• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Price worthy 8x25 or 8x30? (1 Viewer)

kristoffer

Used Register
Hi, I haven’t been active here for some years but now I want a pair of binoculars again. I haven’t followed the recent news so what can guys recommend in the above size around £300?
 
Hi, I haven’t been active here for some years but now I want a pair of binoculars again. I haven’t followed the recent news so what can guys recommend in the above size around £300?

In that price category, I would try
- Zeiss Terra 8x25 ED
- Meopta MeoPro 8x32 HD
Canip
 
Monarch 7 looks really interesting! Anyone tried em and know what’s their strong and not as strong features?

I think if you search this forum for Monarch 7 8x30, you will find many views on this instrument.

Maybe also look at
https://www.allbinos.com/index.html?test=lornetki&test_l=272

My personal opinion: nice compact lightweight bino with great field of view, decent (central) sharpness, reasonable CA control and easy handling, but a bit affected by stray-light effects.

But what will count in the end is your own testing, nothing can replace that (it‘s about YOUR eyes after all).
Canip
 
Last edited:
I've tried them. I think they are a beautiful sharp little optic that caused partial blackouts for me. Until you put them to your eyes you'll never know for sure.
 
I would try Opticron Traveller 8x32 ED and Meopta MeoPro 8x32.

Nikon does not have a good reputation in Europe for customer service.

Lee
 
Do you wear eyeglasses? I do and have been searching for a pair of light birding glasses in this class for a while, with limited success. To cut to the chase: I'm currently using Cabela's Guide 8x32, which are within a whisker of the Nikon M7 8x30 in quality but have an extra mm or so of extra eye relief. But I don't think they're available new, anymore.

The Cabela's replaced a pair of Nikon M7 8x30. The Nikon offers a very nice combination of light weight, wide field, sharp sweet spot and good contrast. They felt a little plasticky to me, but that's a subjective complaint as they worked fine, and are very light. The "veiling glare" issue you'll read about in the threads on this bino is real, but minor.....you will have a hard time finding anything at this weight and especially near this price that's perfect in every way. I used mine for several months before deciding the eye relief was just a little too tight for me. If you don't wear eyeglasses, and don't need something that's truly pocket-sized, the M7 is a great choice.

I tried the Opticron Discovery 8x32 in a shop and thought it had noticeably lower contrast that some other binos in the $200-300 range. It is wonderfully light for an 8x32 though, with comfortable eye positioning. I also tried the old model Traveller 8x32, which was sharper and snappier but had funky handling and a field that felt a little constricted. I'm curious about the new (2017) Traveller, which is a completely different bino, but haven't had a chance to try a pair. If you wear eyeglasses be advised that Opticron's quoted eye relief specification seems a little more "optimistic" than some other makers, by 4-5mm on the binos I tried.

Zeiss Terra 8x32 (2016 model). These were really nice. I hear mixed reviews and suspect that quality control might not be great, but apparently I got a good pair, very sharp and contrasty. They have a more substantial feel than the Nikon but are still quite light. Better control of glare and stray light than the Nikon. Just a little short on eye relief for me, otherwise great handling. At current sale prices they seem like a good value. Not pocket binos, though.

The Vortex Diamondback 8x28 has good specs on paper, but the one I tried had low contrast and a small sweet spot, with poor edge sharpness. The much more expensive Viper 8x28 was a disappointment, with a narrow field and a view that, while sharp and contrasty, was dimmer than I expected for the small difference in objective size vs the 30 and 32mm models.

I haven't found any roof prism binos smaller than 30mm that I really like. Haven't tried the 8x25s from Kowa, Zeiss, or Swarovski yet; I'm sure they're a step up in quality from what I've experienced but the specced eye relief on all of them is a little short for me. After trying a few cheaper roofs, all of which were plagued by low contrast, narrow field, brutally short eye relief, poor handling or all of the above, I've stopped searching for now. One more brand you might want to look at is Pentax. They have a 9x28 that some people like, though I haven't tried it myself.

When the ~18oz Cabela's Guide 8x32 feel too heavy I have an old pair of Bushnell Custom Elite 7x26 porros that are brighter, more contrasty, and have better eye relief than any of the cheaper roof binos I tried - they're fine with eyeglasses . But being porros they're a little clunky in handling, being almost as bulky and heavy as the 8x30 roofs, so I don't carry the Bushnells much.

Hope that helps, and good luck searching!
 
If you can take a non waterproof bino in that price range you cannot beat the optics of the Nikon EII IMO. I've put them up against several $2000 plus binoculars and they actually can compete optically very well. In fact in the 3D image category they dominate. Not good if you wear glasses but I love the ease of viewing they have and a truly massive 466 ft FOV in 8x and 366 ft FOV in 10x. I liked them so much I bought a second pair of 8x just in case and then I bought the 10x and I have nothing bad to say about them.
 
I'd really love to. From everything I've heard they are a step beyond the EII but aren't they out of his stated price range and not easy to lay hands on without hunting for a good used pair? If we are going beyond his price range there is also the Swaro Habicht which is waterproof and considered one of the very best of the porros.
 
Last edited:
True, the selection of SEs has dwindled through the last few years. I wonder how many of those SEs 8X32 sold compared to the EII in the day.

Regarding a 8X30 for a bit over 400 dollars, and these are suggestions for glass that are likely sold in Sweden that you would be able to try out. The Meopta is probably a bit high in price for what you are looking for, used perhaps, but a great glass, if you could shell-out a few more $$, that would be the best glass.
Have heard good things about Optricon, but I do not own any, the price is right where you want to be though.

As mentioned earlier the Nikon Monarch 7, but as Lee said Nikon Service in Europe has it 's issues. The optics are great, the rubber armor, fit and finish not so much.

Enjoy the hunt.
You may end up buying a sample sight unseen, online.

Andy W.
 
Thanks for all the information guys. I bought the Monarch 7 and I find them lightweight, super sharp and easy to use BUT the partial blackouts makes me want to switch to another binocular.Would Nikon SE make more happy?

Edit: Realised that SE is tough to find nowadays. Maybe the extra cost for Meopta MeoPro 8x32 is the way to go?
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the information guys. I bought the Monarch 7 and I find them lightweight, super sharp and easy to use BUT the partial blackouts makes me want to switch to another binocular.Would Nikon SE make more happy?

Edit: Realised that SE is tough to find nowadays. Maybe the extra cost for Meopta MeoPro 8x32 is the way to go?

Too much of the latter will lead to the prior.:cat:

Bill
 
Warning! This thread is more than 6 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top