Aculon A211 7x35 vs 8x42? (1 Viewer)

Greetings. My girlfriend and I are thinking about trying bird watching and need some basic equipment.

I have an old grandfather's 8x40 porro from the 60s or 70s with a 6.5° FOV that's probably not that good. But not that I'd know the difference since I've never really used a decent pair. Anyway, we've started some neighborhood watching and now we're looking for a relatively cheap additional binoculars so we can watch together.

I did some research and I've narrowed my choice to Nikon Aculon A211, either 7x35 or 8x42. I like the larger FOV of the 7x35, and I also think it's good that it's a bit smaller and lighter. But I'm worried that the magnification might be a bit too weak.

Anyway, I'm just wondering what some people who've been doing this for a while now have to say.

:hi:

Hi R. Random!

Welcome to Bird Forum!


Choosing between the 2 Aculon's ends up becoming the classic 6 of 1 or 1/2 dozen of the other dilemma!

The 7x35 has Eye Relief of 11.8mm. The 8x42 has 12mm Eye Relief. (Both are kind of short as eye relief goes.)

7x35 weighs 24.2 oz. The 8x42 weighs 26.8 oz.

Their Fields of View have the biggest differences.

The 7x35 has a 488' FOV@1000yds which is big!

The 8x42 has a 420' FOV@1000yds which is typical of most high quality 8x42 which is not to say this Nikon is high quality but it is a well made 8x42 binocular.

Your wife might like the 7x35 because it is smaller in size? Who knows?

I suggest that you try them both if you can.

Good Luck:t:

Bob

PS: I know from personal experience that the 7x42 Aculon is an excellent, well made binocular. (I would expect the 8x42 Aculon to be as good!) I owned a 7x35 Aculon which I donated to my local American Legion Post which overlooks a 44 acre lake whereon a variety of water fowl visit and live. A pair of Bald Eagles also nests near by and Swallows also nest in the window's Eves.

The binoculars have received almost daily use for the last 5 years or so.

I had both. It’s really hard to tell the magnification difference.....but you definitely notice the physical size difference and wider field of view in the 7x35

The 7x35 is one of my favorite binoculars

I was already leaning towards the 7x35 and now you definitely convinced me to give it a try. I'll let you know once it arrives.

I just got the package! The image looks great, loving it so far and can't wait to try it in practice.

Switching back to the old binoculars feels bad somehow. Maybe it's badly aligned or something and now I finally have some baseline to compare it to.