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Seeking advice - lightweight bino in the £150 range (1 Viewer)

M

MuskokaPine

New member
United Kingdom
Hello! My partner has requested a pair of binoculars for their birthday. This will be their first pair, for general use on walks and on holiday, to spot wildlife, boats etc.
Their main requests: small and lightweight, light enough to be left in a backpack without noticing, suitable for a glasses wearer.
My planned budget was around £150. With the help of Reddit, and lots of time spent trawling reviews, I've narrowed it down to the below options. I would be grateful for any advice on which you'd pick, given the brief.

Is there one spec that should be prioritised over the others that would make picking easy? ED? Eye relief? FOV or min focus?

BrandSpecEDWPCoatingEye reliefFOV (m)Min focus Weight (g)Price
Opticron Explorer8x32YesYesFully multi-coated181362.5440£209.00
Svbony SV2028x32YesYesFully multi-coated15.61362477£129.99
Hawke Endurance8x25YesYesFully multi-coated131193310£149.00
Opticron Savanna6x30NoYesFully multi-coated211403485£99.00
Opticron Savanna R PC8x33NoYesFully multi-coated201223.5428£119.00
Kowa SV II8x25NoYesFully multi-coated151081.5260£89.00
Vortex Diamondback HD8x28NoYesFully multi coated181011.83398£145.00
Opticron Discovery8x32NoYesFully multi-coated171311.2391£149.00
Hawke Naturetrek8x25NoYesFully multi-coated131192295£99.00
RSPB Avocet8x25NoYesFully multi-coated15.31192306£110.00
Bresser Pirsch8x34NoYesFully multi-coated171224442£169.00
 
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Just a 'detail'... it can often be tricky to offer binoculars without having had them tried !!! Even binoculars at $1000 may not be suitable, depending on the morphology of each, etc....
Maybe it's better to go to a store with just a choice of 3 or 4 binoculars, and have the person test them first.
It's just a 2 cents advice, no more ! ;)
 
You have a long list of options.....

I only have the Sv202s (all sizes) and Savanna porros in 8x30....from your list.

Unless someone has all these to compare back to back you are likely to get recommendations based on what each individual has or what they personally prefer..... binoculars are often rather personal with individual preferences often swinging the choice e.g. glasses wearer, weigh, size, CA performance, FoV vs sweetspot size, etc.

I regard the sv202s as good value and very similar to Celestron Traikseekers, which also get good reports for their price.

There is no perfect binocular, despite what enthusiasts say on here, so best advice I can offer is to pick one and try it. Amazon UK is a good place to order from in my experience, if you don't have a local optics outlet.

PS..... IME the x25 smaller sized bins can often be a little bit pernickety with IPD, eye placement, EP size, etc so unless you need the smallest option, it might be preferable to go for x32s or even x42s, to get the most relaxing option in use.
 
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That’s great research but none of the data will tell you or your partner whether they work for them.

I would urge you both to go to a shop and make sure they fit your partner’s hands and face and that they are easy to use. This would also allow you both to try their pre-loved binoculars which can represent great value for money.
For interest - I have a pair of Hawke Endurance ED pocket binoculars that were immediately comfortable but I still spent a couple of hours choosing (£129) they’re a double hinge design and my partner just can’t use them and we can’t work out why - good job they weren’t a gift !

Or as an alternative why not make it into a great excuse for a good day out ?
Lots of RSPB reserves sell binoculars (as do WWT and some County Wildlife Trust reserves). The RSPB have their own brand binoculars you can field test, with no pushy sales chit-chat (not that I have experienced pushy sales at any optics shop).

Many reserves have "optics days", for instance my local RSPB reserve in Cheshire has an optics day, organised with Viking Optics in a couple of weeks.

also, Opticron run regular open events see this link

Good Luck and enjoy the experience
 
The Svbony SV202 8x32 doesn't work with glasses for me. The view is too truncated.
A cheap bino working with glasses would be the Nikon Action EX 7x35 for instance. Or the Opticron Adventurer T WP 6.5x32.
Edit: and without glasses, the "wiggle room" to focus "beyond infinity" (important when one is short sighted) is very small with the SV202 8x32. So for somebody who is very short sighted, the bino might not work with or without glasses.
So buying from a store with easy returns is a must.
 
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Take a look at the Opticron Taiga 8x25. Excellent value for general use, well made, very good optical quality with their reverse porro design and a shade under £100. You will be surprised how good they are.
 
Binocollector said:
The Svbony SV202 8x32 doesn't work with glasses for me. The view is too truncated.
A cheap bino working with glasses would be the Nikon Action EX 7x35 for instance. Or the Opticron Adventurer T WP 6.5x32.
Edit: and without glasses, the "wiggle room" to focus "beyond infinity" (important when one is short sighted) is very small with the SV202 8x32. So for somebody who is very short sighted, the bino might not work with or without glasses.
So buying from a store with easy returns is a must.
Click to expand...
To add ....
The Adventure T WP 6.5x32 works for me with glasses, but does not without (-6.5 dioptre glasses). The sv202 8x32 and Celestron Ultima 8x32 (same as Adventure T) just about accommodate me without glasses.
 
@exup
It seems, there is quite some variation between specimen. My SV202 is almost at the limit of the focusing range when using it to look at the stars. And I just have 1.5 and 1.7 (short sighted). But I noticed the same with my Kowa BDII 6.5x32, while others reported no such issues with this model. However the Kowa has much better eye relief.
 
Binocollector said:
@exup
It seems, there is quite some variation between specimen. My SV202 is almost at the limit of the focusing range when using it to look at the stars. And I just have 1.5 and 1.7 (short sighted). But I noticed the same with my Kowa BDII 6.5x32, while others reported no such issues with this model. However the Kowa has much better eye relief.
Click to expand...
Ah ......
I have 2-off 10x50s, 2-off 10x42s, 2-off 8x32s and 1-off 8x42 SV202s. They live in different locations, but from memory, I believe these specimens are consistent between same sizes.
Just checked the ones I have to hand and the 8x32 is at the limit of about -6.5 and the 10x50 goes a bit past it ..... maybe -7.5+?

I don't have the Kowa, but considered it at one point and decided to get porros instead (Adventure T x6.5 on your recommendation if I recall correctly 😁).
 
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Hi,

first of all, a warm welcome to birdforum!

If use with glasses is mandatory, eye relief is a crucial parameter - 17-18 mm will do the trick for most, but not all glasses. Some people can ge away with as low as 15mm, but that might change with your next prescription and/or frame.

If going used is an option and budget is a bit flexible, this would be my pick:

London Camera Exchange

The London Camera Exchange supplies second hand cameras, new cameras, digital cameras and other camera equipment and provides a camera part exchange in photographic shops all over England, UK.
www.lcegroup.co.uk

Quite a bit beyond budget at 250 quid and a bit on the heavy side at 600g, these were Opticron's second tier offering in the early to mid 2010s - priced at 400 quid and intended to compete in the 500-700 price bracket. On the flip side you get a Made in Japan pair with a magnesium body and a transferable 30 year warranty that has a fairly wide 140m field (with a huge sweet spot to boot) and a 17mm eye relief (remember the old optician joke - wide field, good eye relief, lightweight bins - choose any two).

Specs from Opticron:

Verano BGA HD 8x32 | Opticron

Click to view this page on www.opticron.co.uk
www.opticron.co.uk www.opticron.co.uk

Reviews from here:

www.birdforum.net

Opticron Verano BGA HD WP 8x32

Though I had planned on writing reviews of several Opticron products that I have the opportunity to evaluate in recent weeks this particular review was generated because of Eitan’s comments in his San Diego Optics Expo thread. The binocular in review here is the Opticron Verano BGA HD 8x32. It...
www.birdforum.net www.birdforum.net
www.birdforum.net

Opticron Verano BGA 8x32 HD - A real gem

These are an example where Opticron has pretty much done everything right: Specification: Field of view: 140m Minimum Focus: 1.5m Eye Relief: 17mm Interpupillary Distance: 56-74mm Height x Width: 128 x 122mm Weight: 609g They have a great 8 deg field of view that's sharp across about 90% of...
www.birdforum.net www.birdforum.net

New and from your list, the Opticron Explorer would be my choice - it has similar specs optically as the Verano but in a light plastic shell and of course Made in China with a 10 year warranty.

Joachim
 
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I would suggest the nikon prostaff 7s 8x30. Its ease of use for beginners makes this a stand out in the budget 8x30 category. The reason for this is because budget 8x30s tend to have blackout issues. You eventually get used to them and work around them but for someone's first time using them - its not a fun experience. But that's where the prostaff excels, along with being lightweight. Where it lacks is in sharpness and FOV compared to competitors, (There's a new version called the "P7" which has significantly better FOV but looks to have taken a step back in its exterior armor). But with that said, for someone's first bino they aren't going to really know the difference. In my opinion, It's a great first bino that fits in your budget - hope that helps!
 
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Binocollector said:
The Nikon Prostaff P7 8x30 didn't work for me either with glasess. It was even worse than the Svbony.
But who knows, it might work for others. I'm beginning to think my eyes and glasses are not the norm :D.
Click to expand...
That's a good point you brought up - I don't use glasses, So I can't speak to how well the old model works with them. So I suppose take my experience with the prostaff 7s with a grain of salt 😅
 
Mike Crawley said:
and, from all the divergent recommendations and reactions, you can see why so many say “try before you buy”
Click to expand...
Very true, or at least buy from a seller with good return policy. Where I live, there aren't many shops that still sell binos apart from the cheapest crap. Or the alpha-brands, which are mostly sold in hunting stores. In the past every optician carried a selection of binoculars but they no longer do.
Anything in between, like a Kowa or Meopta that you wanna try, you'd have to drive at least a few hours.
I tried a Kowa BDII in a shop while visiting the in-laws. Nobody here sells them.
 
How about Fujifilm KF 8x32
Current offer on eBay for £149 less £15% = £126.65 until 18.04.2023

Specs
Minimum Focus Distance: 2.5m
Weight: 470g (really 510g with strap & covers)
Diagonal Angle Of View: 7.5°
Dimensions: 130.5 x 138.5 x 53mm
Accessories: Pouch/Strap
Magnification: 8x
Eye Relief: 14.5mm (really more like a typical '17-18mm' i.e. usually fine for wearing glasses)
Field Of View At 1000m: 131.1m
Exit Pupil: 4mm
Relative Brightness: 16
Interpupillary Distance: 58-72mm
Lens Diameter: 32mm

Advantages: Arguably, the open bridge design makes it easy to use
Easy eye placement for 32mm objectives
Warmish but natural colour
Robust, Excellent Q.C. and...
Exceptional focus action with no play
Exceptionally sharp, for most of the field
No brainer :)

Disadvantages: Int. reflections when looking near the sun
not the smallest or lightest, but there's not much in it
you need a bit of cord to tie on the objective covers!
 

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