Mid-price range binoculars? (1 Viewer)

Thinking of getting some new binoculars. Ones in frame as I see it are:

Hawke Frontier ED X
Opticron Imagic BGA VHD
Opticron DBA VHD+
Vortex Viper HD Bushnell Elite HD
Avian EVO HR ED
Perhaps Leica Trinovid or Zeiss Conquest

At the end of the day it will depend on which if any suit me / I like when looking through them but any thoughts on the pros and cons of above would be helpful. Also Kite in the similar price bracket?

Just curious. What activities will you be using them for and what power binoculars did you have in mind?

Bob

On that list, for those I've actually handled, my preference would be:

1) Zeiss Conquest
2) Viper HD
3) Bushnell HD
4) Either Opticron
5) Hawke

IMO the Bushnell Elite HD's have slightly better optics than the Viper but the Viper has better ergonomics and still some of the best value/dollar of any bin. I have used. There is no secret as to why Vortex has sold so many Viper HD's.

Dally

See Bob's post 2. We really need to know this.

Lee

Birdwatching! 8 X 42 or thereabouts.

justabirdwatcher said:

On that list, for those I've actually handled, my preference would be:

1) Zeiss Conquest
2) Viper HD
3) Bushnell HD
4) Either Opticron
5) Hawke

IMO the Bushnell Elite HD's have slightly better optics than the Viper but the Viper has better ergonomics and still some of the best value/dollar of any bin. I have used. There is no secret as to why Vortex has sold so many Viper HD's.

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Thanks. I think I tested Bushnell HD at last year's Birdfair and they seemed at casual, first sight better than some of the high end ones! Interested to know why you only put Opticron at number 4? Most reviews is have read really rate them.

Dally said:

...
At the end of the day it will depend on which if any suit me / I like when looking through them...

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Hello Dally,

It is absolutely essential that you like them.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :hi:

Dally,

I've not seen the Avian, but for the rest that seems like a pretty reasonable shortlist, and any would serve you pretty well. They do vary in FoV, CA, colour rendition rendition, and ergonomics a little but we are getting down to personal preferences. We have some here that prioritise field flatness, or sharpness, others direction of focus or eye relief and would make different choices. Only you can decide which works best for you or whether it's worth stretching the budget a little further. You mentioned Birdfair. It's a great opportunity to check out all of those (except the Avian), plus Kite, Meopta, Kowa, Nikon, Celestron, Viking, Canon, sometimes others, plus the big three of course. It great opportunity to try everything, but can be quite bewildering. Particularly, with different outlooks and light conditions. I suggest you just try to get your list down to two or three you can directly compare on another occasion.

David

Dally said:

Thinking of getting some new binoculars. Ones in frame as I see it are:

Hawke Frontier ED X
Opticron Imagic BGA VHD
Opticron DBA VHD+
Vortex Viper HD Bushnell Elite HD
Avian EVO HR ED
Perhaps Leica Trinovid or Zeiss Conquest

At the end of the day it will depend on which if any suit me / I like when looking through them but any thoughts on the pros and cons of above would be helpful. Also Kite in the similar price bracket?

Click to expand...

Well I went to Birdfair today and tested all the above, except Avian and Bushnell Elite which were not available. As expected Conquest were the best but my wife limited my budget! The Trinovids for my eyes were the worst and unusable. Opticron image seemed fine but the feel of them was not great. Tried Meopta but too heavy. I thought Hawke Frontier were excellently designed and for the price the stand out ones but there was a design fault that others have commented on - eyes cups don't come up far enough and with long eye lashes that's a big issue. If it wasn't for that I would have got them. I ended up going for Vortex Viper but think I have made a mistake - although they performed for me on test better than all but Conquests when I get them home and compare them with my 15-20 year old Bushnell Natureviews which cost about £400 less, albeit all those years ago, the image quality and low light performance is identical. The Vortex have a slightly wider field of vision. But was it worth paying over £500 for? No! Having bought loads of cameras and binoculars over the years and never had a problem with straps but the Vipers wound me up when setting them up because the straps are very poorly made and frayed when threading through. They also have a carrying case with the most bizarre harness thing for which the instructions are inadequate and the whole arrangement seems pointless! Shame as it's a waste of a good carrying case and it probably adds to the price when most people will end up sticking it in a drawer or the bin straight away and never use it.