I'd like to buy some binoculars for my wife for Christmas - but low priced - up to around £100. Since its a surprise I can't really consult her, but know she'll be delighted with whatever I chose, as long as I don't spend too much!
This would be her first set. She would use them chiefly around local lakes / reservoirs for viewing birds and small wildlife. She might occasionally take them when hiking or on holiday for general use.
I guess ease of use is important, which I think translates to smooth and easy to focus precisely, reasonable field of view and brightness. They may be used at sunset. She wouldn't be likely to use them for more than 5-10 minutes at a time, so weight might not be most important though the lighter the better (unless that makes them more difficult to hold still). She's unlikely to want to use a tripod.
I'm really uncertain what to choose. I've seen the following in the range £50 to £80. All are water / fog resistant bak-4, all have 5m or less minimum focus, not aware of relative quality of multi-coating and optics though. FOV = field of view (at 1000m). (Hopefully I have the specs correctly quoted.)
Listed in order of prices.
Barr & Stround Skyline 8x42 670 grams
FOV 119m
relative brightness 27.04
10 year guarantee
Barr & Stround Sierra 10x42 673 grams
FOV 101m
relative brightness 16.81
10 year guarantee
Bushell H20 10x42 13-2410 765 grams
FOV 115m
relative brightness 20.5
30 year guarantee
Oregon LE WP 8x42 680 grams
FOV 114m
relative brightness 27.56
5 year guarantee
There are also more expensive 10x42 versions of the 8x42 ones above, but with correspondingly smaller FOV and relative brightness. I guess 8x42 is generally better for her needs (though higher magnification might help with general use)?
Then there are these at £104:
Strathspey 8x42 with level IV multicoating 600 grams
FOV 133m
relative brightness unknown
I also wonder if any of the following is worth the extra investment at about £155:
Vortex Diamondback 8x42 714 grams
FOV 140m
relative brightness 28.1
limited lifetime guarantee
Vanguard Spirit ED 8x42 (Phase Coated optics I believe) 599 grams
FOV 110m @ 1000m
relative brightness
limited lifetime guarantee
I was originally attracted to the 7dayshop 10x42 binoculars, but I guess they wouldn't quite meat her needs (especially minimum focus) and the others above would be better?
I also saw some Nikon Akulon A211 binoculars, though I don't think they are anti-fog / waterproof:
at £90
Nikon Akulon a211 10x42
FOV 105m
relative brightness 17.6
10 year guarantee
at £110
Nikon Akulon a211 8x42
FOV 140m
relative brightness 28.1
10 year guarantee
This would be her first set. She would use them chiefly around local lakes / reservoirs for viewing birds and small wildlife. She might occasionally take them when hiking or on holiday for general use.
I guess ease of use is important, which I think translates to smooth and easy to focus precisely, reasonable field of view and brightness. They may be used at sunset. She wouldn't be likely to use them for more than 5-10 minutes at a time, so weight might not be most important though the lighter the better (unless that makes them more difficult to hold still). She's unlikely to want to use a tripod.
I'm really uncertain what to choose. I've seen the following in the range £50 to £80. All are water / fog resistant bak-4, all have 5m or less minimum focus, not aware of relative quality of multi-coating and optics though. FOV = field of view (at 1000m). (Hopefully I have the specs correctly quoted.)
Listed in order of prices.
Barr & Stround Skyline 8x42 670 grams
FOV 119m
relative brightness 27.04
10 year guarantee
Barr & Stround Sierra 10x42 673 grams
FOV 101m
relative brightness 16.81
10 year guarantee
Bushell H20 10x42 13-2410 765 grams
FOV 115m
relative brightness 20.5
30 year guarantee
Oregon LE WP 8x42 680 grams
FOV 114m
relative brightness 27.56
5 year guarantee
There are also more expensive 10x42 versions of the 8x42 ones above, but with correspondingly smaller FOV and relative brightness. I guess 8x42 is generally better for her needs (though higher magnification might help with general use)?
Then there are these at £104:
Strathspey 8x42 with level IV multicoating 600 grams
FOV 133m
relative brightness unknown
I also wonder if any of the following is worth the extra investment at about £155:
Vortex Diamondback 8x42 714 grams
FOV 140m
relative brightness 28.1
limited lifetime guarantee
Vanguard Spirit ED 8x42 (Phase Coated optics I believe) 599 grams
FOV 110m @ 1000m
relative brightness
limited lifetime guarantee
I was originally attracted to the 7dayshop 10x42 binoculars, but I guess they wouldn't quite meat her needs (especially minimum focus) and the others above would be better?
I also saw some Nikon Akulon A211 binoculars, though I don't think they are anti-fog / waterproof:
at £90
Nikon Akulon a211 10x42
FOV 105m
relative brightness 17.6
10 year guarantee
at £110
Nikon Akulon a211 8x42
FOV 140m
relative brightness 28.1
10 year guarantee