How Many Brands of low priced bins do we Really Need? And Who are They Really? (1 Viewer)

derikp said:

So there must be a point at which one gets best value for money - but where is it?

By the way - I'm very happy with the Veranos!

Click to expand...

Arguably the point of best value for money is the price of a pair of
Canon 10x42 L IS's.
Great optics, and the stabilized 10x image outperforms all alpha
brands, for about half the price of these.

That said, it has its drawbacks, and the Nikons SE and EII are
even less expensive, with alpha quality optics.

Best regards,

Ronald

I have said it already in other posts and I'll say it again: The best binocular value bar none right now is the ex German army Hensoldt 8X30 D.F.s being listed on eBay by a couple of sites in Germany at prices ranging from £69 to £99 GBP. The price is a good guide to the external condition, but all have optics in good condition and give superlative viewing, at least if my experience is typical and I have no reason to suppose that it is not.
I bought one of these a while ago, paying £99 plus £9 shipping, I had it in my hands within a week and have hardly put it down since. I thought that I knew good binoculars but the first look through this was a revelation, sharp and bright, also easy on the eyes in a way that defies description.
I would say to anybody who wants a top-performing binocular but can't afford a Leica or whatever, buy one of these and you will have performance as close to a Leica as will make no difference but at little more than a pocket-money price.

derikp said:

Where in the price range is the best value? Zeiss and Leica are beautiful glasses, but you pay £1500 - £1600 for a pair of Leica 10 x 40. My Opticron Verano's cost £300. I don't doubt that the Leica are better glasses - but five times better? I doubt it.

Whilst more money buys better glass, there comes a point where the law of diminishing returns kicks in and you end up paying considerably more money for a very small increase in quality. So there must be a point at which one gets best value for money - but where is it?

By the way - I'm very happy with the Veranos!

Click to expand...

For me the point where I get best value is when a new top of the range alpha comes out and the price of the previous range of top alpha drops to a point of affordability on the second-hand market. So now with the advent of the Swaro SLC HD, I have bought a SLC Neu at a great price and I own the best bins I have ever had.
I doubt I'll ever be able to buy the latest models, even second-hand, but the latest but one model can be had for a fraction of the coat of the latest one and it will only be a small step behind the latest in optical/mechanical quality.

This is a really relevant thread . There are entirely too many brands of EVERYTHING, especially cheap. inexpensive cars, like Chevy, Ford, Hyundai, etc. They keep getting in the way of my Bentley, making it difficult for me and the rest of my snob friends to motor along, all the while having to put up with all those po' folk in those cheap cars.
I think the number of brands should be regulated, and the government should decide what's best for us...
Wait a minute! I think the USSR tried this some time ago. I wonder how that worked out???:king:

frankensteel said:

I think the number of brands should be regulated, and the government should decide what's best for us...
Wait a minute! I think the USSR tried this some time ago. I wonder how that worked out???:king:

Click to expand...

Are you casting asparagus on my Trabant? (Mind you, aren´t Warsaw Pact binoculars supposed to be pretty good?)

Who decides that $400 for binoculars is cheap? As a middle income earner, I would not consider it cheap.

YMI_Here said:

Who decides that $400 for binoculars is cheap? As a middle income earner, I would not consider it cheap.

Click to expand...

The price itself does not mean anything without the context of the optics quality. A $400 "ruby coated" binoculars that can see 35 miles and magnify 1000% is definitely not cheap. But a $400 binoculars that can see 6 ft and performs close to $2000 binoculars is a pretty good deal.