binoculars for aquarium (1 Viewer)

[dries1]

Is that really what it costs in the USA to get a binocular aligned? I wish my customers would pay £157.

Overhaul includes cleaning optics, replace lubrication and collimation.

 

[iseegeorgesstar]

I like your reasoning. I'll take a look at the svbony, which sells for around $180. That said, the 26mm objective on my misaligned Bushnells seems plenty bright. 10 ft close focus is fine for the tanks I'm most interested in. To view the other tanks in my room, I'd need to stand pretty much against the opposite wall. Not the most convenient, but could work.

If you're going with aliexpress you can probably get them for less. Over the holidays they were close to $130 except for some reason the 10x50 sv202 wouldn't ship to (NYS, USA) but the other models 42mm and 32mm would.

Also have you checked if your pocket binos and can collimated at home? Probably not but maybe there's a screw somewhere.

 

[iseegeorgesstar]

It's way past your budget of $200 but the gpo passion 10x32 are discounted from $550 to $430 at camerland. Close focus is 8.2ft

Product Description

Product Description | Camera Land NY

cameralandny.com

But if you're spending mid-range binocular cash I vote for trying out the Alpen Teton with the abbe prisms recommended earlier.

 

[brhau]

Also have you checked if your pocket binos and can collimated at home? Probably not but maybe there's a screw somewhere.

Yeah, that was my first thought. I did a few searches on this forum and it appeared that it would not be trivial to do it myself for this model. At least, I couldn't find a step-by-step guide on how to do it.

 

[brhau]

Thanks for all the great advice, all. Looks like two good options are:

Pentax Papilio II, 8.5x21, $100 on Amazon
Svbony SV202, 10x42, $150 including shipping if I buy directly from the company (in Hong Kong)

Advantages of Pentax: Better field overlap at close distance. I’ll be using between 8-10 feet. Not sure how big a difference there will be in field overlap between these two models. Easier returns.

Advantages of Svbony: Better magnification and aperture. Not sure how much aperture matters if my Bushnell 7x26 are plenty bright. My aquarium has an overhead light that’s turned down to about 25% intensity, and there is also a cover of floating plants. Fish tend to like it dim.

What do you think is more important? Assume cost isn’t an issue at these prices. I could also get the Svbony 8x42, which would be closer in price to the Pentax. But the Papilio II doesn’t come in 10x.

Leaning toward the Svbony. Seems like they’re both fine choices.

Cheers

 

[exup]

The Extraordinary Svbony SV202 8 x 42 ED. | Neil English.net

I have many bins, many more costly than the sv202s. I have 2 sets of all sizes....so they get my recommendation.

It is not easy to get recommendations from individuals who have used and compared against similar priced bins.

 

[yarrellii]

@brhau Between those two the way I see it is that the Papilio is a "speciality glass". It is very sharp and the close focus is great, but it's rather small and handling/eye position/ease of use simply can't compete with a "regular" binocular, like a 8x32, 8x42, etc. Then there is the field of view, which is bigger on any of the Svbony models, thus offering a more immersive view (the Papilio would only shine if using the super close focus, which is not your case as you say).

Besides, outside of your aquarium, an 8x32 or 10x42 would be a more capable all-rounder (not to mention waterproofing are a more solid build). So, while I would say that I personally find a 42 to be quite a chunk, I think the 10x42 is a more rational choice. Maybe a 32 mm would be my choice, but either Svbony is really hard to beat for the price and offers a more "rounded" experience. So, unless the super close focus is a essential need, I would say the Papilio is a 2nd pair, not a 1st or main pair. And finally there's the price difference, the Svbony are (amazingly) cheaper than the Papilio).