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best vintage bino for night time wildlife viewing
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<blockquote data-quote="FrankD" data-source="post: 3275317" data-attributes="member: 18544"><p>waterman,</p><p></p><p>The way I would approach it is to look for "sleepers". In other words, high performance models that not everyone knows about or just plain overlooks. I felt the Discoverers were that way. You could find them anywhere from $15-$60 on the bay a couple of years ago. Keep in mind that several of the vintage models I purchased needed a thorough cleaning before really approaching their true performance level. During that time I taught myself to disassemble,clean, reassemble and collimate many of the designs.</p><p></p><p>So, if you are just considering what I call "sleepers" then i would rate the Sears Discoverers high on that list. The Jason Sportscaster was close to the Discoverers. The Nikon 7x35 "Action" WFs would probably be my pick but they are many decades more recent than the Discoverers and similar models. You can find them for between $35-$60 on the bay.</p><p></p><p>The Swift models I owned were solid but I didn't warm up to them for one reason or another as much as some others from what I remember. Keep in mind though that the Swifts aren't what I would call sleepers. Everyone knows of the vintage Swift models so the price is usually much higher. Same things goes for the Bushnell Rangemasters and Customs. Great glass but you pay quite a bit for them in comparison to the others.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FrankD, post: 3275317, member: 18544"] waterman, The way I would approach it is to look for "sleepers". In other words, high performance models that not everyone knows about or just plain overlooks. I felt the Discoverers were that way. You could find them anywhere from $15-$60 on the bay a couple of years ago. Keep in mind that several of the vintage models I purchased needed a thorough cleaning before really approaching their true performance level. During that time I taught myself to disassemble,clean, reassemble and collimate many of the designs. So, if you are just considering what I call "sleepers" then i would rate the Sears Discoverers high on that list. The Jason Sportscaster was close to the Discoverers. The Nikon 7x35 "Action" WFs would probably be my pick but they are many decades more recent than the Discoverers and similar models. You can find them for between $35-$60 on the bay. The Swift models I owned were solid but I didn't warm up to them for one reason or another as much as some others from what I remember. Keep in mind though that the Swifts aren't what I would call sleepers. Everyone knows of the vintage Swift models so the price is usually much higher. Same things goes for the Bushnell Rangemasters and Customs. Great glass but you pay quite a bit for them in comparison to the others. [/QUOTE]
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