Low powered bins (1 Viewer)

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Petrus82

Well-known member

• May 28, 2014

• #1

I'm looking for a relatively cheap, solid performing, wide FOV low magnification binocular! I've almost dismissed the various incarnations of 6x30 porros as they feel ridiculously light in my huge hands.

So, the Nikon Action Ex 7x35 seems to tick a lot of boxes. Would this be a good purchase? Can anyone recommend anything else circa £100?

 

Andrew Whitehouse

Professor of Listening

Supporter

• May 28, 2014

• #2

For that price I'd suggest these, which are very good:
http://www.vikingopticalcentres.co.uk/binoculars/viking-6-5x32-md-binocular

 

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Petrus82

Well-known member

• May 28, 2014

• #3

Andrew Whitehouse said:

For that price I'd suggest these, which are very good:
http://www.vikingopticalcentres.co.uk/binoculars/viking-6-5x32-md-binocular

Click to expand...

I had these and sold them. They were pin sharp, but the eye relief was too long for me and I thought they had a slight yellow cast.

 

perterra

Well-known member

• May 28, 2014

• #4

They may feel light but to me the Leupold yosemite is much better than the action 7X35

 

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Petrus82

Well-known member

• May 28, 2014

• #5

perterra said:

They may feel light but to me the Leupold yosemite is much better than the action 7X35

Click to expand...

In what ways?

 

perterra

Well-known member

• May 28, 2014

• #6

Petrus82 said:

In what ways?

Click to expand...

To me the image is sharper. Less of it so that may be the reason.

 

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PhilR.

Well-known member

• May 28, 2014

• #7

Your list of requirements describes the Meopta Meopro 6.5x32 quite well. New ones are beyond your budget, but here in the US at least, you can buy used ones for around $175. It would be well worth your time to seek one out....

 

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OPTIC_NUT

Well-known member

• May 29, 2014

• #8

Hurry if you're getting the Meopta 6.5x32 ..it's drying up some places.


6x30 is a hard size to make 'big'!
Yeah, the Yosemite 6x30 is amazing. The Vortex 6.5x32 Raptor is super nice, just to fill in the spectrum
with something chunkier-feeling.

 

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Protanope

Active member

• May 29, 2014

• #9

The Vortex 6.5X32 Fury is another good choice if found used that several BF folks have indicated is very similar spec-wise to the 6.5X Meopta. We have a set in our house as well as the 6x30 Yosemite. Though the Leupold is fine for a low cost first bin (my daughter's), there is really no comparing it to the Fury, for which I would not hesitate to pay twice as much if not more. In fact, I found the Fury approached my Golden Ring HD 8X32 much more closely optically than I expected.

 

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peatmoss

Well-known member

• May 29, 2014

• #10

Is there a Viking model that's very similar to the Meopro?
If so, it might be easier to find in Europe.

 

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Petrus82

Well-known member

• May 29, 2014

• #11

Had the Fury. Tried a sample at Bird Fair and like it. Ordered a pair and it was a dud. Collimation was out. No one commenting on the Nikon Action Ex....does this tell me something??

 

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peatmoss

Well-known member

• May 29, 2014

• #12

Petrus, actually I do have the 7x35 Action Ex. It is available in the US for around 107USD, and I think it is a tremendous value for the price that I paid. The apparent sharpness in the sweetspot is very good, as one would expect in a low power bin. However, the edges are noticeably soft. Moreover, to my eye, there is a yellow color cast to the image, and I noted above that you seem to find such color casts to be objectionable. Actually, Allbinos did a review of the 8x40 Action Ex, and I think that a lot of the discussion from that review are applicable to the 7x35 too. http://www.allbinos.com/260-binoculars_review-Nikon_Action_EX_8x40_CF.html

 

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OPTIC_NUT

Well-known member

• May 29, 2014

• #13

7x35 wides are good for local seeking/scanning.
I wish they had made extra-wide 6x30s (10-13 degrees), but those are extremely rare.
8.2deg actual sure beats 7.

 

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Protanope

Active member

• May 29, 2014

• #14

"Had the Fury. Tried a sample at Bird Fair and like it. Ordered a pair and it was a dud."

Yes, always a risk for sure. Though Vortex will replace bad units like that no questions asked even if one is not the original owner.

 

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Cluster

Well-known member

• May 29, 2014

• #15

I had the Nikon Action 7x35 and thought that it was very good value. The very poor edge performance (helps me to understand why manufacturers cut off the worst of the distorted field). I sold them as they didn't work for me. Tried the Viking MD 6.5x32. I had a QC issue with one, but ended with one that was good. For £99, it's a very good buy, IMO better than the Actions. Great edge definition, 8 degrees wide, good colour and sharpness, amazing close focus near to 1m.