Hello:
I am a novice birder with 20 year old binoculars, but I just retired and wanted to get deeper into birding and I decided to purchase a nice set of binoculars. I know I can get a really good set for $500 or so, but wanted to get a higher end pair without going to the very top. I wanted to spend in the range of $1000-1200 USD. I did a comparison with the Vortex Razor 8x42, Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42, Viper 8x42. To my eyes, the Razor and the Zeiss were very close with the Zeiss being a hair sharper, but I kept the Razor because I liked how they fit my eyes and the handling. The Viper was not as sharp as the Razor and I found the focus wheel too stiff.
After reading here about 8x30/32 and the lighter weight (i mainly bird in good light), I decided to try some 8x30/32s. I tried the Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 in regular and HG edition, and the Zeiss in the 8x32. The Zeiss was again sharper by a hair, but I still liked the Razor 8x42 the best. The two nikons appeared further down the scale in sharpness to me.
My question for the members here is what are other models I should consider in the 8x30/32 size with similar performance to the Razor 8x42 and Zeiss within my price range? I was thinking of trying the Swarvosski 8x30 CL against the Razor next. Any other candidates I should audition?
Sorry for the long winded explanation. Thanks
Clay
I am a novice birder with 20 year old binoculars, but I just retired and wanted to get deeper into birding and I decided to purchase a nice set of binoculars. I know I can get a really good set for $500 or so, but wanted to get a higher end pair without going to the very top. I wanted to spend in the range of $1000-1200 USD. I did a comparison with the Vortex Razor 8x42, Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42, Viper 8x42. To my eyes, the Razor and the Zeiss were very close with the Zeiss being a hair sharper, but I kept the Razor because I liked how they fit my eyes and the handling. The Viper was not as sharp as the Razor and I found the focus wheel too stiff.
After reading here about 8x30/32 and the lighter weight (i mainly bird in good light), I decided to try some 8x30/32s. I tried the Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 in regular and HG edition, and the Zeiss in the 8x32. The Zeiss was again sharper by a hair, but I still liked the Razor 8x42 the best. The two nikons appeared further down the scale in sharpness to me.
My question for the members here is what are other models I should consider in the 8x30/32 size with similar performance to the Razor 8x42 and Zeiss within my price range? I was thinking of trying the Swarvosski 8x30 CL against the Razor next. Any other candidates I should audition?
Sorry for the long winded explanation. Thanks
Clay
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