[SimonC]

Hello all,

I'm looking to replace my current bins after Xmas but my budget is only £150.
I've looked at a few (mainly Opticron) 8x models but can't decide which ones would be best (there also seems to be a lack of reviews for low priced bins)
any suggestions for an impoverished birder? Porro or roof, not fussy (though close focus is an issue!)
My other option is a 20 yr old pair of Carl Zeiss Jena 8x30W Jenoptem(?) from a guy I'm in touch with in the former GDR who services them!!

Cheers

[pduxon]

Have you considered second hand?

The Bushnell H20 porro's got good reviews for £80 the roofs are stylish but £120. Can't remember if they are waterproof.

The Opticron imagic TGA WP 8*32 are £149 and waterproof I think.

There was a review of budget bins in Birdwatching a while back. Anyone got the results for Simon?

[SimonC]

Pete,

Yep, second hand is top of my list! I'm going to Titchwell shortly after xmas, so a visit to InFocus is planned (the one at willow farm never seems to have anything when I 'phone :( )

there's a review of the H2O roofs in the January Birdwatch, so they're also on my "maybe list"

I stopped getting Birdwatching a while back 'cos i thought it was getting a bit too "twee" but then again Birdwatch is getting a bit too "elitist" for my liking! Maybe I should give Birdwatching mag another chance (I did like the pull out sections they used to do - do they still do 'em?)

[pduxon]

Originally Posted by SimonC

Pete,

Yep, second hand is top of my list! I'm going to Titchwell shortly after xmas, so a visit to InFocus is planned (the one at willow farm never seems to have anything when I 'phone :( )

there's a review of the H2O roofs in the January Birdwatch, so they're also on my "maybe list"

I stopped getting Birdwatching a while back 'cos i thought it was getting a bit too "twee" but then again Birdwatch is getting a bit too "elitist" for my liking! Maybe I should give Birdwatching mag another chance (I did like the pull out sections they used to do - do they still do 'em?)

Well I'm still at the twee stage!! The pullouts for walks etc are the main reason for buying it in my view.

Check out warehouseepxress they sometimes have offers on returned stuff ex demo.

Might see you at Titchwell, I'm going up for the weekend in Jan.

[SimonC]

Originally Posted by pduxon

Well I'm still at the twee stage!! The pullouts for walks etc are the main reason for buying it in my view.

Check out warehouseepxress they sometimes have offers on returned stuff ex demo.

Might see you at Titchwell, I'm going up for the weekend in Jan.

Don't get me wrong! when I say twee, I'm talking about the appearance of the ads for the "one big slipper" & old lady dresses! (A bit like the RSPB mag!)
Made me feel old before my time! (who am i kidding? I am old(ish).......now where did I see that ad for the tartan travel rugs?..........)

WarehouseExpress have had my custom a few times in the past (I was on there last night actually looking at some of the more expensive Opticrons that they've reduced to come in just inside my budget!!)

I shall look out for a BF cap & an ES80 next time I'm out & about!! i'll be the one with the "para military" gear on - you know, all army surplus and facial hair!!

Cheers

[scampo]

The Jenoptems are v. good binos but not a modern design and not at all waterproof - they give a bright, wide and clear image in a lightweight binocular.

Three binoculars that have been highly rated in magazines are the Olympus 8x40 porroprism (my son used to have this - it was the RSPB recommended bino a a few years back), the Nikon Sporter 8x36 (my wife has these - excellent, esp. with specs as they have huge eye relief and they are claimed to be highly water resistant) and, very recently reviewed, the new waterproof Bushnell H2O 8x42 porroprism which got 9/10 in Birdwatching mag review.

You can find the Nikon on offer for £99-00 at www.warehouseexpress.com - a bargain in my view, but I would definitely also check out the others.

[SimonC]

Steve,

Thanks! I didn't notice the Nikons were on offer when I looked last night, They might be the ones i go for if the offer stays open long enough!

(still like the idea of the Zeiss though - for a bit of "retro Cred"! - my mate's Dad had a pair & at the time they were the best bins I'd ever used!)

I'll check out the others you suggest too
Cheers

[alan_rymer]

Originally Posted by pduxon

Have you considered second hand?

The Bushnell H20 porro's got good reviews for £80 the roofs are stylish but £120. Can't remember if they are waterproof.

The Opticron imagic TGA WP 8*32 are £149 and waterproof I think.

There was a review of budget bins in Birdwatching a while back. Anyone got the results for Simon?

Pete

I believe the H20 is not H20, its H2o as in water. They are all waterproof!

[scampo]

You wouldn't be disappointed with the Jenoptems unless you left them in your car boot overnight or out in the wet when they will probably steam up internally and take an age to clear.

You would also be very impressed with the Nikons - and at that price they are very good indeed as they were well over £200 when launched not too long ago. My wife has never had her pair mist up and Nikon do claim they are showerproof - they seem watertight to me. They are compact roof prisms, too and optically very fine. They are really extraordinarily easy to look through and give a neutral, bright, sharp and contrasty image.

As I say, if you wear specs then you will find the very useable indeed. The only small problem we have is that the twist up eyecups do not lock into position and can "wind" back down - they wind up quite a way as the eye relief is so great.

[pduxon]

Originally Posted by alan_rymer

Pete

I believe the H20 is not H20, its H2o as in water. They are all waterproof!

rats thats what I meant and yes I suppose it is obvious they are waterproof............. pressure of work!!


Simon
the sporters at 199 are a decent bin but at 99...........

[Jane Turner]

I'll make a plug for the Jenoptems. They are fab bins, and you should be able to get two pairs for £150, meaning you can always have an unmisted pair in the event of a total soaking. I used them for about 10 years in the 70's and early 80's before graduating to Dialyt's I still have a couple of pairs in the house...for emergencies. I don't recall having any problems with them apart from the occasional bit of rocking between the eyepieces, which aftected the diopter setting. This is easily corrected by focussing in and out as far as possible.

[SimonC]

Thanks again folks.

I think I'm sold on the Nikons (let's face it, I'd be daft not to at 1/2 price!), though I still might get the Jenoptems just for old time's sake!

Steve,

I don't wear specs yet but that may only be a matter of time as both my elder Brother & my Dad now need 'em (if deteriorating eyesight is hereditary, the same as "male pattern baldness" I don't stand a chance!!! ) so that's another reason for getting the Nikons,.... for a bit of "future proofing"

Cheers

[scampo]

You won't regret the choice - but keep away from opticians until you really have to. I rue the day I was first sold some glasses for my long-sightedness. My eyesight has deteriorated ever since and I'm sure it's wearing specs that have made my eyes "lazy".

[mcdowella]

Anybody that thinks their eyesight is changing should see an optician even if they don't intend to get glasses. There are a few nasty conditions that they can halt or slow down but not reverse, so if what you have is not simple short/long sight you want to get it picked up pronto. From my own experience of having really short sight, getting new glasses each year when young, I'd say that slow changes are so difficult to pick up that anything you notice is not a slow change.

I wish a larger fraction of the huge amount of money that goes into glasses these days was going into research, but I suspect that if there was a really strong connection between lazy eye and long sight we would have heard. After all, they have picked that up in the case of some sort of squints.

[scampo]

I was being a touch facetious but anecdotally at least there seems to be evidence that wearing glasses for long sight doesn't help matters even if it doesn't make them worse.

You are right about "other conditions" that opticians discover occasionally. I tell you what, though, there must be gold to be minted in that business - we have more luxurious opticians where I live than just about any other "shop" in town bar building societies.

[SimonC]

I guess I'm guilty of being a touch facetiuos too. But the point about getting your eyes checked if you suspect a change in your vision is a very good one.
As a teenager I developed Optic Neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve) in my right eye and, quite apart from the pain, the thought that i would have to go through life with vision much like I've tried to show in the attached photo' was enough to scare the living wotsits out of me!!
I never did fully recover the sight, and I now have reduced colour perception in that eye.

There are also a number of seemingly un-connected conditions that eye infections can be the first signs of (Optic Neuritis is often the first sign of MS!)
So, yes, any sudden change in eyesight should be investigated!

[Tim Allwood]

Watchit Simon

the Jenoptems are ace and worth it for the 'retro-cred' alone. I'm after some too - so small and light.

anything with Nikon optics in it is a class bit of gear though.

[Jane Turner]

I pick pairs up evey now and then on ebay. What do you want to pay... £60 will get a nice pair, £75-80 for mint in the box.

[SimonC]

Originally Posted by Jane Turner

I pick pairs up evey now and then on ebay. What do you want to pay... £60 will get a nice pair, £75-80 for mint in the box.

SHHHHHHH Don't tell everyone! I'm watching 2 pairs at the moment!!

[Tim Allwood]

er.....make that one Simon!

[scampo]

"the Jenoptems are ace and worth it for the 'retro-cred' alone. I'm after some too - so small and light."

I just part exchanged a pair at In Focus at Rutland Water - so they will be selling them!

I exchanged them as part of a deal for a Nikon ED82 scope and must agree with you about Nikon's optical excellence. The Sporter binos were rather under-rated by birders partly because of the 36mm objective maybe - but they are a super piece of glass and are great for our hobby as my wife will testify.

[scampo]

"...There are also a number of seemingly un-connected conditions that eye infections can be the first signs of (Optic Neuritis is often the first sign of MS!)So, yes, any sudden change in eyesight should be investigated!"


As I know from experience within my close family, you wouldn't visit an optician with that condition, you'd go straight to a doctor.

[SimonC]

Originally Posted by scampo

As I know from some close experience, you wouldn't visit an optician with that condition, you'd go straight to a doctor.

You're telling me! one of the scariest things about my experience was walking back from Moorfields to Kings X on my own, half blind in one eye, with eyedrops in that made everything look like looking through the wrong end of a pair of bins!

My wife also had a similar eye infection a few years ago, but it wasn't until a year later, after she'd been diagnosed with peritinitis that doctors decided to tell us that the eye infection was often a sign of other infection!

Anyway, on a lighter note, I'm ordering the nikons as soon as i get paid as a birthday present for myself & I'll be bidding on the Zeiss come sunday night!

[scampo]

I wish you success on eBay - don't get carried away. The £99-00 will prove well spent and I've heard Warehouse Express are good to deal with - let me know!

[SimonC]

Originally Posted by scampo

I've heard Warehouse Express are good to deal with - let me know!

I know from first hand experience that WarehouseExpress are very good people to deal with. I bought my 'scope + tripod from them as a combo. Ordered one morning, arrived the next, no problems! Actually, thinking about it, my first 'scope+tripod combo came from them too.

As for the eBay bit, I have a strict (& smallish) budget which I'll not exceed! Learnt from expereince when to "walk away" from online auctions! It would be nice to have a decent spare pair of bins for my 6 yr old son to use though, might fuel his budding interest a bit more if he could actually see the birds he's looking at! (though he did spot "our" Waxwings this morning, & didn't stop talking about them all the way to school! - good sign)

Cheers