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Best marine binoculars? (2 Viewers)

Any 7x50 is going to be as good as any other for marine use. It comes down to whether you want ones with an internal compass or rangefinder or not. If I was buying ones today it would be the Nikon Ocean Pro with the integrated compass that sell for $315 U.S.

Out on the ocean the internal compass is a lot easier to use than a separate hockey puck style compass to take bearings - been there and done that.
 
VS007 said:
Hello all!
Trying to find the best binoculars for a sailing yacht.
Already own Steiner 7x50 commander and I don’t like it at all
I bought EL 10x42 it’s good but FOW sometimes is not enough and 10x is too much on the waves.
What do you recommend and why it is no alpha marine binoculars?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Thread is a bit dated now but I have used Fujinon 7x50 wpc for decades. With compass perfectly reasonable price for knocking around on a boat .
 
No "alpha" as people have different priorities. All I needed was to be able to properly identify channel markers at night as a miss was not a recoverable mistake. I used a Bushnell 7x50 binocular for 20 plus years and the first 8 years were when making boat deliveries from the USA to the Caribbean and often in Force 7 storms. If they were lost over the side it was not a great financial loss.

One rapidly hits a point of dimenishing returns in terms of price and performance. And at 7x the imaging issues are much less apparent than with a 12x binocular. But status is also important for many and when doing my sailing I would often see men relying on an analog Rolex watch when a $10 digital Timex was 5 times more accurate, which is very important when one needed to use a sextant and tables to determine the boats location and not even satnav was available.
 
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I was a ship driver in the US Navy. I've spent many months at sea in every condition you can imagine on the bridge and out on the bridge wings. It is humorous the recommendations I've read in this thread. We used old B&L 7x50s on the watch and they were up to the task for the abuse they took. Optically they were a perfect match for the intended use. An old B&L Mark 28 or a Nikon Tropical 7x50 would be the best choice. A Nikon Prostar is fine, but unnecessary. It's intended use is astronomy.
 
Lowcountry said:
I was a ship driver in the US Navy. I've spent many months at sea in every condition you can imagine on the bridge and out on the bridge wings. It is humorous the recommendations I've read in this thread. We used old B&L 7x50s on the watch and they were up to the task for the abuse they took. Optically they were a perfect match for the intended use. An old B&L Mark 28 or a Nikon Tropical 7x50 would be the best choice. A Nikon Prostar is fine, but unnecessary. It's intended use is astronomy.
Click to expand...

@WJC
Hello Low country,

I think that you could include any of the Mark 32 USN binoculars, as well. I seem to recall that Chief Opticalman Bill Cook , WJC,regarded them all as serviceable.

Stay safe,
Arthur
 
I'm glad the ex ship driver was amused by pretty much every post in the thread mentioning or recommending 7x50s ...

NB. I'm surprised the USN didn't see fit to issue multi-coated binoculars - then again maybe with all the advanced sensors they have, it wasn't thought necessary?
 
VS007 said:
I’ve found it! It’s unbelievable
Click to expand...
7x50 SP? If so, there's probably nothing better to be had in this format.
There's a current thread on Cloudy Nights and it seems they're back in production after a long delay (Fukushima?) together with other legedary Nikon Porros.

John
 
Maljunulo said:
There is a whole flock of WWII B&L 7X50s on th infamous site.

Price for the better ones seems to be around $100-$150 US.
Click to expand...
Hello,

You are writing about 80+ year old binoculars. My experience is that those on that infamous auction site almost always need cleaning , often need collimation and frequently have oculars which are delaminating. Caveat emptor! The cost of refurbishing is about 40% of the cost of a new Fujinon, without a compass.

I did buy a Mark 28, forty years ago, actually new in the box, in a person to person sale.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur
 
Pinewood said:
Hello,

You are writing about 80+ year old binoculars. My experience is that those on that infamous auction site almost always need cleaning , often need collimation and frequently have oculars which are delaminating. Caveat emptor! The cost of refurbishing is about 40% of the cost of a new Fujinon, without a compass.

I did buy a Mark 28, forty years ago, actually new in the box, in a person to person sale.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur
Click to expand...

As I have stated previously, I have purchased most of my collection from sellers on ebay, and I must forcefully agree with your recommendation of "caveat emptor" .
Many of my purchases had the description of "slightly hazy", or "slightly foggy" or "needs cleaning", consequently I purchased them (of did not purchase) with the clear understanding that service was necessary. For years, I have dealt with an excellent optical repair shop (Mountain Optics in Oceanside, Ca) and Erik turned them into the quality that I was hoping for.
But, prior to purchase, I always read the description carefully, and many times, asked questions.
Also, check the "sellers history" . . . if the seller has a 95% plus rating over 5 years, that is pretty safe.
Beware of the seller that has done 2-3 sales in a very short history.

Happy Shopping . . .
.
.
 
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Most of the older binos had mediocre seals and moisture inside would soon result in fungus. A world of difference between using them on the bridge of a large ship and using them in the cockpit of a 13 meter sailboat out in the ocean.

If out on a party boat looking at pelagics there is not going to be a noticeble difference between two 7x50 ones.

The various gear review people only obfuscate the facts. Seldom are they first hand reviews and seldom by experienced boat people. I have learned to ignore such web pages entirely. Reviews on Cabelas or BH Photo by actual customers are what I trust.
 
Montereyman said:
Most of the older binos had mediocre seals and moisture inside would soon result in fungus. A world of difference between using them on the bridge of a large ship and using them in the cockpit of a 13 meter sailboat out in the ocean.

If out on a party boat looking at pelagics there is not going to be a noticeble difference between two 7x50 ones.

The various gear review people only obfuscate the facts. Seldom are they first hand reviews and seldom by experienced boat people. I have learned to ignore such web pages entirely. Reviews on Cabelas or BH Photo by actual customers are what I trust.
Click to expand...
That sounds exceptionally sensible to me.
 
Montereyman said:
Reviews...by actual customers are what I trust.
Click to expand...
Same here, and not just for binoculars. Whenever researching anything I try to find review sections by normal everyday people, but have found from time to time honest and in depth reviews from some of the full-time reviewers.
 
Montereyman said:
"Most of the older binos had mediocre seals and moisture inside would soon result in fungus. A world of difference between using them on the bridge of a large ship and using them in the cockpit of a 13 meter sailboat out in the ocean"
Click to expand...
You are correct. But, there are a notable few that were specifically designed to work in a wet marine environment:
  • Zeiss 7x50 U-boat (fat boy)
  • Barr&Stroud 7x50 CF41
  • Leitz 7x50 U-boat
  • Zeiss 7x50 "Smooth Ocular"
  • Zeiss 8x60 U-boat (fat boy)

.
 
These would work pretty good on a boat or maybe a ship! A 20 X 120 Kollmorgen Mark I 45-degree Binoculars. One of the most famous big eye ship binoculars ever made. They have a 120mm aperture with 20x magnification, so they have a 6mm EP.

www.luxxoptica.com

20 X 120 Kollmorgen Mark I 45-degree Binoculars

Kollmorgen 20 X 120 is known as one of the most massive “Navy Big Eyes” ship binoculars used by the U.S. Navy. U.S. Navy ships would mount a
www.luxxoptica.com www.luxxoptica.com
 
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