mfunnell
Registered Confuser
Having arrived here while trying to research binoculars, I think it's only polite to say "thank you" to those of you (pretty much all of you who have been regular posters over the last few years) for guiding my research to a successful conclusion.
Having almost no knowledge of binoculars, beyond looking through some not especially distinguished pairs, setting out to find "something better" was a daunting task. This was especially so because there was no way I was going to buy anything here in "rip-off" Oz and so had to proceed by order from overseas. I won't waste a retailer's time by trying in-store with no possibility I'll buy from them, so my near-absolute lack of knowledge meant wading through specification sheets and online reviews - from people with unknowable levels of expertise (or otherwise) - which quickly became an exercise in frustration. (Note that I do have a fair amount of optical knowledge, through an all-too-expensive pursuit of lenses for photography. Think Canon L and Leica M, among others. But I had no real way of applying that to binoculars.)
So I changed tack: I have an existing pair of Nikon "Action 7x35 Naturalist III"s acquired 20 years ago, which I'd always regarded as "adequate". I have good thoughts about Nikon (photographic) lenses, so I looked into the "best fit" set of Nikons I could find in my price range, then looked around for comparitive reviews between those Nikons ("8x42 Monarch 7"s) and their competition - which lead me, with the assistance of google, to the binocular discussions here at birdforum.
It might be possible - even tempting! - to conclude that nothing would do but to spend $$$thousands, aiming for the (unachievable) ultimate binocular. But I kept in mind that my objective was "better than merely good", not "perfect", and that I was working to a budget. I found plenty to think on, along those lines, in the archive of discussions from around here. That forced me to clarify, in my own mind, my "needs" and my "wants", and led me down a somewhat unexpected path. I ended up deciding that I really needed two sets of binoculars - a "good" set and a "compact" set (to replace a not-very-good, but frequently used for travel, set of Tascos stolen from me some years ago).
After some rather obsessive reading here (and elsewhere; but mostly here) and after some complex calculations and trade-offs, I decided that my set of needs and wants would best be met by a set of Terra ED 8x42s and (with a little more trepidation) some Vortex Diamondback 8x28s. That didn't even go more than some tens of dollars over budget! (Budget being one of my reasons for excluding those Nikons.)
I ordered with B&H (actually two orders; to combine with some photographic items and keep each shipment below the AUD$1000 taxable mark on import). I then, of course, started second-guessing myself.
Well, after all that, my Terra EDs arrived this morning. And, in my initial use of them, they matched or exceeded my expectations in every way. Pretty much exactly as I'd come to expect from my reading of the discussions here, including, of course, some of the trade-offs. I still have to try them in other conditions (it's been bright and sunny since they arrived) but my initial impression is very, very, good.
Thank you, once again, for all your help. The collective wisdom of the forum seems to have guided me to something that I'm sure will suit me just fine - and likely better than that. I'll still have to see about the Diamondbacks, but even if they disappoint (which I doubt, given the different expectations I have of them) I'll still regard this as a success, since my primary objective has been achieved. So, again, simply:
Thank you all.
...Mike
Having almost no knowledge of binoculars, beyond looking through some not especially distinguished pairs, setting out to find "something better" was a daunting task. This was especially so because there was no way I was going to buy anything here in "rip-off" Oz and so had to proceed by order from overseas. I won't waste a retailer's time by trying in-store with no possibility I'll buy from them, so my near-absolute lack of knowledge meant wading through specification sheets and online reviews - from people with unknowable levels of expertise (or otherwise) - which quickly became an exercise in frustration. (Note that I do have a fair amount of optical knowledge, through an all-too-expensive pursuit of lenses for photography. Think Canon L and Leica M, among others. But I had no real way of applying that to binoculars.)
So I changed tack: I have an existing pair of Nikon "Action 7x35 Naturalist III"s acquired 20 years ago, which I'd always regarded as "adequate". I have good thoughts about Nikon (photographic) lenses, so I looked into the "best fit" set of Nikons I could find in my price range, then looked around for comparitive reviews between those Nikons ("8x42 Monarch 7"s) and their competition - which lead me, with the assistance of google, to the binocular discussions here at birdforum.
It might be possible - even tempting! - to conclude that nothing would do but to spend $$$thousands, aiming for the (unachievable) ultimate binocular. But I kept in mind that my objective was "better than merely good", not "perfect", and that I was working to a budget. I found plenty to think on, along those lines, in the archive of discussions from around here. That forced me to clarify, in my own mind, my "needs" and my "wants", and led me down a somewhat unexpected path. I ended up deciding that I really needed two sets of binoculars - a "good" set and a "compact" set (to replace a not-very-good, but frequently used for travel, set of Tascos stolen from me some years ago).
After some rather obsessive reading here (and elsewhere; but mostly here) and after some complex calculations and trade-offs, I decided that my set of needs and wants would best be met by a set of Terra ED 8x42s and (with a little more trepidation) some Vortex Diamondback 8x28s. That didn't even go more than some tens of dollars over budget! (Budget being one of my reasons for excluding those Nikons.)
I ordered with B&H (actually two orders; to combine with some photographic items and keep each shipment below the AUD$1000 taxable mark on import). I then, of course, started second-guessing myself.
Well, after all that, my Terra EDs arrived this morning. And, in my initial use of them, they matched or exceeded my expectations in every way. Pretty much exactly as I'd come to expect from my reading of the discussions here, including, of course, some of the trade-offs. I still have to try them in other conditions (it's been bright and sunny since they arrived) but my initial impression is very, very, good.
Thank you, once again, for all your help. The collective wisdom of the forum seems to have guided me to something that I'm sure will suit me just fine - and likely better than that. I'll still have to see about the Diamondbacks, but even if they disappoint (which I doubt, given the different expectations I have of them) I'll still regard this as a success, since my primary objective has been achieved. So, again, simply:
Thank you all.
...Mike
