best Budget 12x50 binoculars search 😬 (2 Viewers)

[Tec.Man]

Hello friends,
I'm from Germany and often go out into nature with my girlfriend to observe birds and animals.
I have a very light Nikon 8x30 Prostaff 7s and a Bushnell Legend L 10x42, and now I'd like to get a very good 12x50 with a large POV for up to €1,000.
Unfortunately, the selection is so confusing, and finding the best one for my budget is driving me crazy. Please help me and give me some good tips for the underdog king for birdwatching, because I'm not ready for Swarovski yet 😉
The binoculars can be light, should have at least ED glass, and can have APO optics and a large POV with very good clarity, 3D contrast, and natural colors.
I know that Sky Rover is supposed to be great for astronomy, but not so much for birds and I'm worried about the quality control.

*Unfortunately, my English isn't good, so Google helped me translate this text.

 

[Geco]

Hello friends,
I'm from Germany and often go out into nature with my girlfriend to observe birds and animals.
I have a very light Nikon 8x30 Prostaff 7s and a Bushnell Legend L 10x42, and now I'd like to get a very good 12x50 with a large POV for up to €1,000.
Unfortunately, the selection is so confusing, and finding the best one for my budget is driving me crazy. Please help me and give me some good tips for the underdog king for birdwatching, because I'm not ready for Swarovski yet 😉
The binoculars can be light, should have at least ED glass, and can have APO optics and a large POV with very good clarity, 3D contrast,

I'm not an expert, but recently I bought a bosma Porro 12x50 Wild Wolf (130 bucks) and I have to say that I'm happy with it, it has good optics, very sharp. However, it is a bit heavy (1,180kg), I use it on a tripod or with hands for few seconds. My model is not ED, but there is also an ED version ( 200 bucks approx.) of the same binoculars that should be better, but I haven't found any reviews around. But with $1000 you can probably find better....Sky Rover Banner Cloud, i think....

 

[Tec.Man]

So far, I've considered the
SRCB 12x50
Vortex Razor or Viper HD 12x50
Leupold BX-5 or BX-4 12x50
Burris Signature HD 12x50
Bushnell Engage EDX 12x50.

I'm familiar with Hawk, Kite, Opticron, and the like, but haven't done any further research on them. If all opinions advise against binoculars in that price range, I might even be willing to sell my grandmother for one of those luxury glass beads from Austria 😉😄

 

[Geco]

Srbc

 

[Hermann]

Get a scope instead.

If you really want a 12x binocular, get a stabilised Canon 12x36 IS.

Hermann

 

[Tec.Man]

Get a scope instead.

If you really want a 12x binocular, get a stabilised Canon 12x36 IS.

Hermann

I already own a Hawke ENDURANCE ED 25-75×85 SCOPE, but this is very special.

It should be a 12x binocular 😉

 

[hopster]

I and others here have chosen the Meopta Meostar B1+ HD which has class-leading CA and generally excellent optics including being very resistant to glare. It does not have the widest FOV and is not quite as bright as the Swarovski and Nikon alternatives, but it's available at a much better price and there are often offers available. It's also very well built and with a 30 year warranty. I recommend you have a look if it fits into your budget.

 

[Geco]

If you'll use it a lot on a tripod, imho Srbc.......but if you'll use it a lot by hand: 1) Hermann's advice for stabilized is excellent (maybe with some sacrifice on brightness..) 2) or go down to a 10x50/10x42...

 

[hopster]

Oberwerk also sell their 12x50 SE porro in Europe from a distributor in Italy. This is much cheaper but optically still very good. I had to return mine though because of QC issues. It's worth a look if you don't mind taking a slight chance on manufacturing quality/variation. Any Chinese-made optics from smaller companies will have this slight risk.

 

[Tec.Man]

I and others here have chosen the Meopta Meostar B1+ HD which has class-leading CA and generally excellent optics including being very resistant to glare. It does not have the widest FOV and is not quite as bright as the Swarovski and Nikon alternatives, but it's available at a much better price and there are often offers available. It's also very well built and with a 30 year warranty. I recommend you have a look if it fits into your budget.

Unfortunately, the Meopta 12x50 costs 1600€ in Europe and I honestly don't see the point, because a Swarovski 12x50 costs about 2000€

 

[hopster]

A monopod (I use my walking pole with a slightly modified handle) will make a big difference over hand held with 12x.

 

[Tec.Man]

If you'll use it a lot on a tripod, imho Srbc.......but if you'll use it a lot by hand: 1) Hermann's advice for stabilized is excellent (maybe with some sacrifice on brightness..) 2) or go down to a 10x50....

I am fully aware that 12x is not easy, but I still want it because it is mainly used in the car or observation seat

 

[hopster]

Unfortunately, the Meopta 12x50 costs 1600€ in Europe and I honestly don't see the point, because a Swarovski 12x50 costs about 2000€

I got mine under £1000 during an offer. I compared against the EL and preferred the Meopta on several features: less CA, less susceptible to glare, not the slight blue tint. If astronomy is your main use, the EL would be better because of the wider and flatter FOV, but I was out last night looking at Saturn and it's largest moon Titan in the Meopta.

 

[Tec.Man]

I got mine under £1000 during an offer. I compared against the EL and preferred the Meopta on several features: less CA, less susceptible to glare, not the slight blue tint. If astronomy is your main use, the EL would be better because of the wider and flatter FOV, but I was out last night looking at Saturn and it's largest moon Titan in the Meopta.

Very good Deal 👍
For €1,000, I'd probably buy the Meopta right away 😉
The Vortex Razor HD 12x50 costs a little over €1,000 and has an APO optic, weighs less than 1kg and a wide field of view, which is why I would currently prefer it to the Meopta.

 

[hopster]

Have you considered secondhand with a warranty from a dealer? The EL does come up sometimes and won't be far off £1000 in the UK, maybe a little more. Swarovski have an excellent reputation for being able to maintain older models when necessary.

 

[Geco]

I got mine under £1000 during an offer. I compared against the EL and preferred the Meopta on several features: less CA, less susceptible to glare, not the slight blue tint. If astronomy is your main use, the EL would be better because of the wider and flatter FOV, but I was out last night looking at Saturn and it's largest moon Titan in the Meopta.

EL have a blue tint? OMG, I hate blue tint because It makes everything paler, It dulls the joy of images and colors...I have P7 8x30 which is a beautiful lightweight binocular very sharp and with a large field of view that is a pleasure to use, but it has a slight blue tint, damn, and so I often prefer to use the Shuntu 8x42 Ed which despite having a field of almost 10 degrees narrower, gives me beautiful warm, saturated and bright images on the colors, making me see very colorful birds....

 

[hopster]

EL have a blue tint? OMG, I hate blue tint because It makes everything paler, It dulls the joy of images and colors.....

For me, yes it does slightly. You notice it on water, mist/fog, clouds. We are talking fine judgements here though, it's an excellent optic and if I was forced to have it instead I wouldn't complain!

In general mist and fog is a great test to compare against the naked eye for colour shifts. The most obvious case in a top optic was the original Zeiss SF: the green tint was so clear. Some people claim that this is no longer the case. I haven't looked at a recent model.

 

[Tec.Man]

Have you considered secondhand with a warranty from a dealer? The EL does come up sometimes and won't be far off £1000 in the UK, maybe a little more. Swarovski have an excellent reputation for being able to maintain older models when necessary.

Yes, the EL is currently on sale, and I've been thinking about buying a 12x50 if the price drops below €2,000. I'm just wondering if the Swarovski is twice as good as the Vortex Razor for €1,100 😬

 

[Geco]

For me, yes it does slightly. You notice it on water, mist/fog, clouds. We are talking fine judgements here though, it's an excellent optic and if I was forced to have it instead I wouldn't complain!

In general mist and fog is a great test to compare against the naked eye for colour shifts. The most obvious case in a top optic was the original Zeiss SF: the green tint was so clear. Some people claim that this is no longer the case. I haven't looked at a recent model.

Yes,with humidity in the air it's even worse .I tested the binoculars side by side on the roof of the car and there is a notable aesthetic difference between binoculars with a cold tint and binoculars with a warm tint (I'm not talking about the ugly yellow-brownish tint of certain vintage urss lenses...). and for my personal taste, cold tints in general dull the images, sadden them, they kill them.

PS: Trust the aesthetic taste of an Italian ;-)

 

[hopster]

Yes.I tested the binoculars side by side on the roof of the car and there is a notable aesthetic difference between binoculars with a cold tint and binoculars with a warm tint (I'm not talking about the ugly yellow-brownish tint of certain vintage red lenses...). and for my personal taste, cold tints in general dull the images, they kill them.

PS: Trust the aesthetic taste of an Italian ;-)

My preference in top optics are those that don't filter out the red end of the spectrum. Although it's a slight generalisation, most do to some extent, including Zeiss and Swarovski, and this robs the image of its natural warmth. Companies that avoid this are Leica, Nikon and Meopta. I wonder if it's a coincidence that photography is the main business of the first two.