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Help me find a decent 8x32 for a low price (1 Viewer)

Logitech said:
I also found this video on YouTube which I liked because it gives you a sense of the dimensions of different glasses
Click to expand...
That's a good video, it gives idea of bino differences in your price range. Diamondbacks in that video might not be the ED version(?), so the new one is better. Monarch M7 has new more stylish version.
 
Logitech said:
Any opinions on the Nikon P7 compared to the Vortex?
Click to expand...
P7 is not bad optically but build quality is horrible. Everything is plastic and glue apart from the glass.
Vortex DB has much better build quality.
The problem is that in your price range a 60€ porro like an Opticron Adventurer T WP or Celestron Ultima (not the vintage ones) will be just as good as a 200€ roof prism model. To get a roof prism bino with decent build quality and optical quality, you'd have to at least go to the price region of 400 to 1,000€. And for anything noticeably better, be prepared to spend 1,500 to 2,000 (which will get you a Zeiss Victory SF).
I'm quite happy with my Fujinon HC 8x42 which I got for slightly above 500 but usually can be found for around 600 to 700.
Probably one of the most affordable Made in Japan binoculars. Design is also cool. Chromatic abberation is very low, it's bright and sharp and build quality is excellent.
Some other good bang for the buck brands, largely resellers of China made binoculars and some Japanese models are Kite Optics and DDoptics. Also GPO.
But for example my Chinese made Kite Cervus HD 8x56 is not as good optically as the Fujinon even though I paid about the same.
Another good and affordable option are the older Fujinon models that were made by Kenko in their factory in the Philippines. They are sharp and have little CA but they only have silver coatings on the prisms so are not quite as bright as the newest models with dielectric coatings.
A Fujinon KF, similar to some Sightron models also made by Kenko would be a good affordable bino. And I like the design.
 
BTW - ED glass shouldn't be overrated. If the rest of the optical design isn't optimized, the ED glass will not eliminate chromatic abberation. Like with the often praised Svbony SV202 which has ED glass but shows more chromatic abberation than the Fujinon KF which has no ED glass.
And I'm not bashing Chinese binos. There are a few that are really good but they are not cheap. For the really good ones, expect to pay upwards of 300€ or buy a porro.
 
Logitech said:
I also found this video on YouTube which I liked because it gives you a sense of the dimensions of different glasses
Click to expand...
I remember watching this video a lot when I was first getting into binos! Trying to get all the info I could lol

As far as the traveler, In my limited experience with it, the sharpness was fantastic. But The exterior armor on the Explorer was better IMO. Just had a better feel and overall fit and finish.

I will say this about x32s in general, (Something to consider as you look into smaller binos ) while they are slightly smaller and slightly lighter, they do have a performance drop if weather conditions aren’t perfectly sunny or if you take hike in the woods. I noticed I would be wow’d by the sharpness of the traveler in one part of the day but then try again later on and wonder where the super sharpness went. This was important to me because if I’m getting something for bump in performance, but I can only enjoy it fully in only ideal conditions and locations - then what’s the point 🤷‍♂️

I’m sure this happens with all binos but the bigger the objective lens, the more versatile it can be used. (plus you won’t have blackout issues that you tend to find in the x32s.)
But the compromise is that they will be slightly bigger and slightly heavier.
 
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Binocollector said:
P7 is not bad optically but build quality is horrible. Everything is plastic and glue apart from the glass.
Vortex DB has much better build quality.
The problem is that in your price range a 60€ porro like an Opticron Adventurer T WP or Celestron Ultima (not the vintage ones) will be just as good as a 200€ roof prism model. To get a roof prism bino with decent build quality and optical quality, you'd have to at least go to the price region of 400 to 1,000€. And for anything noticeably better, be prepared to spend 1,500 to 2,000 (which will get you a Zeiss Victory SF).
I'm quite happy with my Fujinon HC 8x42 which I got for slightly above 500 but usually can be found for around 600 to 700.
Probably one of the most affordable Made in Japan binoculars. Design is also cool. Chromatic abberation is very low, it's bright and sharp and build quality is excellent.
Some other good bang for the buck brands, largely resellers of China made binoculars and some Japanese models are Kite Optics and DDoptics. Also GPO.
But for example my Chinese made Kite Cervus HD 8x56 is not as good optically as the Fujinon even though I paid about the same.
Another good and affordable option are the older Fujinon models that were made by Kenko in their factory in the Philippines. They are sharp and have little CA but they only have silver coatings on the prisms so are not quite as bright as the newest models with dielectric coatings.
A Fujinon KF, similar to some Sightron models also made by Kenko would be a good affordable bino. And I like the design.
Click to expand...
Wow, I had the prostaff 7s, it seems like they took a step back with the upgrade.
 
JOC1 said:
Wow, I had the prostaff 7s, it seems like they took a step back with the upgrade.
Click to expand...
It seems they improved the FoV but not so much the quality of the rest.
On mine the locking diopter just snapped off after using it a couple of times. Nikon never responded to my email even though I bought it directly from the Nikon website.
I think I'm pretty much done with that brand. And I wouldn't buy anything below the MHG range nowadays. Maybe the cool skeleton model but I already have the vintage version made by Nikon in 6x15. Higher build quality and no plastic parts compared to the new one.
 
Approximately one year ago my partner bought herself a pair of Zeiss Terra 8x32 binoculars (in green and black - her preference).
She isn’t a really keen birder but enjoys the superb view she gets from these excellent binoculars. I have to agree with her that they’re super value for the price (I'm a Swarovski fan). She paid just under £300 but I understand that they are known just under £400 (in the U.K.).
She had the opportunity to look through a number of binoculars from different manufacturers and preferred the Zeiss.

Certainly worth looking through a pair before you buy
 
Logitech said:
as I understand Vortex DBs do not have ED glass. Do you have different information?
Click to expand...
DB does not have ED glass but has HD coatings. They are distinctly better than the pre-HD units. Again, we are talking about the lower end of pricing where sone compromises have to be made. Me? I’d never buy the vortex but have recommended them to friends. It’s all about the use case
 
I have the Vortex 8x32 DB. For the price point it is good. I had the Sightron Blue Sky, but gifted it to a friend. It was very nice and hard to give up.
 
How would you rate the Opticron Traveller against the Nikon M7, Zeiss Terra, GPO Passion ED, Kowa BD II? They are all pretty close together price wise, all more or less 400 Euro.
 
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With your budget I would get the Nikon Monarch 5 10x42 that sell for less than $300 US. A step up are the Monarch 7 in a 10x30 configuration but are still under $500 US.
 
Mike Crawley said:
Approximately one year ago my partner bought herself a pair of Zeiss Terra 8x32 binoculars (in green and black - her preference).
She isn’t a really keen birder but enjoys the superb view she gets from these excellent binoculars. I have to agree with her that they’re super value for the price (I'm a Swarovski fan). She paid just under £300 but I understand that they are known just under £400 (in the U.K.).
She had the opportunity to look through a number of binoculars from different manufacturers and preferred the Zeiss.

Certainly worth looking through a pair before you buy
Click to expand...
Mike, I have just purchased (11/03/2023) the same model in all black from Camera Center in Cardiff. £319.00 if you have and old pair of binoculars any make but should be usable to donate to Zeiss they will give you £50 for them. Bringing the final cost to £269. Outstanding value and when you register the warranty it goes from two years to three years. I am very impressed with them.
 
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