Best low- to mid-priced monocular (2 Viewers)

[winginit]

My wife has taken to hiking and wants something very light and compact to observe the occasional bird or animal. When we are together and see something interesting, I hand her my Leica binos and she is content to look through them for about 20 seconds and that's it. So I want to buy her something that is sharp enough to have a rewarding, but quick look. I am considering the Hawke 8x25 monocular. I am also interested in the Zeiss 6x18. I tend to buy high-end optics, not because I have a fat wallet, but I do appreciate good glass, perhaps more than my wife. So maybe she would be happy with the Hawke model. I have heard the focussing ring is stiff and plasticky feeling, which puts me off a little. Any thoughts or suggestions--on these or other models--are most welcome. Thank you.

I have two Hawke Endurance ED monoculars, the 8x42 and 7x42 marine, very happy with both. The 8x is lighter and smaller than the 7x, but both fit in a jacket pocket. Because of the 42mm objectives they're good any time of the day. Btw, for lots of people it's challenging to hold a 10x42 steady.

 

[Ignatius]

American company Vortex has several monoculars on offer. This is their German website. I have no idea which other EU countries they supply, but from Spain you can easily order in Germany. Vortex are known for giving a fairly good bang for you Euro in the mid-price section, while their top range stuff is way too expensive for what it is.
Another company's offerings that might be worth a look are Kite Optics in Belgium.

 

[jring]

Hi,

I would really recommend to get either an ok pair of smaller and lighter bins than the 7x42 (a light pair of 8x30 like the monarch 7 would be great or if it must be smaller, pocket pair) or even better, take the wife to an optics store and let her choose.

Using a hand-held mono for birding is certainly possible, but the vast majority of users will prefer a pair of bins except in a pinch...

Joachim

 

[Ignatius]

The Zeiss 6x18 is really nice. Smaller and lighter than the excellent UV monocular for example and steadier image. No experience with the Hawke but as you like higher end optics you might find a nice monocular surprisingly handy and enjoyable as well.
YMMV.

Mike

Not sure how many monoculars I still have, but the Zeiss 6x18 is the one that has worked best for me, even over the Ultravid 8x20 that I had. With slide tube focusing it's very fast, and also has an incredible close-focus capability.

How are you guys faring with that slide focus mechanism? I guess it's a two-handed affair. Does it stay put or is it knocked out of focus if it touches the eye socket?

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Hawke Endurance ED

 

[Ignatius]

Hawke Endurance ED

What is the waterproof rating on those?

 

[Trinovid]

How are you guys faring with that slide focus mechanism? I guess it's a two-handed affair. Does it stay put or is it knocked out of focus if it touches the eye socket?

Very and stable and easy to use, and along with the 5x15 Nikon, both favorites that I'll never sell.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

What is the waterproof rating on those?

They're not submersible but you're fine out in the rain

 

[fazalmajid]

I use monoculars extensively as stand-off loupes, and surprisingly few have any real close focus capabilities, 2 to 4 meters is typical. Here are the honorable exceptions:

• Nikon 5x15 and 7x15 HG
• Leica Monovid with the screw-in close-focus lens
• Vixen Artes 6x21
• Minox Makroscope (discontinued)
• Zeiss 6x18 T*, but it's rather expensive for such a plasticky build quality and rudimentary mechanism
• Apexel 6x20, used to be available on Amazon at bargain prices, now more expensive on AliExpress

Models I haven't tried yet are the Opticron, Celestron, Vixen and Specwell gallery scopes.

 

[Jinac]

Apexel 6x20 ?
This one ? : https://fr.shopapexel.com/products/6x-zoom-telephoto-macro-lenses

 

[binolover]

There is a monocular that is very small but is very easy to keep stable even at 8x magnification because of their ideal combination of shape and size 8x21 his generic name is Turmon.
I experimented with the larger one 8x22 but is not that good, the larger field of view at first seems good, but it makes harder handling because at this small size the tips of the fingers get in the field of view changing the tone of the whole image to that of the color of the fingers.
There is a patent filled for it, and granted in 2016 that will expire only in 2032. I wonder if is legal granting a patent in 2016 to a company that AFAIK was not connected to that invention and for something invented before 1921, because in 1921 the monocular was already mass produced USD793462S1 - Monocular - Google Patents
Maybe nobody filled a patent and those guys took advantage and filled for something discovered long time ago.
The initial Carl Zeiss/ Docter 8x21 version is very good. Also were very good the 8x21 folding monoculars made by other companies as Nikula.
Later Steiner released the 8x22 version but a lot of people complain of being below Steiner standards so they stopped producing it anymore. 8x22 version made by other companies add flare and are harder to handle compared with 8x21 models.

There are a lot of monoculars of this family made of different companies and of different magnifications. Women love them because are so small and fancy.

 

[fazalmajid]

Apexel 6x20 ?
This one ? : https://fr.shopapexel.com/products/6x-zoom-telephoto-macro-lenses

Yes. Cheap but surprisingly decent as a monocular (just toss the smartphone clip, which is useless). The focus ring is not properly damped, but that makes focus acquisition faster for macro ranges at the expense of precision at longer distances. You could get it for £13 a couple years ago but prices have gone up.

 

[fazalmajid]

There is a monocular that is very small but is very easy to keep stable even at 8x magnification because of their ideal combination of shape and size 8x21 his generic name is Turmon.

I have the Docter one, for a while under the Noblex brand but now discontinued. The folding design encapsulates the essence of the Porro prism.

There’s a good recap here:

Carl Zeiss Jena Turmon 8x21 Faltmonokular (folding monocular)