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"Good-enough" cheap binoculars (1 Viewer)

TomSmith

TomSmith

Well-known member
Hi all,

I'm looking for a pair of binoculars for my girlfriend to take on holiday - we're going to Thailand and she wants a pair to take round national parks etc. Given that she's not really a birder (yet...) she's understandably not keen to spend lots of money, so we're looking at a budget of about £50.

Does anybody have any (relative) recommendations in this price range? What features should I prioritise to get a decent image?

Thanks,


Tom
 
I would spend some 80 pounds
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-SPEX8...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271940512&sr=8-3

Nikon has some reverse porros, and there may be some Minoltas still somewhere for 50 pounds or less.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-8X25-...7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271940611&sr=8-7

spme 16 pound models may see at least a little, it is a 7x18 model, 7 power
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Design-Go-B...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271940734&sr=1-27
TIP: do not buy anything that says zoom.
 
Last edited:
Wilkinson Cameras are advertising Nikon Action VII 8x40 CF binoculars in the March Birdwatching mag at £49.99 - should be worth a look if still available.

Otherwise the Pentax 8x40 DPS is available at a bit over £50 from some places. Another good porro at the price with a 25 year warranty!
 
I have a set of Bushnell H2O's, find them pretty good and robust. Guess they will come in at £50, possibly a bit more.

Your signature says Cambridge. If close to Cambridge go up to Ely - A10. As you follow the road round Ely turn left on to the A142 to Witchford. Petrol Station on the roundabout. About a mile along it is an industrial park (cannot remember it's name, but well signposted) basically left at the first roundabout after getting on the A142.

In that park is the nature and astronomy centre, they stock a fair range of binoculars. Visit them! Don't order online from astro forums there have been problems with delivery.

If you get there then you can try out some.
 
SG6 said:
I have a set of Bushnell H2O's, find them pretty good and robust. Guess they will come in at £50, possibly a bit more.

Your signature says Cambridge. If close to Cambridge go up to Ely - A10. As you follow the road round Ely turn left on to the A142 to Witchford. Petrol Station on the roundabout. About a mile along it is an industrial park (cannot remember it's name, but well signposted) basically left at the first roundabout after getting on the A142.

In that park is the nature and astronomy centre, they stock a fair range of binoculars. Visit them! Don't order online from astro forums there have been problems with delivery.

If you get there then you can try out some.
Click to expand...

Or check out Greenwitch, they're near Cambridge somewhere. Google them to see what they stock and then go to try some bins out.
 
Hi,

I bought a pair of Opticron ASPHERIC WA Binoculars for my brother last year. They cost £65 and he thinks they are great. I tried them out when I met up with him and I must admit I was very impressed for the price, they were very bright and had a good field of view. I have extracted the details from Sherwood Optics website below.

http://www.sherwoods-photo.com/opticron_binoculars/opticron_binoculars_field.htm


"Porro Prism

Using modern manufacturing techniques, Bak 4 Prisms & Aspheric lenses reduce distortions inherent in some standard multi-element eyepieces at a fraction of the cost. Using this technology results in an instrument with excellent performance to price ratios with the following features :

An excellent 'starter' binocular for those taking up birdwatching and general nature observation, the Aspheric WA binocular is supplied complete in soft case, wide lanyard and objective lens caps.

Best buy in Birdwatching Magazine (2003) & BBC Wildlife Magazine (2005)




Specifications 8x40
Field (m) 143
Min Focus (m) 2.9
HxW (mm) 145x172
Weight (g) 700
Price £65.00 "
 
Oops, forgot about Greenwitch.
Located at Dry Drayton, other side of the A428 to Hardwick.
Not sure of their stock, they started out as astro and now have more and more general nature items.

Work out a route that takes in Greenwitch first then Astronomy+Nature. Then if GW have the best it is on the way back.

However I suspect that if budget is the main factor the Ely bunch will have more that are relevant.
 
don't know if it is available in UK. The Bushnell H2O is a ok binoculars for its price. It might be on the bottom list of BF favorites. But it is not bad for a casual, cheap binoculars
 
Hello again,

Some tempting suggestions here. Sorry for the delay in replying - I've been away. I will take a look at all your recommendations, run them past my girlfriend, and let you know how it works out.

SG6 said:
Your signature says Cambridge...
Click to expand...

... a couple of years out of date, unfortunately. But I live in London so there are some decent shops around.
 
TomSmith said:
Hi all,

I'm looking for a pair of binoculars for my girlfriend to take on holiday - we're going to Thailand and she wants a pair to take round national parks etc. Given that she's not really a birder (yet...) she's understandably not keen to spend lots of money, so we're looking at a budget of about £50.

Does anybody have any (relative) recommendations in this price range? What features should I prioritise to get a decent image?

Thanks,


Tom
Click to expand...

Hi Tom,

how about these?

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=170074

From what is written on that post, they sound like good value.I'm tempted to get some myself.

Best wishes
Martin
 
TomSmith said:
Hi all,

I'm looking for a pair of binoculars for my girlfriend to take on holiday - we're going to Thailand and she wants a pair to take round national parks etc. Given that she's not really a birder (yet...) she's understandably not keen to spend lots of money, so we're looking at a budget of about £50.

Does anybody have any (relative) recommendations in this price range? What features should I prioritise to get a decent image?

Thanks,


Tom
Click to expand...

I think jessops are doing the nikon 8 x 42 action series for £60 atm.
 
You should get the right size binoculars. For travel that often means small and light.
Your girlfriend may not be happy shlepping a full size glass on a vacation trip, so think twice before getting big optics like an 8x42. Unless you expect to use the binoculars often, for birding perhaps daily, stick with a compact, say a Nikon 8x25.
At most, something like a 7x35 Nikon Action or Leupold Yosemite.
 
I'm not sure if they're available on your side of the pond, but the Leupold Yosemite are light, cheap, and very nice to look through.
 
The Yosemites are currently about £90 in the UK.

Celestron Nature 8x30 at about £60 sound interesting. They appear to be very similar to the Yosemite build. There's a good review elsewhere on the forum.

Opticron Aspheric WA 8x40 (around £60) also gets good reviews but is a little heavier.
 
A friend of my wife's came birding with us recently and brought a truly terrible pair of Tasco 10x25 roofs. I lent her a pair of Olympus 8x25 PC I, one of the best reverse porros and, after a bit of adjustment, she got on well with them. Before we finished, because she was talking about buying a new pair of bins, I let her try my small, light Leupold Yosemite 6x30. "Oh, no," she said, "I could never carry anything as big and heavy as that."

Your girlfriend really needs to try out for herself anything that you buy, including hanging the strap around her neck. If she likes the Yosemite (highly recommended) or the similar Vortex Raptor 6.5x32, then it would be well worth paying the extra for them. One or both of you will probably want to keep them; and if not they have a high resale value.

If she wants even smaller and lighter, then the above-mentioned Olympus or similar Opticron Taiga is excellent. The only problem with them is the awkward way they hang.

Michael
 
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