"One-liner" reviews of all the bins you've bought and sold/returned (1 Viewer)

Here's a rundown for me so far:

1. Swarovski 8.5x42 EL : Very nice optics and ergonomics but slow, stiff focus wheel really sucks. They are way too bulky, mostly in length. Lenses rattle

2. Swarovski 10x42 EL : Smooth fast focus wheel is a huge improvement. The winged eyecup option is wonderful. They rattle and are on the large side.

3. Leica 10x42 BN : Built like a tank with fine optics and ergonomics but too heavy.

4. Leica 7x42 BA : Built to survive a nuclear winter but heavy as hell for a 7x

5. Zeiss 10x25 Victory. One hinge design is nicer for pupillary distance adjustment. The rubber armoring is a little thin and seems like it would rip and peel under heavy use.

my optic back catalogue as follows

[1] bushnell natureview plus 10+42 brought four years ago,rock solid bridge and a perfect focus wheel,so so optics but they were my first.miss em.

[2] opticron bga pc agn 8+42,my first quality bins,eyecups never stayed in place but very nice optics.

[3] leica trinovid 8+42 bn,everything i ever wanted in a pair of bins,rock solid everything,brilliant optics,lost my job=bye bye leica's :eek!:

[4]suffer the pain of having to go back to using [1] :-C

[5]can't live without leica,purchased secondhand 8+32 ba's,very nice except yellow cast and not enough eyerelief :storm:

[6]purchased leica trinovid 7+42 ba sight unseen,quite yellow colourcast and not very bright,approx fifteen years old but could almost pass as new!,sent back for a refund :-C

[7]purchased opticron imagic tga porroprisms,good optics but bridge is as loose as bur street on a friday night :eek!: ,shortly to reside at the bottom of the local duck pond and be replaced by my first great love,leica bn trinovid :t:

matt

This is complicated as it covers over 50 years of hit and miss purchases (optics have always been a weakness of mine and I have bought and given away far more than any human should have), the ones that really stick in my memory are as follows:

1> A pair of Tower (sold by Montgomery Ward back in the 60's) 7x35 porros which I paid $5.00 for and one of my grandsons still uses. Not bad and the reason I got them for $5 was they had been returned by a customer due to a chip in one of the lens elements. I couldn't see any problems with the view then and still can't as of this day. You can see the chip if you look into the objective end of the bino's with the right light. They're probably the best buy in bino's I ever made.

2> A pair of Simmons 8x42 porros that were as heavy as a tank but had a reasonably decent veiw, just tooooooooooo! heavy to carry. Gave them to a couple that wanted to go birding a couple of times and didn't want or couldn't part with the money to get some of their own. They're still not fervant birders but do keep the bins on a window sill in the kitchen and now have several feeders in the back yard.

3> Numerous Bushnell's, Tasco's. Nikons, Pentax, etc. that all failed in some way to make me happy at the time, all given to grandkids, so called friends of the moment, etc.

4> Now some mention of ones over time that I found outstanding in some way or the other and remember fondly. A pair of Pentax 8x26's porros that were small, bright, lite and water resistant and used by my wife for several years.

5> A pair of Canon 8x32 roof's, little heavy but super bins for the price, about $109.00 at the time (approx. 10 years ago), carried them to Costa Rica, the Everglades and coastal Georgia and really enjoyed them. Still do but rarely use. They're my backup, backup bins today.

6> A pair of Eagle Optics 8x32 Ranger Platinums which are lite in weight, brite of view and optically compete with almost anything I have ever looked through. A very fine and excellent bin for the price, easy to handle and will take a lot of punishment and have a super warranty for the money (something that's often overlooked in Eagle Optics).

7> A pair of Leupold Wind River Pinnacles 10x42. Optically as good as they come, physically leave something to be desired but very enjoyable to use when you want a 10x bin.

8> A pair of the pre-SLCnew Swarovski 8x30 SLC's, the only semi-expensive bin I've ever owned out of maybe 30 or 40 pair over the years and I must admit that I would have been better off to have spent the price of a Leicas, Zeiss or Swarovski's way back when, would have been much less expensive in the long run. Lot's of inexpensive bins add up over the years. But then, if I had taken that route, lots of kids and young people would never have been exposed to birding with my old bins.

Jaeger near Chicago

My 30 year bins history

1. Carl Zeiss Jena 8x30 Jenoptems... second hand stunning value for money, light, bright and once you learned to deal with the eye piece rocking, a dream to use.

2. er Carl Zeiss Jena 8x30 Jenoptems - a new pair £26 in cough 1977 (?) and heaven - still in use. Prone to steaming up - a bit like me.

3. 10x42 Zeiss Dialyt 2nd hand. Made me feel like a proper birder. Wore the things out, they must be the most distressed bins in the world - a full set of hand print in the leather cover. Suffered a compression fracture in a prism (I exploded a knee) when we well off a cliff together). So cleaning became impossible. Retired with full military honours though come out in a hurry when there is something at the back window. The baralling/rolling at edge of field gives me a queasy feel when I look through them now

4 Leica 8x42 trinovid BN Housebricks, chosen on an extensive field test on optics against all opposition. I hated the shape, but have learned to love them and the clarity of image, depth of field and fiekd of view remains as good as it gets. They made the dialyts look suddenly vague and milky.

5 Leica 8x20 trinovids picked up for £90 and surely some mistake at Schipol airport (ex demo) I was only wasting time but had to have them. In good light as good as the house bricks. Feel ever so girlie using them though. They fit nicely into my jeans pocket though.

Zeiss 7x45 NightOwl:
Fabulous optics with equally fabulous weight. Sold since I could no longer afford the Sherpa to carry them for me.

Leica 8x50 BA:
Beautiful optics. Very heavy (Sherpa refused contract after Zeiss 7x45 experience). Poor ergonomics (for me) and slippery armouring in anything wetter than a light mist. SOLD.

Zeiss 10x40 Classic:
Nice and light but too small for me to hold comfortably (big hands). Sold.

Zeiss 7x42 Classic:
Easy, wide view. Very good ergonomics (for me). Probably will be kept for many years.

Leica 7x42 BN:
Superb optics. A bit heavy and not so comfortable to hold. Possibly a long term relationship.

Nikon 8x32 HG:
Absolutely excellent for an 8x32. Optically the 8x32 SE beats it, but the HG is a better overall package IMHO.

Nikon 10x32 HG:
A superb small 10x bino and a bargain at current WE price.

Nikon 10x42 HG:
Very nice optics. Eventually sold as I couldn't come to terms with carrying almost 1kg for a 42mm bino.

Minox 10x58 ED:
Absolutely brilliant low-light instrument although rather heavy and large. Will be keeping this one.

Nikon 8x36 Sporter:
Amazing value for money (£99 at WE). Very easy and comfortable view.

Opticron 8x42 HR (Porro)
First class optics. Very light. Used for many years with great success.

Nikon 8 x 30 E2. The best bin I've ever laid my eyes on!. Now, if I could only figure out a way to keep their #!%&* rubber covering from peeling off!

Nikon 10 x 35 E2. Best bargain in bins I ever made! Got them refurbished for 1/2 price from a dealer in Astronomical scopes etc. 90 day guarantee and their covering is staying put! Great optics and ergonomics.

Leica 7 x 42 BA Trinovids. I used these babies for 15 years while I wore glasses. Longest eye relief on the planet. Huge FOV too. Slight yellow color caste. Built like a tank w rubber armored body. They fit my hands like gloves. Pre phase coating but great optics. Since I had cataract surgery I no longer wear glasses and the ER is too long! I still love them.

Apogee Astro Vue 10 x 60 Porro's. I got these for Astronomy. I couldn't resist their introductory price of $69.99. Made in China. This particular one is "cherry." Remarkably good in daytime applications too. Light enough to be hand held but "tossing" is not recommended. Even has built in filters for use on emission nebulae.

Eagle Platinum 6 x 32 roof prisms. OK, I'm letting the cat out of the bag here! Folks, these are optically and ergonomically the best Roof Prism Bins on the Planet! The only possible complaint against them is that they don't have enough power. You have to use them to appreciate them. If they could make a 10 x 32 this good there would be a waiting list for them!

Swift 8.5 x 44. Great optics. Huge FOV. Short ER. Big and heavy. Use these all day and you will get forearms like Popeye!

Bob

Binoculars owned over the past few years, in chronological order:

B&L 8x42 Elite - A great binocular. Stolen, replaced with…
Nikon 8x32 HG - A brilliant binocular
Leica 8x42 UVid - Unsmooth, ratchety, focusing
Swaro 10x50 SLC - Optically brilliant, too heavy.
Swaro 8.5x42 EL - Optically brilliant, focusing too slow.
Nikon 8x42HG - Too heavy
Zeiss 7x42 ClassiC - Optically good, ergonomically poor
Nikon 10x42 HG - Too much magnification; too heavy
Swaro 7x42 SLC - Good twilight binos, too heavy
Leica 7x42 UVid - Sloppy, staccato, focusing
B&L 7x42 Discoverer - Poor optical quality
Nikon 10x32 HG - 10x still too much for me
Optolyth 8x56 - Horrible! Non-phase coated version
Swaro 8.5x42 EL - Faster focusing + added rattle! A lovely bino, but too big
Swaro 8x32 EL - Light, ergonomic dream, optically less than HGs.
Nikon 8x20 HGL - Focus wrong end, exit pupil too small, bins too small
Leica 7x42 - Now with added lube – much, much better

Bold = Currently owned

That’s it. For now!

Chris

Opticron 8x42 HR - first proper bins, good optics, no complaints - still get regular use as they live in my kitchen for watching birds in the garden.
RSPB 8x42 HG - nice optics, good in the hand, quite heavy.
Bushnell H2O 8x20 - dull image, alround fairly poor - but my daughter gets on well with them and I don't mind if she drops them!
Leica Duovid 8+12x42 - great optics, wonderful in the hand, smooth focus. Dual mag very easy to use - very heavy.
Opticron Traveller 8x32 - amazing value, very small, excellent close focus.
Leica Ultravid 7x42 - birght, sharp great FOV - smooth focus - a joy to use. These are my main bins, the best I've ever owned, I can't imagine wanting to change them.
B&L Elite 8x42 - all ok but nothing outstanding - incredible cheap so I couldn't resist.
Leica Ultravid 8x20 - excellent compact, very bright image - take them everywhere
Leica Trinovid 8x32ba - always wanted a pair, finally got some - amazing optics, bright and sharp - focus is not smooth (back at Leica being sorted, can't wait to get them back).

The ones in bold I still have...

Greetings!
Here are mine:

Nikon HG 10x25 - Sharpest edge-to-edge binoculars I own, unbelievably handy and useful.

Nikon HG 8x32 - SWEEEET image, a bit heavy and not as bright as some others but wonderfully contrasty and sharp.

Leica Trinovid 7x42 - The finest binoculars I've ever looked through or owned, although a bit heavy.

B&L Discoverer 7x42 and 10x42 - The best mid-priced full-size binoculars available, get them while they last (which won't be much longer!).

Zeiss Victory 8x20 - Loved them until I bought my Nikon 10x25's, now I rarely use them any more.

Brunton Echo 8x25 - The best budget compact binoculars on the market, under $80 with performance close to models in the $300-400 price range.

Minox BD 8x32 - My most used 8x32's, excellent 400ft. FOV and image quality that is close to the Nikon HG 8x32 without the extra 1/2 lb. of weight!

Pentax DCF SP 10x50 - The best low-light binoculars I've found, fantastic for astronomy as well.

I'll add more later as I think of them...

Best wishes,
Bawko

Here goes;

1 some brass things that look like Nelson used them, looked good but the lenses appeared to be lightly vaselined - binned!

2 Zeiss jenoptem, 10x50, excellant bins - 2 things wrong - first Biceps increased at alarming rate, after day in field (good for Armwrestling!), and prior to big day out, dropped on floor RIP

3 a series of Rusky bins we used to call Gnus because it vaguely looked like thats what it said on them, fantastic optics, sold only as far as I know in one camera shop in Liverpool, original Zeiss lens (pre Wall incident!)

4 after embarrassment in many a hide from Russian obscure bins-'Greencat ' something or other - Garbage

5 got married - Christmas present from loving Wife to seal new understanding of each others needs,and as a kind and loving thought - Bushnell Nature view 8x42s - the ,Dogs' not only great optically, lightweight and able to focus on small 'flitty things' insects!!

6 divorced, skint, looking for White winged gulls on council tip cause I can't afford to travel to decent birding location, hatch a plan;

7 Leica trinivoid 10x50s (need to work on those pecs!!) since then Heaven!!

(Future - I must bin my "space master" scope!!!!!)

zurtfox said:

Binoculars owned over the past few years, in chronological order:

B&L 8x42 Elite - A great binocular. Stolen, replaced with…
Nikon 8x32 HG - A brilliant binocular
Leica 8x42 UVid - Unsmooth, ratchety, focusing
Swaro 10x50 SLC - Optically brilliant, too heavy.
Swaro 8.5x42 EL - Optically brilliant, focusing too slow.
Nikon 8x42HG - Too heavy
Zeiss 7x42 ClassiC - Optically good, ergonomically poor
Nikon 10x42 HG - Too much magnification; too heavy
Swaro 7x42 SLC - Good twilight binos, too heavy
Leica 7x42 UVid - Sloppy, staccato, focusing
B&L 7x42 Discoverer - Poor optical quality
Nikon 10x32 HG - 10x still too much for me
Optolyth 8x56 - Horrible! Non-phase coated version
Swaro 8.5x42 EL - Faster focusing + added rattle! A lovely bino, but too big
Swaro 8x32 EL - Light, ergonomic dream, optically less than HGs.
Nikon 8x20 HGL - Focus wrong end, exit pupil too small, bins too small
Leica 7x42 - Now with added lube – much, much better

Bold = Currently owned

That’s it. For now!

Chris

Click to expand...

how did you get those ultravids lubbed? DIY job or leica custom shop?

matt

matt green said:

how did you get those ultravids lubbed? DIY job or leica custom shop?

matt

Click to expand...

Hi Matt,

None of those! I went out and bought a new pair! Leica started using a small amount of lubricant in the focus mechanism sometime earlier this year.

Chris

zurtfox said:

Hi Matt,

None of those! I went out and bought a new pair! Leica started using a small amount of lubricant in the focus mechanism sometime earlier this year.

Chris

Click to expand...

thanks for that chris.i expect when this becomes common knowledge a lot of older model trinovids and ultravids will find there way to leica service centre for a 'drop or two'

matt :t:

If I understand the parameters, this deals with binoculars which I did not keep
1. Swarovski 7x50 Porro-big and no better than a fifty year old Leitz Binocular. Sold.
2. Swarovski 7x42 Porro-narrow field of view. Sold
3. Meade 7x40 roof, bought in1985. Sold.
4. Eagle Optics Raptor 8x42 [now discontinued]-did not match performance of binoculars of a similar size. Returned
5. Fujinon 7x50 Polaris-too big, unpleasant distortions. Returned. N.B. This glass was made for marine and astronomical use, where distortions are of little consequence.
6. 10x40 Zeiss Classic-could not be handheld. Returned
7. Leica 10x42 BN-could not be handheld. Sold

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood

matt green said:

thanks for that chris.i expect when this becomes common knowledge a lot of older model trinovids and ultravids will find there way to leica service centre for a 'drop or two'

matt :t:

Click to expand...

Matt,

Older Trinovid and Ultravid models get very smooth over time, so it's probably not an issue. I suppose Leica was losing sales due to the focus mechanism. It originally discouraged me and I'm glad I took a second (and third and fourth) look! They were wise to make the change.

John

8x30 porros, bought from Boots (the chemists) of all places. Had them from the ages of 10 to 20. Dare say I'd think they were atrocious if I used them now, but as a child they seemed good enough. Collimation went out so bad I had to bin them in the end, didn't owe me anything.
Swift Belmont 8x40 porros. Had them for the next 21 years. Lovely ultra wide field of view, nice to hold, big, heavy. Adequate optics unless it was really dim. Poor eye relief, as my eyes got worse with age they couldn't compensate for it. Gave them to a friend for air-show use.
Nikon Sportstar III 8x25 compacts. Nice field of view, can compensate for rubbish prescription like mine. Ok for compacts, tend to keep them in the car for casual use.
Opticron BGA Classic 8x42. Got them last year. Missed the field of view of the Swift's originally but soon adapted. Lovely quality optics give excellent view (what there is of it), great handling, and they can compensate for poor eyes like mine and still focus at infinity.

Duncan.

My one-liners:

1. Japanese 8x30 wannabe-Jenoptems. Adopted from my mother at the age of 10. Blue (single) coating only on critical surfaces, no eye-relief, blue cast, low contrast, stiff focus but easy to view.
2. 16x50 Zuihos. I chose them myself (at the age of 12 I was a "power kind of guy") and learnt how to aim (3.5° FOV). Now I have two compact telescopes and soon I am going to have some lenses and BK7-prisms.
3. Russian 8x30 wannabe-Jenoptems (Helios, Tento?). Amber/yellow coating & color cast, sharp in the center, no eye-relief, loose but accurate focus, BaK-4 prisms(!), easy to view. Yellow push-on filters to "enhance contrast" LOL.
4. Minolta 10x25 roof. Compact. Left-handed focusing - still hate it. No eye-relief, low contrast, OK sharpness, wide FOV.
5. Nikon 10x32HG. Great view ...as long as I don't move my eyes - if I do -> CA! I hate the leatherette case and that golden "Since 1917" stitched on PVC. The devil is in the details.
6. Nikon 8x32SE. Beautiful (but small ) view ...as long as I don't move my eyes - if I do -> blackouts!

I still have them all.

I love the Nikons, but I don't like the idea that the binos make me adjust my viewing instead of me adjusting the binos. The same principle annoys me with the Microsoft Word, but that is another story.

Ilkka

Meade 8x42: amazing optics for peanuts, but the left eye cup fell out (I jammed it back in, now it won't come out at all).

Bushnell 16x50 : sold at garage sale for $10 to first buyer who expressed any interest.

Bushnell 25mm zooms: nice pair at 7x.

First bins-I'm 19 yrs. old-Bushnell Sportview 10x50's. "Why would a guy want to spend more than $29.99 on binoculars". Answer revealed whenever looking through them for the better part of a day-feels like head split in two with an axe. Eventually sold in garage sale for $2.00

Next- Want some quality. Lusting hard after Swarovski 8x30's. But, newly married and settle for Mirador 8x40 porros for less that half the price of the Swarovski's. These puppies aren't too bad. Many years of faithful duty, now somewhat unceremoniously relegated to being "truck bins".

Next- Discretionary income starting to rise. Finally get those Swarovski's! The middle finger/ring finger focus that seemed OK in the store begins to annoy me in the field. Sold to purchase....

Leica 8x32 BN's. I loved these binoculars. The view, the feel, the diopter mechanism. But my particular pair also had a gritty, ratchety, rough focus. This too became annoying. Sold to purchase....

Nikon SE 8x32's. My favorites. Has some things to not like, but can't argue with the spectacular view. Ain't gonna sell these babies.

Miss having some good roofs. Buy some Nikon HG 8x32's. Not quite up to the SE viewwise. But sure like the ergonomics. Ain't selling these either.

Next bought some Nikon HG 10x32's. I sure liked em, but eventually wanted to buy some other toys and something had to go. Sold.

Next buy some Nikon EII 10x35's. Have to admit main reason is because they are going to stop making them, but justify by saying I need a 10 power. Like em, but they pale slightly in direct comparison with the SE's. Can't say at this point that I would never sell them.

iporali said:

I love the Nikons, but I don't like the idea that the binos make me adjust my viewing instead of me adjusting the binos. The same principle annoys me with the Microsoft Word, but that is another story.

Ilkka

Click to expand...

Ilkka,

Well written. That is why my 8x32 SE sits on a shelf and I have an Apple™ computer.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :scribe: