-
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.
Advice: Not too expensive toss in the pocket/bag compact binoculars? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Nosfedamus
- Start date
Ruub Gomez
Member
Yes, these are very nice indeed: however I prefer the 10x25 variant.
Well, the Opticron 10x25 Aspherics arrived. Focus knob was stiffer than all my other bins. The image didn't have a uniform focus either. I guess that's why I got them at a reduced rate of £40 from the original asking of £75 on eBay... The seller accepts returns so they went back this morning. Although in pristine cosmetic condition I think these were either dropped or somehow compromised by heating or cold conditions.
Hi
I’m after the same thing you are. A pocket bino for hiking, climbing, cayaking and traveling. And I also live in Sweden (so I know about the struggle looking for used Big 3.)
I bought a Kowa SV II 8x25 a week ago and although I like the optics, the robustness and the “feel”, the decent FOV and the price, I will return it because of nausea I haven’t felt when using other binos. I am by no means an expert and can only compare the bino to a Zeiss VP that I returned due to it being bigger than I thought.
I’m thinking about purchasing a Trinovid (although I’m worried about the non waterproofness - anyone who can pitch in on this? - and price.) The other option is a Opticron 8x24 Traveller but can’t seem to find any reviews about this binocular. The specs look amazing and the size seem perfect. However, I don’t know much about the brand.
Have you looked at the Opticron Traveller or the Opticron Aspheric 3 8x25?
I’m after the same thing you are. A pocket bino for hiking, climbing, cayaking and traveling. And I also live in Sweden (so I know about the struggle looking for used Big 3.)
I bought a Kowa SV II 8x25 a week ago and although I like the optics, the robustness and the “feel”, the decent FOV and the price, I will return it because of nausea I haven’t felt when using other binos. I am by no means an expert and can only compare the bino to a Zeiss VP that I returned due to it being bigger than I thought.
I’m thinking about purchasing a Trinovid (although I’m worried about the non waterproofness - anyone who can pitch in on this? - and price.) The other option is a Opticron 8x24 Traveller but can’t seem to find any reviews about this binocular. The specs look amazing and the size seem perfect. However, I don’t know much about the brand.
Have you looked at the Opticron Traveller or the Opticron Aspheric 3 8x25?
wanderlust1967
Member
Nosfedamus
Member
Hi, I actually had pretty much settled for the Kowa SV II 8x25 or 10x25 after trying it out in a local store. Then, before I could pull the trigger and much to my surprise, I actually was given the Kowa SV II 8x25 as a birthday present. Bought from the same local brick and mortar shop where I tested it, which is nice.
Because of Swedish winter weather I haven't tried it out much yet other than watching the birds at the feeder from a window, but so far I am very happy with it. I am a little bit torn, as 10x magnification would be nice, but I also now see what people mean when they mention blackouts and a bit fiddly to get correct eye placement with a smaller pair of binos. Maybe a 10x model in the future as a complement / alternative.
The thing I actually miss most compared with my old trusty no name 8x32 is the "quick focus lever", but from what I can see that feature is totally out of fashion and I have not seen it on any makers newer models. I guess it gives less focus precision, but I never found that to be a problem, for me.
I would buy the Optician 8x24 Traveller at a place you can return them if you don't like them. I bought a new pair of Barr and Stroud 10x25 Series 5 to test - they arrived today and at first glance seem very good. As it's getting dark I'll test them out properly another day. They are almost exactly the same size as my Viking Kestrel 10x25 which I like very much. I got them for £72 after a £10 Ebay discount for buying on the mobile app - an amazing bargain! Neil English liked them very much; see his review here: Product Review: Barr & Stroud Series 5 8 x 25 Pocket Binocular. | Neil English.net Ironically he said he didn't like the Kowa SV II 8x25 which was an alternative for me in the budget price range.
Having owned the Nikon Sportstar 8x25, I was so annoyed by the double-hinge and the eyecups that would never stay in place, that I finally sold them. Had the eyecups have a lockable position, I could have at least deal with the double hinge . But the countless number of times when I just see a bird coming out of a bush I put the binos in front of my eyes but one of the eyecup went back down, I have to pop it back up and of course by the time I did all that, the bird is long gone and I miss my observation… it enraged me so much that I was no longer using the pair.
I have not tried the Opticron Traveller 8x24 and sadly I have not seen a single proper review online! The Barr and Stroud 10x25 I bought were a step down in quality from my Viking Kestrels - but they were half the price! I would say for the price they are fine. But I expect I will be returning them shortly.
B
but I don't have the absolute truth
8 will always be brighter than 10
you can translate this page into english
Topoptics is a very serious Belgian reseller
good to you
Be careful, there is an error, I think
but I don't have the absolute truth
8 will always be brighter than 10
you can translate this page into english
La luminosité des jumelles
TopOptics fournit toutes les explications pratiques et techniques concernant la luminosité des jumelles
www.topoptics.biz
good to you
The 10x25 is better in low light than the 8x25 because of the superior Twilight Factor. The higher magnification helps you see detail better, especially in low light. I compared a 8x25 to a 10x25 in low light once, and I will never buy a 8x25 again in a pocket binocular for low light use. The 10x25 without a doubt outperforms the 8x25. The extra .5 mm of exit pupil in the 8x25 is not enough to overcome the extra 2x magnification of the 10x25. The Twilight Factor of the 10x25 is 15.8 and the Twilight Factor of the 8x25 is 14.1. The 8x25 will have slightly more apparent brightness, but you see more detail with the 10x25 in low light. If you don't believe me, compare a 8x25 to a 10x25 sometime in low light.
Mr Topoptics is a professional
Translate by google about the twilight factor:
In the technical sheets of binoculars, there are two parameters which indicate their brightness level. The most realistic and the most interesting is the exit pupil which is in fact the ratio of objective diameter (in mm) / magnification factor. Thus, 10x42 binoculars have an exit pupil of 4.2 mm, very close to that of 8x32: 4 mm. The brightness of these models is therefore equivalent. 8x42s have an exit pupil of 5.25 mm and 10x50s have a pupil of 5 mm. 8x50 have a pupil of 6.25 mm, 8x56, a pupil of 7 mm...
The other, misleading factor is the twilight index. He indeed considers that magnification is a favorable factor for twilight observation because it allows details to be better seen. The twilight index is calculated as the square root of the product magnification x diameter. Thus, 8x56 binoculars have the same twilight index (21.2) as a 56x8 model (56x magnification, 8mm diameter) which does not even allow observation in broad daylight and which obviously does not exist.
Translate by google about the twilight factor:
In the technical sheets of binoculars, there are two parameters which indicate their brightness level. The most realistic and the most interesting is the exit pupil which is in fact the ratio of objective diameter (in mm) / magnification factor. Thus, 10x42 binoculars have an exit pupil of 4.2 mm, very close to that of 8x32: 4 mm. The brightness of these models is therefore equivalent. 8x42s have an exit pupil of 5.25 mm and 10x50s have a pupil of 5 mm. 8x50 have a pupil of 6.25 mm, 8x56, a pupil of 7 mm...
The other, misleading factor is the twilight index. He indeed considers that magnification is a favorable factor for twilight observation because it allows details to be better seen. The twilight index is calculated as the square root of the product magnification x diameter. Thus, 8x56 binoculars have the same twilight index (21.2) as a 56x8 model (56x magnification, 8mm diameter) which does not even allow observation in broad daylight and which obviously does not exist.
That is laughable reasoning. When was the last time you saw a 56x8 binocular? The Twilight Factor works quite well for normal binocular formats. It simply means higher magnifications helps you see in low light the same way it does in daylight.
Twilight Factor simply means higher magnifications helps you see in low light the same way it does in daylight. It is a very simple concept and very true.
Jinac
Well-known member
Very simple indeed, to simple no ?
And I think we talking about bino on a static support because of tremor, which increase with the magnification, probably ruin at least a part of gain.
Furthermore, this name is wired, why the magnification increase the view only in low luminosity like twilight ?
Yes, this concept seems strange...but if it is "very true"...
And just a word on the "laughable reasoning", the reductio ad absurdum is a quite good way of thinking to show limits of a concept, if it's laughable, it's precisely the goal of this thought experiment.
And I think we talking about bino on a static support because of tremor, which increase with the magnification, probably ruin at least a part of gain.
Furthermore, this name is wired, why the magnification increase the view only in low luminosity like twilight ?
Yes, this concept seems strange...but if it is "very true"...
And just a word on the "laughable reasoning", the reductio ad absurdum is a quite good way of thinking to show limits of a concept, if it's laughable, it's precisely the goal of this thought experiment.
