My nine year old son is getting more and more interested in birding and now often comes out on trips with me. He's making do with some old Zeiss Jenoptem 8x30s which have seen better days. I think he could do with some decent bins of around the same magnification. I'm looking at £150 to £200. Any thoughts on a good pair at this price range?
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First bins ideas (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Julian61
- Start date
Ratal
Well-known member
Sightron Blue Sky 8*32 . Once he has those, he won't need another pair until he is ready to spend 600 to 800 on a pair.
Sightron are £200 and worth every penny spent.
My nine year old niece has a set and she loves them.
The Sightron Ratal mentions has proved very popular with forum members, but I might be a little cautious as I haven't been able to find an interpupilary distance for it. Younger eyes can be set closer together than adults which can cause problems. I don't know of anywhere in the UK that you can try it for size but Ratal might know more.
Sheffield Photographic stocks Opticron amongst other makes. Their Savanna WP (porro) and Savanna R PC have been designed with younger users in mind. Their Discovery 8x30 should also be quite youngster friendly. The store also has options from Hawke and Viking by the look of things, but do phone first to check for stock. Rother Valley optics isn't too far away either. It's more an astronomy shop but had a reasonable selection of binoculars when I last stopped by.
I think the Nikon Prostaff 7s 8x30 might work well for younger users as well, but you would have to check if 55mm is sufficient for your son. As with the others it's always best to try them out before you buy.
Good luck,
David
Sheffield Photographic stocks Opticron amongst other makes. Their Savanna WP (porro) and Savanna R PC have been designed with younger users in mind. Their Discovery 8x30 should also be quite youngster friendly. The store also has options from Hawke and Viking by the look of things, but do phone first to check for stock. Rother Valley optics isn't too far away either. It's more an astronomy shop but had a reasonable selection of binoculars when I last stopped by.
I think the Nikon Prostaff 7s 8x30 might work well for younger users as well, but you would have to check if 55mm is sufficient for your son. As with the others it's always best to try them out before you buy.
Good luck,
David
Those look like a Sightron Blue Sky 8x32 clone for $50.00 less($139.00). They are made in the Phillipines like Sightron's.
https://www.amazon.com/Fujifilm-KF-8x32-Prism-Binocular/dp/B01G50XEX8
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The sample of the Fuji KF 8x32 I reviewed was really very good, but I suspect the ribbing on the barrels might make them too fat for small hands. More like an x42. I measured the minimum IPD at 55mm which again might not work for a 9 year old. The European distributor prices would put it well over budget, and the UK's only retailer I know of (Monk Optics) closed last year.
David
David
Thank you all. That's given me a few ideas. Don't know much about the Sightron but I think it might be a toss up between that and the Opticron Discovery. I'm impressed with what people say about the value of the latter and we have an Individual nearby which seem to specialise in that brand among others. Might also look around for second hand deals. Thanks again!
I don't know the ins and outs of it, but I was told by a retailer that it was around twice the price to source their stock through Europe than the US. I understand he was denied the choice. The recommended tax free UK price was about $350.
David
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black crow
Well-known member
Also consider the Celestron Trailseeker 8x32. Frank D put them in the same league as the Sightron in his review on bargain 8x32 binoculars.. I have both.I like the Trailseekers because they are smaller and lighter than the Sightron and for my eyes are optically just as good.
