Binoculars around £1000 (1 Viewer)

[Patudo]

some more thoughts that might confuse I mean help you 😇

I am definitely more of a photographer than a birder

if that's the case and you are primarily using binoculars to spot for photo opportunities, a lightweight/smaller binocular becomes more compelling. I also think (and opinions may vary here etc depending on your ability to get closer to the bird once found) that as the effective range at which you will get a good photo (this assumes you are trying to get good shots, not just record shots) is actually pretty short, a binocular with lower magnification eg 8x means that what you find in your binoculars is more likely to give you a good image. If I was lugging along a camera and my intention was to photograph birds I suppose I would bring a binocular along for spotting, but I think it would be something small and handy eg. 8x32 or 8x30.

for pure birding - 10x vs 8x - you can make a case for both mags, and a lot does depend on you yourself - for instance my brother is quite happy using 8.5x for everything, but I prefer 10x when targets are further away. I do recommend giving high quality examples of both magnifications a good trial, as 8x has some real advantages - larger field of view and greater steadiness amongst them.

It's worth having a real good look at secondhand examples of older Zeiss, Swarovski, Leica etc. as their mechanicals are very solid, the companies will likely service them for a long time to come and optically they are still pretty good to very good (Zeiss FLs, later Swaro SLCs). If you plan to be using them hard, or intend to keep/use them for a long time, solid mechanicals and durability can count for more than a few % more light transmission, or the most neutral colour rendition etc.

 

[Maljunulo]

It's worth having a real good look at secondhand examples of older Zeiss, Swarovski, Leica etc. as their mechanicals are very solid, the companies will likely service them for a long time to come and optically they are still pretty good to very good (Zeiss FLs, later Swaro SLCs). If you plan to be using them hard, or intend to keep/use them for a long time, solid mechanicals and durability can count for more than a few % more light transmission, or the most neutral colour rendition etc.

Definitely this.

Buy a better glass for the same money. (just make sure you are dealing with someone reputable)

 

[Evan Atkinson]

Hello again all, I decided to go with the Opticron Aurora 10x42s. These are some incredibly good bins for the price, everything feels very well made and it feels like nothing hasn’t been made to a high standard. The binoculars came in a big box full of packing peanuts and were in their case before I took them out. Inside there was a nice padded lanyard for extra comfort on the neck, and a lens cleaner to wipe off water or fingerprints. The eye cups are very sturdy and by rotating them 4 times, you fully extend them. Each turn there is a satisfying clicking noise of them locking into place. As for the size, they are actually only a few millimetres taller than my old ones, but they are much much nicer to hold and have thumb indents on each side to put your thumbs. When looking through the binoculars it is clear that the image is sharp, bright and warm. I watched a crow against a cloudy sky collecting twigs for its nest and there appeared to be very little chromatic aberration which is what I was after in these. In comparison to my old binoculars, these are a huge step up, and when watching birds in flight, the colours are balanced and bright, which was not something that occurred with my old ones. These are a huge improvement and I will certainly keep these for as long as possible. I would certainly recommend them for anyone who is looking for bins around £800. Below is an image of the bins compared to my old ones which are on the left.
Thank you everyone for helping me decide on these.

Kind regards

Evan

 

[iseegeorgesstar]

Hello again all, I decided to go with the Opticron Aurora 10x42s. These are some incredibly good bins for the price, everything feels very well made and it feels like nothing hasn’t been made to a high standard. The binoculars came in a big box full of packing peanuts and were in their case before I took them out. Inside there was a nice padded lanyard for extra comfort on the neck, and a lens cleaner to wipe off water or fingerprints. The eye cups are very sturdy and by rotating them 4 times, you fully extend them. Each turn there is a satisfying clicking noise of them locking into place. As for the size, they are actually only a few millimetres taller than my old ones, but they are much much nicer to hold and have thumb indents on each side to put your thumbs. When looking through the binoculars it is clear that the image is sharp, bright and warm. I watched a crow against a cloudy sky collecting twigs for its nest and there appeared to be very little chromatic aberration which is what I was after in these. In comparison to my old binoculars, these are a huge step up, and when watching birds in flight, the colours are balanced and bright, which was not something that occurred with my old ones. These are a huge improvement and I will certainly keep these for as long as possible. I would certainly recommend them for anyone who is looking for bins around £800. Below is an image of the bins compared to my old ones which are on the left.View attachment 1565285
Thank you everyone for helping me decide on these.

Kind regards

Evan

You followed your heart's intent -- congrats on the beautiful binoculars!