for auction on Ebay now (150169780464).

I am now looking to buy the Minox 6.5x32 IF BDs (maybe from Gr8flDoug) because I like the 8x42s and 10x42s but I want something else smaller with the correction for kidney bean distortion that aspherical lenses give you.