If you could have only ONE binocular ? (no list). (1 Viewer)

[Paultricounty]

Have you tried out the 8x32 Ultravid HD+? I bought a pair 15 months ago and they have been my most used binoculars ever since. They are the ones for me.

If the x32 Noctivid came in an Ultravid housing, I'd be interested.

My non-plus-ultra binoculars would probably be a 7x32 Ultravid. I wouldn't mind a Noctivid view but it would have to have the ergonomics of the Ultravid. The Ultravid's industrial design is unrivalled, I think.

Ya think 🤔

 

[Thotmosis]

Today i would sell all my binoculars except the Leitz Trinovid 7x35 B and buy a donkey on the island of Crete.

 

[Ignatius]

Currently the Zeiss FL 7x42 - or possibly the SFL 8x40.

Or the FL after all?

 

[etudiant]

Today i would sell all my binoculars except the Leitz Trinovid 7x35 B and buy a donkey on the island of Crete.

Cretan donkeys don't go cheap, obviously.

 

[Pinewood]

Hello,

For bird watching, I find the Zeiss 8x3FL to be most suited to my needs: good eye relief, respectable FOV, light, excellent suppression of chromatic aberrations and sufficient resolution and contrast to provide a sharp view which is comfortable.

Stay safe,
Arthur Pinewood.

Hello,

That was more than a year ago. Although I could not ask more from a binocular, Zeiss improved on the FL with the 8x32SF. The SF has a wider FOV and more contrast, so it is now my most used binocular.

Stay safe,
Arthur

 

[pbjosh]

One bin would be 8x42 SF. I have other bins I use a lot as well but that's my best bin and the bin I enjoy the most.

 

[elkcub]

The Swarovski 8x42 SLC-HD (original) is my holy grail and the one I'd save first from a burning house.*

Ed
* If I couldn't save it I'd go for an Zeiss 8x32SF and replace it with the insurance money +.

 

[w.travis]

Currently in my possession are Leica UVHD+ 7x42 and Zeiss SF 8x32. They are the only 2 alpha's I've ever spent time birding with. They are both very nice.

If I could only have one, which is true in this case- it's the Leica UVHD+ 7x42.

 

[Trinovid]

If I could only have one, which is true in this case- it's the Leica UVHD+ 7x42.

(...runs out of the room to go look through his 7x42 HD+...)

 

[chill6x6]

Only one? I'll go with ED...either a SLC HD or SLC WB in 8X42. Completely armored, excellent optics, and seemingly pretty bulletproof!

 

[elkcub]

Only one? I'll go with ED...either a SLC HD or SLC WB in 8X42. Completely armored, excellent optics, and seemingly pretty bulletproof!

Chuck,
It must be a perplexing to manufacture a near-perfect binocular.
Ed

 

[gweller]

Zeiss 8x40 SFL for me. Excellent optics and build at a good price (1450 euros for me after the cash back). A close runner up would be the 7x35 Retrovid but the lack of full water proofing makes it a fair weather only bin.

 

[hopster]

Currently the Zeiss 8x25 Victory Pocket which appears to be pretty well as sharp as anything I have ever looked through with almost no optical aberrations - and I'm very sensitive to CA - whilst being bright enough for all (reasonable) conditions and remarkably small and light. It allows me to take binoculars basically everywhere I go.

If you don't wear glasses then you might find them easier to use and enjoy with simple and cheap rubber eye cups to stabilise eye position and keep out stray light.

Update: see this link for the best eye cups I have found:

Rubber eye cups for Zeiss Victory Pocket x25

I have seen a few threads asking about rubber eye cups for this outstanding optic. It is the easiest way to enhance both image quality and ease of use at almost no cost (~£5). I have tried a few and this winged one is the nicest fit (tight and grippy but adjustable), the best match visually...

www.birdforum.net

 

[Will K]

NL 12x42. My 'one and done' bino. I shouldn't need anything else, but I am a fool to myself and still want to try others.

 

[YuShan]

My Swaro EL 8.5x42 SV
I'll probably stay with that for the rest of my life, unless it gets lost or stolen.
All these beautiful times we have shared together...

 

[Bill Atwood]

8x40SFL

 

[Cest]

Maven B series 7x45.

 

[Ted Y.]

Canon 10x42 IS

 

[Trinovid]

NL 12x42. My 'one and done' bino. I shouldn't need anything else, but I am a fool to myself and still want to try others.

View attachment 1522643

The only problem is that no living man can hold such a binocular, sincerely, I-am-the-science!

Meanwhile, back in reality…man holds 12x binocular and lives to tell the story!

 

[norway]

The Ultravid's industrial design is unrivalled, I think.

Agreed; I love the way the Ultravid series looks and feels, and I find the way its optical design renders images to be beautiful; there's an unstressed and relaxing quality to it that's difficult to describe. (And although I've become used to the rolling-globe effect of field-flattening in other binoculars, I still prefer panning with the UV's old-school pincushion distortion.)

Probably there's some new-toy bias going on since it's the latest to arrive, but if I had to choose a single binocular, this Silverline would have to be it; the build quality is highly confidence-inspiring, it packs 42 millimetres of premium glass in a package that's barely any heavier and bulkier than most high-end 32s, and it just has that aura of being something special. It'll also age as gracefully as it gets for modern optics, which I think gives it some family-heirloom potential.

For me, they're without question the most-appealing ones to pick up, and would be the most difficult to part with. Unless I got my hands on the 32-mm Safari version, maybe...