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

Your Favourite, Not Your Best, Bins? (2 Viewers)

Troubador

Troubador

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There are many binos that I respect and as shocking to some as this might seem, not all of them are from Zeiss. This respect is born out of not just their specifications but the way they get the job done. My best from this point of view is SF 8x42 but that is not what this thread is about. Absolutely not.

What I would like you to post about are your favourite bins and this could be an entirely different question because it certainly is for me. To my amazement and surprise it is my Conquest HD 8x32, that felt at home in my hand the first time I picked it up and has proved a great companion for several reasons. These include a wide FOV and relatively fast focus but actually I am not at all sure if these are the real reasons for my affection for them. And that is the difference between the SF and the Conquest. I have a huge respect for the SF but I have huge affection for the Conq.

When I take the SF out birding or Ottering or for any reason I have a confidence in its technical capabilities and feel as though I have got a great expert accompanying me.

With the Conquest, it feels more like walking out with a close friend who shares my way of doing things.

Is this getting too metaphysical (feel free to join in here Chosun)? Maybe, but I am just trying to convey how it is that a competent bino has sneeked (snuck?) into my affections in a way that a class-leading bino hasn't, as much as I enjoy using it.

So how about it? What is your favourite bino? And, please, this is not about what is the best bino of its kind or its class or in the world or that is going to kill the alphas, but it is about binos that you just feel so comfortable with they are like putting on your favourite shoes or gloves.

Lee
 
I understand what you mean. For me, out of the many binoculars I've used, that list distills to Swarovski 8.5x42 EL SV nonFP, Leica 8x32 Ultra Trinovid BA/BN, and Zeiss 7x42 BGATP/Classic.

--AP
 
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I am not sure that "your favorite binocular is the one you use the most" is the case for me; I am with Alexis and the Zeiss 7x42 Classic
 
Nice to see such a wide range of choices there. Like Wandy I am not sure that your favourite is necessarily the one you use most though it could easily be. I probably use SF 8x42 twice as much as the Conquest but the Conquest is still my best friend.

Lee
 
My favorite is probably my Canon 10x42 IS-L's. With the tripod-like steady view @ 10x I can see more detail with them than any other binocular I have ever used. They are certainly not the best ergonomically or weight wise but they give me the best view and that is my number one priority.
 
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I have three favourites:

- Meopta MeoStar 10x42 HD
- Swarovski SLC 8x42
- Zeiss Victory FL 7x42

My sincere apologies to all my many other binoculars - I know this is tough for some of you, esp. the alphas !! I hope you can forgive me :-C
 
Hi Lee,

My favorite for the past 2 years is still my Swaro EL 10X50 SV, with its superb step-in FOV, supreme sharpness and fidelity of color resolution. It clicks all my desired optical boxes...Except stabilization. For that reason, I find I'm usually reaching for the Canon 10X42L IS, for with its high quality L-glass optics and amazing hand-held tri-pod like stabilized view, shows extreme details that only my "tri-pod mounted" EL 10X50 SV can transcend!

Ted
 
Most of my watching is from my lounge armchair, but the Zeiss 7x42 is a bit too heavy, for me and so, like Gwen, the Opticron Classic 7x36 gets more use.

Having now satisfied myself that the ER of the Zeiss bins is more probably effective than the technically correct one.
I have therefore bought a Conquest 10x32 and that is giving me much pleasure. I tried out an SF and an HT over the last few weeks - haven't seen any dragons lately!

I do like the softer, more neutral, less saturated, Zeiss view.

So to conclude, donations would be gratefully accepted.
 
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[email protected] said:
My favorites are probably my Canon 10x42 IS-L's. With the tripod-like steady view @ 10x I can see more detail with them than any other binocular I have ever used. They are certainly not the best ergonomically or weight wise but they give me the best view and that is my number one priority.
Click to expand...

Welcome Dennis, nice of you to call by.

Lee
 
My main birding and wildlife binocular is a Zeiss victory HT 8x42, and I occasionally use my wifes Nikon E2 8x30. Both very good and a joy to use.

The binocular I most enjoy looking through is my 40 year old Swift Audubon 804. I have never seen such a lovely wide and relaxed view as that old classic delivers. Weight, size and lack of waterproofing stop it being used much for birding these days though. The one binocular I would never part with.

Sandy
 
Wow, what a variety of favourites, and now image-stabilised bins have entered the lists too.

It would be great to hear from some ladies so come on GiGi, come on Chosun and yes, how about you moderators??

Lee
 
I'll take a little departure from the norm to share mine. If solely going by 'favorite' as criteria, mine would be an old B&L 6x30 that came home with a relative from the second world war. They show age and use and are certainly not in the same league as many others, but the story to me is priceless. They have their place of honor in a nice handmade walnut case on a vanity near the bay window where they do see light often enough.

Trevor
TRACT Optics
 
The Meostar 8x32, no doubt. Its BIG view and tiny but perfectly manageable, solid housing makes it the perfect everyday companion. I can put in in my jacket pocket, in a sleek shoulder bag or in a frame bag on my recumbent bike.
It does have what I call a big PFOV thanks to its sleek barrels that don't intrude much into the peripheral view.
The knob moves very easily now, and it is very easy to point in the exact direction I want to look.
My friend is long term-borrowing my previously indispensible Fury 6,5x32, and I wouldn't say its absence poses a huge problem.
Shortcomings of the Meostar include the yellow hue and the tiny, non-supportive eyecups that dig into the eye sockets if I'm not using spectacles. The hinge is getting too loose, too.
After the release of another new toric one-day contact lens which fits me perfectly, the Nikon E II is on the rise as a popular binocular, but it is a lot more fragile than the Meostar.

//L
 
Canon 10x42ISL remains my go to glass. I use it whenever I can, it is just so much more pleasing to bird with.
Very bright, good field of view, excellent color fidelity plus effective stabilization. It is unmatched for really viewing small skittish birds or birds in flight.
 
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