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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

going up a bit (1 Viewer)

jape

Well-known member
some of you know how pleased i am with my 8x25 langham binos as a first set.
i want to look ahead to spring/summer and hopefuĺy getting out to the nearby lake.
i will need bigger magnification
at present 8x25 is great for yard and nearby but at 50 yds they dont cut it for detail.
i assume bigger means from 8x to 16x to double range and image size?
i am not going to afford much, certainly not 1000 pounds plus.
i have seen Bushnell 16x50mm Powerview BK-7 Porro Prism Rubber Armored Binoculars 131650C for 40 quid.
just roughly, for fun and ID can you give me an idea of how good/bad they will be.
are they 1/2 as good, nearly as good as 200 quid binos? only a 10th as good etc.
just practically speaking at 100 m or so will i get a good full view for ID?
i cannot find bluesky at that size or reasonable price in UK
 
You will need a tripod or an image stabilised binocular, or at least rest the 16x binocular on top of a car, a wall or somebody's shoulder.

Perhaps the redhead down the road could help out if you don't shake too much :)

A good condition Soviet 20x60 might work.

You may be better off with a scope.
 
thank you. i will get tripod or use car if feasible. i dont walk well.
if i took the redhead with me i dont think i would be doing much watching!
hadnt thought of scope, will look at them too.
 
thank you. i will get tripod or use car if feasible. i dont walk well.
if i took the redhead with me i dont think i would be doing much watching!
hadnt thought of scope, will look at them too.

Jape:

To increase magnification without increasing aperture—except on very close targets—is to avoid what you are trying to obtain! :cat:

Bill
 
Jape:

To increase magnification without increasing aperture—except on very close targets—is to avoid what you are trying to obtain! :cat:

Bill

now i am going to have to find a book on binoculars to work out what that means in english! ;-)
 
Can you find the Bushnell Legend 10x25 where you are? I think that's one of the best value compacts I've found and I love compacts. $158 in the US.

If you want a good 12x I bought the Olympus 12x25 for about $55 and it's pretty darn good. I can hold it pretty steady considering how how much power in 12x and I'm 65. However you can't beat a 7-8x for a steady hand hold IMO.

Just remember the higher the power the less fov generally and 25mm will be much less bright at dawn and dusk than a 32 or 42 mm.

I'm very impressed with what Olympus does for under $100 with their compacts optically but they are not waterproof. I'm actually really happy with the 12x at $55 and optically they are close enough to my 10 Meopro that cost over $400
 
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Good standard 10x binoculars that won't break the bank:

Olympus 10x50 DPS-1. £65 on Amazon
Olympus 10x42 EXPS-1. £149 on Amazon
Nikon Action EX 10x50CF. £165 on Amazon

Do not be tempted by higher powers, for that way lies the Dark Side (literally;)).
And if you see any offers of Zoom Binoculars, report it immediately to the BF Binocular Police, and we'll send a squad round immediately to put a stop to their nonsense.

Edit....there's a website on your side of the (little) pond called 'Preloved'. There are loads of used binoculars on there. Most are junk, but some are good.
Edit V 2.0....If you have a look at a site called Adverts.ie, there's a guy in Galway selling a pair of Nikon Action CF 10x50 for a hundred euro.
 
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I've often wondered how good Olympus larger objective binos were. They don't always get top reviews but then the compacts don't always either and I think they are a deal.
 
thanks ahll. i have decided to wait until i am out and about again and can also try some. so if this tall older bloke with a broken nose and crewcut and a mad look about him asks for a quick peek, dont run.
 
Broken nose? Local redhead? Any connection?

Personally, i think when you start getting up to 16x, you really need to be thinking of tripod mounts or a scope. The field of view is going to be reduced (unless you have enormous objective lenses, which is what Bill meant i think), the shake in your hands (because of the weight) will be magnified and take you off the target (which, of course, is in the centre of a reduced field) and the exit pupil (and thus the light reaching your eyes) quite small.
So: shaky, narrow and dark. Rather like me.
 
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