Best 10x50 Porro for under $200 (1 Viewer)

[rdnzl]

That's the one.

More of a twilight/hunting bino. I have a Kite 8x56 but rarely use it. It's excellent but large.
The "Skymaster"-series is notorious for collimation issues. I have never had one arrive in proper alignment. Two out of two were mis-aligned. Never bought another one.
The "Ultima" as well as the Opticron Adventurer T WP seems far better quality to me. But even with those models some people seemed to have alignment issues. But both my 6.5x and 8x are just fine, no alignment issues. I even used the 6.5x32 for astronomy and you'd very quickly notice if there were alignment problems when using them on the stars. They are nice for sweeping the milky way.
So, I'd definitely take the "Ultima" or Adventurer over any "Skymaster" models.

I wonder if there is an advantage in buying one brand or the other? Besides the logos. Celestron is a huge company. But I have no idea how well they handle issues. I've only owned SCT's and older Japan made binoculars from them. Never had any issues. I only recently even heard of Opticron. How well do they stand behind what they sell?

 

[normjackson]

One of the very few cheaper porros I found that claim "Made in Japan" are the "Kite Fitis". Never saw any reviews on those however. But I am very close to getting the 8x40 Fitis just to try them.

Kite Fitis | Kite Optics

Kite Fitis

www.kiteoptics.com

Can never get over how similar that model looks to the old Opticron Aspheric :

Opticron - Aspheric WA

 

[Binocollector]

Can never get over how similar that model looks to the old Opticron Aspheric :

Specifications look very similar, too.
8.2° FoV, same weight, same IPD-range, very similar eye relief (the 2 mm difference might just be because of the different eye cups).

 

[Binocollector]

I only recently even heard of Opticron. How well do they stand behind what they sell?

They exist since 1970. I'd probably base a decision on where you can buy -- directly from the homepage? Locally? From Amazon? A reliable seller with good return policy?
I got the 8x32 Celestron Ultima for around 60€ so it was a no-brainer.

 

[rdnzl]

I just ordered the Celestron Ultima 10x50 from Amazon, since it's the same as the Opticron. The Opticron was a few days away, and the Celestron will be here tomorrow. Thanks for the info and advice. I look forward to viewing through them. Good weather is forecast for the next 5 days.

And as far as the aesthetics, the Ultima is subdued and classier looking than most Celestron offerings. And Celestron shows that they are nitrogen purged, where the Opticron said no on that.

 

[Maljunulo]

Enjoy, and if you aren’t happy, return them and try something else.

 

[rdnzl]

Enjoy, and if you aren’t happy, return them and try something else.

That's the beauty of buying from Amazon. Easy returns. But I think these will perform well. Special thanks to Binocollector for his help.

 

[Binocollector]

You're welcome. I hope you'll like them.

 

[lilcrazy2]

You're welcome. I hope you'll like them.

After reading your past praise of your Scope 7x50 porros, I stumbled across these about 2 min before the auction ended, and just for a hoot, simply couldn't resist for the price and condition. Wonder what the view from a Scope 15x50 is like?

SCOPE 15 X 50 BINOCULARS WITH CASE | eBay

<p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">SCOPE 15 X 50 BINOCULARS WITH CASE. Amber, fully coated optics. Overfield 210 ft at 1,000 yards. Carrying case an cleaning cloth.</p>

www.ebay.com

 

[Binocollector]

@lilcrazy2
Interesting. That's of course a very different model from the one I have. I wonder if it's the same manufacturer. Here's the problem with old Japanese porros - not all that carried the same brand were even made by the same manufacturer. Mine is a J-B191, let's hope yours is too.

 

[rdnzl]

I got the Celestron Ultima 10x50 just a few minutes ago. My first impression was to double check and make sure they actually are 10x50's. They are very small and light for a 10x50. They seem well collimated, and pretty sharp, as I viewed around the neighborhood a little bit. They feel good in my hands and balance nicely. They don't feel cheap at all. The case is decent enough, and the straps seem pretty good.

I'll hopefully be able to spend more time with them tomorrow, as it's getting dark, and the sky looks like I'm in for an evening of high clouds and haze.

 

[rdnzl]

There was a break in the clouds, so I slapped them onto my tripod for a few minutes. Jupiter was right there and I could see 3 moons. Mars was off to the east, a nice red dot. I noticed to spikes or any detriments to the views. I can usually hand hold 10x binos for a little while, but tonight I was having difficulty. I moved some furniture around today, and my arms are pretty sore. I was not steady at all. But these are very easy to hold, and the views with the tripod were great, with a nice black sky behind some good pinpoint stars.

 

[exup]

There was a break in the clouds, so I slapped them onto my tripod for a few minutes. Jupiter was right there and I could see 3 moons. Mars was off to the east, a nice red dot. I noticed to spikes or any detriments to the views. I can usually hand hold 10x binos for a little while, but tonight I was having difficulty. I moved some furniture around today, and my arms are pretty sore. I was not steady at all. But these are very easy to hold, and the views with the tripod were great, with a nice black sky behind some good pinpoint stars.

I also got a break in the clouds last night and spent about 10 minutes in the freezing cold with the Ultima 10x50s. They are not bad at all optically and I agree a nice size and pleasant handling.
However, after a short while, I gave up hand holding them as everything turned into a blur.
As the seeing was quite good, I used Canon 10x42Ls ..... which are a bit more than $200, but a whole other ballgame entirely.

 

[pat mitchel]

So, a bit more than 2 hundred, pray thee, how big is a "BIT"? I'll wager the "bang for a buck" is still there with either depending on what you are looking for. Regards and not being snarky BTW, Pat

 

[exup]

So, a bit more than 2 hundred, pray thee, how big is a "BIT"? I'll wager the "bang for a buck" is still there with either depending on what you are looking for. Regards and not being snarky BTW, Pat

Absolutely..... about 25 times the price......thus, not really a fair comparison.

But due to the shivers from the freezing temperatures, I had to do something ....the Ultima bins were presenting a combination of 'an earthquake and firework display '.

 

[rdnzl]

I think the focus wheel on these Ultimas might be the smoothest I have ever felt. There is no "start" feeling. It just glides into my finger and is very nicely damped and smooth all the way through it's travel and back. Suprising for an economical binocular. It would have been even better if it was the larger "barrel" shape and in between the main supports.