Compact roof binoculars, have three in mind, opinions? (1 Viewer)

Jzmtl, there's always more room in the truck. But seriously, the impressions you report will be useful to many, certainly to me, BTW still a bit short of the wheelbarrow stage.

Okay you asked for it, take it for what it's worth consider I'm very new to quality binoculars.

Out of box this thing is tiny, it literally is pocketable. When unfolded it's about the same as 8x25 reverse porro, however when folded (which single hinged binoculars can't really do), it halves in size, measuring only 111x59x38 mm, easily stuffed into a coat pocket.

The body and hinge plate is made of metal alloy, as are the lanyard loops, which are only about 1.5mm thick cross section. The hand grip section is covered in rubber, and the top of hinge plate is covered in hard plastic. I hate this part, not that I'm against plastic but the type they used looks and feels very cheap, very thin and hollow sounding, and the brand/model is only chromed on. If they had used good material and metal inlay it would instantly make the binocular look more upscale, as is I've seen $15 ones that looked better.

Focusing knob is located at bottom of hinge plate, which feels strange because I have to use my middle or ring finger to adjust it, which is not as dexterous or strong as pointer finger. Diopter adjustment is located below right eyecup, not locking but has enough resistance to stay in place. The focusing knob works very quickly and precisely, I can switch between 10 and 200 meters without reposition my fingers on the knob.

Another big annoyance, no lens caps, not even on eye piece end. On both end the lens are only 2 or 3 mm recessed into the tube, so with no cover you'll have to be mindful to not bump them into stuff or let dirt/water fall on them when hung around neck. The neck strap is tan colored pleather, which looks out of place with an all black binocular.

In sunny daylight, I can tell the image is less bright than same sized porro, however it makes no difference in practice because there are enough light either way. I can't tell you how it compares to others with technical terms but to me the image is perfectly clear, no noticeable distortion and maybe just a bit soft right next to edge. The FOV is smaller than the other two (8x25 porro and 10x42 roof), so sweeping and looking for object will be a little more difficult. At 200 meters I can read car license plates easily.

Eye relief is listed as 15mm, same as the other two I have. However in practice it's the shortest of the three, with glasses on I can just see the entire FOV, whereas the other two there are a bit of wiggle room.

I think these bushnell binoculars offer great performance for the money, and widely available in local stores anywhere in North America. Not sure why are they not more popular, perhaps because the brand isn't seen as a "proper" binocular brand and not as chic as others?



Nighttime observations to come later.

Jzmtl, thanks. Excellent - please keep going! Been intrigued by this bin, the optical quality at this price, and thinking of getting one, more so since just some days ago when I read a buyer's review in the Eagle Optics website acc. to which it's brighter than the current Swarovski 10x25!

Night time in suburban setting, again compare to 8x25 porro and 10x42 roof. For places that's lit up by street lamps (the white brighter type), similar to daytime where I can see the image brightness difference (10x42 being brightest and 10x25 lowest), however again it makes no significant difference in practice because there's enough light to see with all three. Interestingly at around 200 meter, I can read letters better with 10x25 legend than 8x25 porro due to the extra magnification, despite the less bright image.

Moving to shadowed/not lit areas, where it's dark enough to not be able to tell colors. Now here the differences really start to show. With 10x42 I still have good contrast to see things clearly, but consider it has all the goodies like ED glass, phase correction and AR coating, and dielectric mirror prism I guess I shouldn't be surprised. the 8x25 porro didn't need any of those (except AR which it has in FMC), but the smaller objective limited enough light to only show weaker contrast. The legend 10x25 didn't do well at this point, I can see the difference if it was higher contrast, but if it was close everything appears as black. Note this is mostly in unlit areas, in shadowed area there was still enough contrast to see objects.

So IMO it functions amazingly well for its size and price, and very usable in wide range except the darkest conditions despite its small exit pupil. I don't have any of the alpha brand bino so I can't really compare.


I don't have any places with absolutely zero artificial lighting that's close and open enough for me to just drop by, so observation under those conditions may come later.

bought the Legend Ultra HD 10x25 ED and like it a lot. I liked it so much, I went ahead and bought a Nikon HG 10x25 alpha, planning to sell the Bushnell. However, I have decided to keep both.

The Nikon is a solid, precision instrument with an almost miraculously fine focus knob. I would peg the brightness/contrast about 25 percent better than the Bushnell, the ultimate focus is slightly sharper and also sharper across the field, but easier to access via the focus knob with less hunt and peck than the Bushnell. The Nikon is more color neutral to warm, while the Bushnell is slightly blue by comparison. The Nikon is heavier but about the same size. The Nikon has really been growing on me as I have used it, but the Bushnell has, too.

I decided to keep the Bushnell because it is lighter and easier to carry/pocketable, the view has that elusive immersive-ness that is so nice in binoculars, it focuses closer than the Nikon for nature study, is very close to being as sharp in the central field as the Nikon and is just a nice package. The Bushnell has kind of floppy hinges, but oddly, with the way it is held, that is not such a bad thing because it makes it a bit easier to adjust on the fly with IPD, even with one hand.

I have decided that 10x25 is the perfect overall size and magnification for me, and will just use my gnu5 8x30 Baigish or German military porro when I want that nice, bright 3d porro thing.

I would give the Bushnell 10x25 a really high recommendation, especially if you want a near alpha compact experience for a good price. I say "near" because the Nikon HG is demonstrably sturdier and better optically, but probably not in proportion to cost, and the Bushnell has some nice things on its own like lightness and close focus. It doesn't have to be an official alpha to be a really nice binocular.

Cjfrbw, may I suggest you, too, copy this very useful review to the Bushnell thread, like Jzmtl. The Nikon HG/Premiers are widely regarded as being with, or very close to, the Leica Ultravids as the best among the "alpha" pocket models; L, N, Swarovski and Zeiss each make these in 8x20 and 10x25.

I own both the 10X25 Ultravid and Nikon HG/Premier. They are indeed very close in excellent quality. I prefer the Ultravid by a slight margin.

I never fail to be amazed by the quality these little binoculars deliver. I include the Zeiss Victory 10X25 in that elite group too.

These are perhaps the best optical purchase I made. I have seen more species spontaneously with these little guys. Of course I would love to have the larger bins when a bird shows up . But I always seem to have the Nikon or Ultravid 10X25.

Today while out doing chores I was able to view a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a Purple finch with the 10X25 while my 10x32 and 10X42 were home…

Enjoy the bins – it is migration rush hour.

Tvc15_2000 said:

... would love to have the larger bins when a bird shows up ...

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I find that makes much of a difference only: in very dim light, and occasionally when you need a wider field of view (which larger bins usually offer).

Tvc15_2000 said:

I own both the 10X25 Ultravid and Nikon HG/Premier. They are indeed very close in excellent quality. I prefer the Ultravid by a slight margin.

I never fail to be amazed by the quality these little binoculars deliver. I include the Zeiss Victory 10X25 in that elite group too.

Click to expand...

I second the notion that the Zeiss 10x25 Victory Compacts are part of that elite group! After using them for several months I appreciate them more and more although at first they took some getting used to, in that they are not as easy to hold steady or point as mid- and full-sized binoculars, at least for me. Modifying my hold on them so my hands are steadied against my forehead and a thumb resting on my nose seems to do the trick. They are also surprisingly bright for the small aperture.

A compact binocular that has 90% of the Zeiss performance at a fraction of the cost is the Hawke Frontier PC 10x25. It boasts a much closer focus of about 5' for me, but is noticeably less bright than the Zeiss.