I'm totally new to binoculars so tell me if I've got this all wrong but I want a reasonable pair for:
1) Birds in my back garden (close focus would be useful so probably roof prisms)
2) Walks in the countryside
3) checking out stars at night
I've pretty much settled on 8x42 and from what I've seen the price jumps up significantly when you go to ED glass so I was thinking of the level below that. That is those promoted as phase corrected.
I've been thinking about:
1. Barr & Stroud Savannahs
2. Hawke Frontiers PC
3. Nikon Monarchs
4. Minox BF/BVs
What seems very good value is the Barr & Stroud Savannahs which I've seen at £130. These have a very big FOV: more than 8 degrees or 143m @ 1000m. But the minus point is they're one of the heavier pairs around at 819grams/28.9 ounces. As I have zero experience I don't know if that would be too heavy to leave round your neck for hours or not?
I have also read very little about these apart from one review that was positive.
A second pair I've been looking at are the Hawke Frontiers PC. The ED version gets very good reviews but is roughly double the cost of the PC version which is what I was thinking of. I've seen a pair at £150. These too have a a huge FOV and are lighter than the Savannahs. But I read one forum post where a Hawke user couldn't get his realigned and they had to be completely replaced which was a bit off putting.
I've also seen the Minox BF/BVs at £150 too.
Finally I thought about the Nikon Monarchs. Seem to be very well reviewed and are nice and light but quite a step up in price on the above: the cheapest I've found have been £215. They also lack the big FOV of the Barr & Strouds and Hawkes so are they really worth the extra?
Looking though here I see Zen-Rays are highly rated but I don't think they're available in the UK are they?
Any views on the above would be appreciated and are there any others I should consider?
Thanks
1) Birds in my back garden (close focus would be useful so probably roof prisms)
2) Walks in the countryside
3) checking out stars at night
I've pretty much settled on 8x42 and from what I've seen the price jumps up significantly when you go to ED glass so I was thinking of the level below that. That is those promoted as phase corrected.
I've been thinking about:
1. Barr & Stroud Savannahs
2. Hawke Frontiers PC
3. Nikon Monarchs
4. Minox BF/BVs
What seems very good value is the Barr & Stroud Savannahs which I've seen at £130. These have a very big FOV: more than 8 degrees or 143m @ 1000m. But the minus point is they're one of the heavier pairs around at 819grams/28.9 ounces. As I have zero experience I don't know if that would be too heavy to leave round your neck for hours or not?
I have also read very little about these apart from one review that was positive.
A second pair I've been looking at are the Hawke Frontiers PC. The ED version gets very good reviews but is roughly double the cost of the PC version which is what I was thinking of. I've seen a pair at £150. These too have a a huge FOV and are lighter than the Savannahs. But I read one forum post where a Hawke user couldn't get his realigned and they had to be completely replaced which was a bit off putting.
I've also seen the Minox BF/BVs at £150 too.
Finally I thought about the Nikon Monarchs. Seem to be very well reviewed and are nice and light but quite a step up in price on the above: the cheapest I've found have been £215. They also lack the big FOV of the Barr & Strouds and Hawkes so are they really worth the extra?
Looking though here I see Zen-Rays are highly rated but I don't think they're available in the UK are they?
Any views on the above would be appreciated and are there any others I should consider?
Thanks