Monarch or Sporters - limited budget (1 Viewer)

Hi all,
I'm new to the bird watching game but have done a fair bit of bird photography over the years.
Recently I have started accompanying my elderly father on his bird watching outings - he is not so good on his feet these days and I'd rather him not go alone.
Knowing nothing about bins I purchased a pair of roof prism10x42's from sevendayshop.com for the pricely sum of £18. Now before you all start rolling around, they are OK (but not great) for viewing distanct objects but their close focus is a joke - about 75ft - so I've decided to go upmarket.
Now my "upmarket" is not that high up! My absolute maximum budget is £200.
I am trying to decide between Nikon Monarchs 10x42 for £189 or Nikon Sporters 10x42 for £109 - both of these are from mail order companies so I cannot try before I buy.
Is it worth spending the extra £80 for the Monarchs?
90% of their use will be on estuaries with the birds being some distance away hence my leaning toward 10x and the fact that my dad has a pair of 10x42 Leicas which are lovely.
Any advise as to the pros and cons of the Monarchs/Sporters will be greatly appreciated as will any advise on alternatives that do not break my £200 budget.
Incitentally - the 8x42 prices are Monarchs £189, Sporters £99 but would 8x42 be strong enough for distant viewing over an estuary?
Sorry for the long post - thanks,
eyespy.

Well, 10x is nice, I use it. But you may need a scope. My 10x sporters suffer from a rather narrow view. It's not like birds are huge, but when you are looking thru a flock, a wider view helps.

The optics of Monarchs and Sporters are similar, clarity and so on. Not sure the 10x Monarchs are much brighter than 10x Sporters.

Well, 10x is nice, I use it. But you may need a scope. My 10x sporters suffer from a rather narrow view. It's not like birds are huge, but when you are looking thru a flock, a wider view helps.

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I would tend to agree. If you are talking trully distant objects then the change in magnification from 8x to 10x might not be significant enough to make a difference. With 8x you would get a bright view, larger exit pupil for ease of use and wider field of view. Personally, I would opt for the 8x versions of either the Sporters or Monarchs because of these issues...and despite the specific birding use in question.

As for a comparison between the two at 8x, I have owned both. The phasecoating on the Monarchs makes them brighter with better resolution. The difference is obvious if you can compare the bins side by side.

That being said, the Sporters are excellent binoculars especially at that price point. I have the high end Venturers and was surprised at how much the Sporters actually resemble the Venturers in terms of armorings, eyepiece design, focus speed and overall ergonomics. If Nikon phase coated the Sporters and made them waterproof I would buy several.

Up to you to decide which is better but I would probably opt for the Monarch if the price difference isn't the ultimate criteria for you.

Where have you seen Monarchs for £189?

Welcome to Birdforum.

Thanks Tero - My dad has a scope so that's not a problem but I see where your going as far as the narrow FOV with 10x are concerned.

Cheers FrankD - Great to hear from someone who has tried both. Then again you point me in the direction of the Monarchs because of phase coating (whatever that is?) and then tell me that the Sporters are the biz! Get down off that fence and tell me what to buy!! - I know you know what is best for me -(edited)- DOH! - just read the bottom line of your message - you did tell me - Monarchs rule OK ;-)

trealawboy - Noswaith dda - You've got a PM. Here is a Kite in a dive - shot at Gigrin farm surely enough to make a Welshman feel at home:


Henry B - Thanks fore the welcome. I came acraoss the site after doing a search for bins and happily found there are quite a few (very very good) photographers here - think I'll be staying

I get the feeling that the general concensus is to go for the 8x rather than 10x (are there no 10x advocates out there?) so unless I am convinced otherwise I will be taking this advice.

Now - to throw the cat among the pigeons - how do Swift 828 8.5x44 HHS's compare to the Monarchs?

eyespy said:

Now - to throw the cat among the pigeons - how do Swift 828 8.5x44 HHS's compare to the Monarchs?

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Beautiful photo !!

I have the Swifts and nothing so far has pursuaded me that I need anything else.
Feel good, view is excellent, nitrogen purged, idiot proof dioptre adjustment, plenty of eye relief for us specs wearers, perfect neutral colours, no bendy wavy panning, can scan three miles of the of the bay without re-focussing or moving the bins - only minus point is on bright days I can see chromatic abberation around black ducks on the water - if I give the bins to my brother he can't see it, the effect is marginal.
Very nice bins which are a pleasure to use.
Unfortunately I've never looked through the Monarchs.

how do Swift 828 8.5x44 HHS's compare to the Monarchs

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I would take them over the Monarchs. But if you want 10x, there are some models out there that are wide FOV. I have not finished shopping myself, for the next pair.

Shoot for about 350ft field of view, the 10x Sporters are about 300ft at 1000 yds. In 8x, easy to find.

Sorry, cannot help you with the Swifts. I have never seen or handled a pair.

If waterproofing is an issue and you still want a fairly wide field of view in a 10x bin then I would suggest the Nikon E II 10x35 on sale at Eagle Optics for about $300 US (not sure how that would translate into your currency). EII optics are superb and the 10x has a 341 ft wide field of view compared to the 330 ft. field of view of the 8x Monarchs.

FrankD, no no, I want that pair! They may only have one!

OK, all kidding aside, that actually is quite a deal, only a bit more money than the Sporter, slightly better FOV and brighter. I only need to see them somewhere, then I am almost ready to buy. I have another 8x pair for those really wet days.

Tero,

I have not actually handled the 10x35s though if the experience they provide is even remotely close to that of the 8x30s then they are keepers for sure. Where else can you find a 10x set of bins with such a wide field of view? (Somewhat rhetorical as I have not looked at all of the 10x models lately).

Well, it is kind of guesswork. I like Nikon 8x40 Actions but not necessarily 10x or 12x.