Monocular recommendations (5 Viewers)

[William Lewis]

William Lewis, post 23,
We have investigated the foldable monocular you show in your post in comparison with a number of other foldablel monoculars from Zeiss, Docter, Steiner etc. etc. The results are published on the WB-site of House of Outdoor.
Gijs van Ginkel

Thanks for taking the time Gijs, what is the reference to the monocular on the house of outdoor website? It's all double Dutch to me! I've downloaded most of your studies on there already but haven't come across that one yet?

 

[Mark9473]

I actually followed this recommendation and got the Artes from a Japanese seller on eBay for $226 about a year ago. I believe they may have been discontinued, so if you want one, don't tarry. Very good monocular, but the expanding design means they are not nitrogen-purged or waterproof. They are what I EDC at the moment in my jacket pocket.

The Vixen Artes 6x21 ED is available again and, even better, about 100€ cheaper than it was a few years ago.

Vixen Artes Monocular HR 6x21 ED

ARTES MONOCULAR HR 6×21 ED - With High Quality extra-low dispersion (ED) Glass this monocular will give clear shap views. The ED Monocular has high reflective and phase coating...

www.astroshop.eu

I snapped one up immediately when I saw that.
I had very high expectations for this monocular, and it has only exceeded them.

 

[Swedpat]

The Vixen Artes 6x21 ED is available again and, even better, about 100€ cheaper than it was a few years ago.

Vixen Artes Monocular HR 6x21 ED

ARTES MONOCULAR HR 6×21 ED - With High Quality extra-low dispersion (ED) Glass this monocular will give clear shap views. The ED Monocular has high reflective and phase coating...

www.astroshop.eu

I snapped one up immediately when I saw that.
I had very high expectations for this monocular, and it has only exceeded them.

It's definitely one of the best monoculars on the market. I actually wonder why Vixen has not made this as a binocular as well!

 

[Tringa45]

I actually wonder why Vixen has not made this as a binocular as well!

Unfortunately that would require a complete redesign with internal focussing lenses instead of the helical focuser-
The low magnifications of these monoculars would only require a simple doublet objective, and as there is no room for large prisms and and wide AFoVs, the eyepieces can be kept very simple too, maybe only 10 air/glass surfaces in total.
With good coatings, transmission in the mid 90s should be possible.

John

 

[Eric_D]

William Lewis, post 23,
We have investigated the foldable monocular you show in your post in comparison with a number of other foldablel monoculars from Zeiss, Docter, Steiner etc. etc. The results are published on the WB-site of House of Outdoor.
Gijs van Ginkel

The link is 'A century of foldable micro-monoculars'?
Unfortunately the last transmission graph seems to be an error.
It says 'russians' in the caption for Fig.3, but the image seems to be the same 'germans' as Fig.1.

 

[albie...]

I currently have a good quality opticron 10x42 monocular that I use for bike touring etc but this lives in the handlebar bag, it's far too big to have on my belt all day.



Will

I have the Opticron DBA VHD+ 10x42 monocular . I just bought a hybrid bicycle for leisure riding and would like to bring my monocular along without worrying about it getting banged around or falling off the bike . What do you use on your bike and would you recommend it ?

 

[William Lewis]

I have the Opticron DBA VHD+ 10x42 monocular . I just bought a hybrid bicycle for leisure riding and would like to bring my monocular along without worrying about it getting banged around or falling off the bike . What do you use on your bike and would you recommend it ?

Hi Albie. Sorry for the late reply. Yes I would use the monocular on the bike, I used my opticron 10x42 one a lot whenever I went on a bike tour. Not going out of collimation is a bonus with them too.

Since I've had it I've mainly used my habicht 8x30 if ga whenever I've been on the bike, kayak or generally likely to damage something.

 

[JPJF]

Docter was bought out by Noblex and they continued making the Turmon for a while, but it seems it has been finally discontinued. I had the Steiner version and it was a piece of junk I promptly got rid of.

Hi Fazalmajid, I know nothing about this the photography word except that I truly enjoy going out with my son when he views/photographs ( mostly bird) in the field. I would say He is at a high level/ experienced photographer. I was looking to get him a Quality viewing monocular for Christmas, do you have any recommendations? Thankyou. -We are in the NorthEast, USA.

 

[tenex]

I was looking to get him a Quality viewing monocular for Christmas

Why do you think he would want a monocular? They're not terribly popular, and he gets that view through his camera eyepiece anyway.

 

[Trinovid]

...looking to get him a Quality viewing monocular for Christmas, do you have any recommendations?

One place to start would be in choosing a size range, as some are very compact and others fairly bulky.
My three favorites would be the 5x15 Nikon, 6x18 Zeiss and 8x20 Leica, with the Zeiss as my overall favorite and the Nikon as the most compact. Lower magnification on these two also makes them more stable in viewing, though the Zeiss is not as easily found as the other two.

 

[fazalmajid]

Hi Fazalmajid, I know nothing about this the photography word except that I truly enjoy going out with my son when he views/photographs ( mostly bird) in the field. I would say He is at a high level/ experienced photographer. I was looking to get him a Quality viewing monocular for Christmas, do you have any recommendations?

Quality monoculars are in the $150 to $400 range, so make sure he actually wants one before you splurge.

The Nikon 5x15 HG (“High Grade”) or 7x15G are very compact and well-made. They are not waterproof, however.
Otherwise the Vixen Artes 6x21 and Leica Monovid are other models I can recommend. If that’s beyond your budget, Opticron makes some decent monoculars in a variety of prices. Sadly their selection of premium made-in-Japan models has shrunk of late.