[postcardcv]

I have been considering buying a pair of compact bins for some time now, but do not have much experience of using them so need some advice.

I would be looking to get a 8x pair with good quality optics without spending a small fortune. Just want a half decent pair to keep with me when out working. I have also just seen the Opticron Traveller (8x32) which seem very compact and was wondering if anyone knows much about them.

Thanks in advance, Peter

[Beverlybaynes]

I'd like to suggest that you give the website

www.betterviewdesired.com

a try.

Very honest, objective reviews of all kinds of optics, including compacts. This of it as a "Consumer Report". Offers suggestions for best value for the money, too.

[pduxon]

Haven't tried the Opticron Traveller but the Opticron bins I have tried were excellent and their budget scopes are great value for money. If you can get to Tichwell you should be able to try them.

Bev the website you suggested is American isn't it ? What do Opticron trade as over there?

[Karl J]

Don;t know anything about them but as you're from Norfolk I'd possibly suggest (if you haven't already been) a wander up Timberhill in Norwich, Viking Optical & Norwich Camera Centre are both up there.

[John Fleet]

I've been using a pair of Travellers as a NEWBIE for a couple of months now and by and large I'm pleased with them. The field of view is a bit limited as they are 8 x 32's and I find the depth of field a bit limited.

On the plus side, they are light, very nicely made, fully waterfproof and give a very bright image.

All in all for £200 they are not bad value.

[rter]

Leica Trinovid 8X20 is a great compact bin.
They were the brightest and had an increadably clear image

http://www.binoculars.org/results.html

[Dave Sherry]

I agree with rter completely. I have had a pair of Leica Trinovid 8x20s for about 6-7 years and I am still amazed at how bright they are. As I have them with me most of the time they get used a lot and are still top notch. They live in my rucsac pocket which is chucked about everywhere. Because I have them with me they get passed about to other who have left their trusty big-ones behind and I am told they knock the spots off many of these by those that have used them. I am definitely not a Leica man, but they do seem to have got it right.

They are a great investment and if you have them with you you will use them.

[iporali]

Pentax seems to have relatively new models which have 28 mm objective (8/10x28 DCF MP). This could be an interesting option for those who feel that x30/32 models are too big but "real" compacts are not very comfortable to handle. At least I have wondered the big difference when you go from 25 mm front lens to 30 mm.

Ilkka

[Art Thorn]

I have an early version of the Bushnell Custom Compacts. They are porro-prism, with the objectives closer together than the eyepieces, so they are quite compact. Though they are only 7 power, they provide such a clean, bright image (and pretty wide for a compact too) I find them better than a compact pair of 10x Nikons that I also have. Price of a new pair is pretty high, but not as much as those leicas, for sure.

[Art Thorn]

Hello Rter. I just looked at that test sight you provided in your response. A bit unusual, comparing the $1500 Swarovski to the $400 Nikon, for example. After seeing that, I didn't take any of the rest of it very seriously.

Art

[Leif]

I would ignore binoculars.org. There is no mention of what he looked for in rating a binocular. Did he look for flare, false colour, colour cast, edge softness, curvature of field, depth of field, field of view, distortion, contrast, brightness and so on. In what light did he make the comparisons? Low light, bright artificial light, sunlight, back lighting, side lighting? He doesn't say so I think you are better off making the judgement yourself.

The Better View Desired site is the most authoritative around though it suffers from being one persons point of view.

BTW I tried a pair of Summit 8x26 binoculars costing ~£70 at In Focus. They are compact roof prisms with a bright sharp image and a huge field of view. I have also seen them in a John Lewis store. Bird Watching magazine gave them a good review. They are rather good value and I recommend you give them a try. Also Bausch & Lomb porro prism 8x24 Legacy and H2O compacts often get high marks in tests.

[John Cantelo]

Cheap, small roof prism binoculars rarely (ever?) match similar porro bins for optical quality. Yes, they may be a tad bulkier, but the image is very much better unless you're prepared to spend ££ on Zeiss/Lieca/Swarovski etc

[Leif]

John: I pretty much agree with you. Having said that, I didn't like a lot of the cheap (~£100) compact porro prism bins I tried whereas I did like the Summit roof prisms. I think they would serve well as a cheap keep 'em in the car pair. Compare and decide with your own eyes is my advice.

[VMC]

Hi! Peter,

I've had a pair of these for about 2 weeks.

I'm no expert, as I've only just started birding really, but so far they are excellent. I hardly notice I'm carrying them and I hardly notice they are there when I'm looking through them, so I'm guessing that's a good thing.

If you have any specific questions I'll try and answer them!

Cheers
VMC

Originally Posted by postcardcv

I have been considering buying a pair of compact bins for some time now, but do not have much experience of using them so need some advice.

I would be looking to get a 8x pair with good quality optics without spending a small fortune. Just want a half decent pair to keep with me when out working. I have also just seen the Opticron Traveller (8x32) which seem very compact and was wondering if anyone knows much about them.

Thanks in advance, Peter

[JonMartin]

On reading this the the first thing that struck me was that people weren't comparing apples with apples.

"The Leica 8x20's are brilliant but the xxxxxx 8x30's are just as good at half the price!" NOW JUST A MO! - Compacts? Shouldn't they be shirt pocketable? Things that weigh just a few ounces and fold down to the size of a fag packet.

With the best will in the world a lot of 8x25-30 porros fall way short of pocketable however good the optics and are closer to what are roughly classed as mid sized.

Why not go the whole hog and spend the same money on true mid sized porros with correspondingly better optics?

[Hugh Clayton]

The Summit 8X26 MR roofs are among the best small binoculars I have ever used. I believe they've been discontinued, but are still around for £35 in a few places. Just about the best value in any optical instrument I've ever bought. The MR 10X26 and the HR 8X26 are not nearly as good. Go for the 8X26 MR advertised with Hoya lenses. (Summit was and maybe still is a brand of Hoya contact lenses not sold in the UK. I believe the bins were a spin-off from that line).

Originally Posted by Leif

John: I pretty much agree with you. Having said that, I didn't like a lot of the cheap (~£100) compact porro prism bins I tried whereas I did like the Summit roof prisms. I think they would serve well as a cheap keep 'em in the car pair. Compare and decide with your own eyes is my advice.

[John Cantelo]

Originally Posted by Hugh Clayton

The Summit 8X26 MR roofs are among the best small binoculars I have ever used. I believe they've been discontinued, but are still around for £35 in a few places. Just about the best value in any optical instrument I've ever bought.

I went shopping for these glasses in particular when I was looking for a small pair of bins for my wife. They looked fine .... until I compared them with porro 8x Pentax UCF M bins which my wife and I found obviously - and I mean OBVIOUSLY .... optically superior in all respects, John