looking for £100-150 price range bins (2 Viewers)

hi.im a novice when it comes to binoculars,so i thought id ask the pro's here,whats best bins for £100-150 price range.ive already been recommended 3 or 4 models the H20 seem it be mentioned more than any.there for bird watching upto 200 yards.thanks robert

also looking at bushnell 10x50 falcon porro prism around £60 mark,it has good reviews.

Hawke Endurance ED 8x32 can be had for under £200. Great little glass for the money. I would avoid 10x50 - especially porros - as they are likely to be large, heavy & difficult to hand-hold. The 8x32 configuration is a good, small, light, bright binocular and the ED objectives offered by the Hawke will make for additional sharpness/clarity. Of course, its really all a matter of personal taste. Buy from somewhere that you can try out and compare a number of instruments in your price range and pick the one which works best for you; avoid buying 'blind' from the internet where possible. Good luck.

RB

Rotherbirder said:

Hawke Endurance ED 8x32 can be had for under £200. Great little glass for the money. I would avoid 10x50 - especially porros - as they are likely to be large, heavy & difficult to hand-hold. The 8x32 configuration is a good, small, light, bright binocular and the ED objectives offered by the Hawke will make for additional sharpness/clarity. Of course, its really all a matter of personal taste. Buy from somewhere that you can try out and compare a number of instruments in your price range and pick the one which works best for you; avoid buying 'blind' from the internet where possible. Good luck.

RB

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thanks for that.barr and stroud 8x42 been recommended any good you think ? and only 70 quid

I started off with Barr & Stroud 8x42 Sierra binoculars, fully multi coated, phase corrected, great value and quite bright and sharp. The slightly cheaper Sahara 8x42 are not phase corrected, so it's worth the little extra to buy the Sierra.

LesR said:

I started off with Barr & Stroud 8x42 Sierra binoculars, fully multi coated, phase corrected, great value and quite bright and sharp. The slightly cheaper Sahara 8x42 are not phase corrected, so it's worth the little extra to buy the Sierra.

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cheers les ive just there bought the 8x42 sierra bins £77,the reviews are very good thanks for ya advice mate.robert

robrg655 said:

thanks for that.barr and stroud 8x42 been recommended any good you think ? and only 70 quid

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Never seen them. One question, why pay £70 for something you haven't tried when you say you have a maximum budget of £150? Have you heard the saying 'buy cheap, buy twice'? You may end up dissatisfied and feel the need to splash out again on something better! Try before you buy or you're likely to be sorry!

RB

Rotherbirder said:

Never seen them. One question, why pay £70 for something you haven't tried when you say you have a maximum budget of £150? Have you heard the saying 'buy cheap, buy twice'? You may end up dissatisfied and feel the need to splash out again on something better! Try before you buy or you're likely to be sorry!

RB

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yea i hear ya,ya probs forgot more than what i know about binoculars lol,the 1s i bought the reviews are really good and plenty recomended them,they be ok for what i want,looking at rabbits and birds 50 yards.

well these barr n stroud came this morning,very impressed with the quality viewing, its better than expected,very pin sharp binoculars they deffo do me,i bought em for when im out hunting spotting rabbits,and i also like bit of bird watching whilst hunting,not the mostexpensive binoculars but they do for me.

There is a much better of decent usable lower priced bins out there than there ever was in the past which is great as people can get into serious birding without using a platinum card or grandads legacy. One name that often gets overlooked is Helios which always get good reviews when tested in the two main birding magazines. The make has been around many years and at one time had a reputation for Russian made porro prism optics,heavy but quality optics. They have come a long way since then and their roof prism binoculars can hold their own with others in the budget price range. I recently ordered 4 pair of 8x32 Nitrosport for a junior project our club is operating and they are very usable for juniors. In your price range both the Mistral and the Lightwing perform well and we have a pair of Ultra Sport 8x42 in the car or for visitors to borrow. That all sounds a bit like an advert for Helios but they certainly worth a look at (or through !!) Opticron have some very usable optics in your price range as have other makers mentioned here. It cn be quite a minefieldchoosing binoculars but it is best not to try items out of your price range and take your time choosing them what suits others may be awful to your eyes. Choose carefully and you will get years of pleasure from them.