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8x30ish porro recommendation/advice. (1 Viewer)

Binoscoper

Binoscoper

Also a spotting scoper
Greetings all.

I'm having a bino rethink at the moment. I apologise for the burning smell:smoke:! Without going into a long and monotonous story, I'm now considering going from my 10x42 roofs to 8x30ish porros.

I've done some research on these binos and while Google knows most things, a good old fashioned chat goes a long way.

I would like to go into a store and try these but from memory, when I bought my roofs there where no porros on the shelves at all. Not only that, the stores are typically 1 hours drive away from me. The good stores even further!

Now for my research shortlist in order of favourite.*

1. Vortex raptor 8.5x32.
• great warranty.
• good all round package

2. Kowa yf 8x30.
• kowa brand reputation.
• Japanese eco glass with dirt repellant coatings.

3. Opticron imagic tga wp 8x32.
• I trust opticron a bit more as I have an 8x25 trailfinder monocular from them and it works well for me.

4. Nikon action ex 8x40.
• pushing the limits a bit on price and weight but if the optics are better than above then maybe a worth while bet?

Any questions, advice and/or suggestions much appreciated. Thanks in advance. :eat:
 
normjackson said:
Presumably the Opticron Savanna models deserve a place alongside the Vortex and Kowa.
Click to expand...

The problem with the savanna wp is it isn't fog proof. Fogging is an irritation with the vintage porros (chinon countryman 10x50) I sometimes use.

If I keep my eyes peeled on the opticron field event list, I might ask if they can bring an example of the savanna wp and tga. So I can see what the differences are.
 
Binoscoper said:
The problem with the savanna wp is it isn't fog proof.
Click to expand...
I wonder though is any external focusing bin (which sucks in and expels air as it focuses) truly fogproof internally despite initially being purged with dry nitrogen?
I guess a good hydrophobic coating may encourage water to distribute itself in a less "misty" fashion over glass surfaces which may help.
 
Binoscoper said:
Greetings all.

I'm having a bino rethink at the moment. I apologise for the burning smell:smoke:! Without going into a long and monotonous story, I'm now considering going from my 10x42 roofs to 8x30ish porros.

I've done some research on these binos and while Google knows most things, a good old fashioned chat goes a long way.

I would like to go into a store and try these but from memory, when I bought my roofs there where no porros on the shelves at all. Not only that, the stores are typically 1 hours drive away from me. The good stores even further!

Now for my research shortlist in order of favourite.*

1. Vortex raptor 8.5x32.
• great warranty.
• good all round package

2. Kowa yf 8x30.
• kowa brand reputation.
• Japanese eco glass with dirt repellant coatings.

3. Opticron imagic tga wp 8x32.
• I trust opticron a bit more as I have an 8x25 trailfinder monocular from them and it works well for me.

4. Nikon action ex 8x40.
• pushing the limits a bit on price and weight but if the optics are better than above then maybe a worth while bet?

Any questions, advice and/or suggestions much appreciated. Thanks in advance. :eat:
Click to expand...

Having been inundated with binos to fix since childhood, I must support Ceasar; the Nikon E2 has always had my respect, for the price point or several miles past. :cat:
 
Be aware I'm a relative new comer. I started a similar plan awhile ago. First, a classic 7X35 porro, that is a complicated market. Second, a Nikon E series used bin, turned out a good binocular but everybody wants them. Third, a 6x30 in the Leupold, Kowa, Vortex type.

Those turned out to be well regarded and had good warranty. My choice was the Leupold Yosemite or Vortex 6.5x. Good warranty and Canadian workshops. The Kowa was on the list because of good reviews. Quality issues are reported a lot as well as great views for the price. Buy the warranty and a store that has hassle free returns.

The Nikons listed were bigger than I wanted. In the end I learned of the Nikon EII 8x30.

I purchased the EII and am very happy. It was a stretch financially originally. After receiving them I now believe I got the best affordable value I could get in a porro, my type choice too. The view really is outstanding.
 
Canuck Bob said:
Be aware I'm a relative new comer. I started a similar plan awhile ago. First, a classic 7X35 porro, that is a complicated market. Second, a Nikon E series used bin, turned out a good binocular but everybody wants them. Third, a 6x30 in the Leupold, Kowa, Vortex type.

Those turned out to be well regarded and had good warranty. My choice was the Leupold Yosemite or Vortex 6.5x. Good warranty and Canadian workshops. The Kowa was on the list because of good reviews. Quality issues are reported a lot as well as great views for the price. Buy the warranty and a store that has hassle free returns.

The Nikons listed were bigger than I wanted. In the end I learned of the Nikon EII 8x30.

I purchased the EII and am very happy. It was a stretch financially originally. After receiving them I now believe I got the best affordable value I could get in a porro, my type choice too. The view really is outstanding.
Click to expand...

I NEED one like a hole in the head. But, although I use what it grew up to be, I WOULD JUST LIKE to have one around.
 
Second Ceasar, the Nikon 8x30 E11 is the best 8x30 porro I have used , and that includes the Swarovski Habicht 8x30W. Taken together with superb optical quality, The E11'S superb wide field mean it stands alone among 8x30 porro's.
 
With regards to fog proofing, maybe with porro design it's not so easy to do? I may just have to be carefull about acclimatising them through the winter. Does any modern porro user suffer much with fogging through winter?

Those nikon E2's certainly seems to be popular! Although a bit out of budget for the moment, it's certainly something I would look into in the future.
 
Brin Best, author of the iconic Binoculars and People, wrote an excellent article, with reviews, of the 6 best Porro prism 8x30/32 binoculars.

Unfortunately he seems to have removed all mention of Binoculars from his current website which was cited in this Bird Forum post:

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2854296&postcount=7

Perhaps someone has a "way back" method of finding it?

Bob
 
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ceasar said:
Brin Best, author of the iconic Binoculars and People, wrote an excellent article, with reviews, of the 6 best Porro prism 8x30/32 binoculars.

Unfortunately he seems to have removed all mention of Binoculars from his current website which was cited in this Bird Forum post:

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2854296&postcount=7

Perhaps someone has a "way back" method of finding it?

Bob
Click to expand...

Bob,

I came up with this, but it covers more than 6 binoculars. He lists the first 4 as the best still being made at the time of writing the article.

Is this the article?

https://web.archive.org/web/20130121132950/http://www.brinbest.com/id38.html
 
My opinion is worth exactly as much as you paid for it, but...

...for my money, the best value in a porro in the 8x30-something range is to go to an auction site and pick up a Bausch & Lomb "Custom" in 8x36.

They are crisp from edge to edge, plenty bright, and eye relief that is tremendous. Yes, they are old fashioned, the tend to fog if you take them outside on a humid day and don't give them a bit to warm up, but the view! My gosh, the view...

...you will be hard pressed to find a roof for less than a thousand dollars that comes close to matching the view.

Just my two cents worth, I could be wrong...
 
grimmlen said:
My opinion is worth exactly as much as you paid for it, but...

...for my money, the best value in a porro in the 8x30-something range is to go to an auction site and pick up a Bausch & Lomb "Custom" in 8x36.

They are crisp from edge to edge, plenty bright, and eye relief that is tremendous. Yes, they are old fashioned, the tend to fog if you take them outside on a humid day and don't give them a bit to warm up, but the view! My gosh, the view...

...you will be hard pressed to find a roof for less than a thousand dollars that comes close to matching the view.

Just my two cents worth, I could be wrong...
Click to expand...

Grimmlen,

I have a friend who leads bird watching tours and he still uses that B&L 8x36 Custom as his primary binocular.

Bob
 
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