Binocular help, please.

C

Creepo

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Dec 16, 2008
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My brothers looking to get some binoculars something under the 100$ price tag.
Just for general use in their summer cottage and at the lake.
We came to the conclusion that something with a 10 or 12x magnification and a 40-50mm lens.
I just personally don't know much about binoculars or especially about different brands.

Please help me out and list some good brands and brands I need to steer away from.
Cause I don't want him to go and spend his money on stuff that'll have all kinda defects and bad features.

Thanks. :D
 
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If you are really going with 10x or 12x do not get any smaller than 50mm. I suggest you rethink the power and go with a 8x 42mm or 50mm. They really do work better than the zooms and better than the higher power stuff. Try and stop in at a shop that will let you look through them if available.
 
if they are not going to be attached to a tripod or other stabilized platform, i would recommend against the 10x, and especially against the 12x.

8x are about the limit most people can hold steady off hand.

all my optics are well above your $100 limit, so i can't recommend anything in that price range. i own steiners, leicas, and a pair of audubons.

check out eagleoptics.com. they have a good selection and if you call them they will be able to help you find the best optic within your price range.

good luck and let us know what you decide on!
 
Zoom is considered a no-no in the binoculars community UNLESS they are the high-end ones. Low end zoom binoculars will fail on you. Check http://www.bigbinoculars.com/nozooms.htm for further explanation. And yes, stray away from the 10X + binoculars unless you have a tripod to use with it. Be sure to get ones with the Bak4 prism.
 
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If you get a chance to visit a shop and test some binocs, take them outside. I've seen a bunch of people looking at the outside scenery through expensive binocs from inside a shop. I fear that the quality of the shop's window glass will be a limiting factor and these folks will have a hard time discerning small differences between binocs.

DancesWithKnives
 
The Nikon Action 10 x 50 are real nice. Like the others said though some 8 x 42s are a bit nicer for useing, you don't have to keep them as steady in the hand.
 
Good advice so far re: avoiding higher power like 10x or 12x - also for under $100 avoid zooms too as they compromise visual quality.

It is probably worthwhile reading

ConsumerSearch on Binoculars

this is where they claim to be reviewing the reviews - ie: survey all the available reviews and come to some consensus - seems like a sensible thing we'd do ourselves if we had the resources.

Their general advice on Types of Binoculars is very worthwhile reading.

But note as pointed out this is now 17 months old and there have been some dramatic breakthroughs in performance values at the $400 level matching binos costing up to 3-4x as much.
But I think the report may still be relevant for the lower/budget end at under $100.

I personally like compact binoculars - which have the advantage of being compact (obviously) and light so very portable and easy to use -
however they do lose out in lower light levels - but this is not a big issue for me.

Their pick of the compacts was the Pentax Papilio 6.5x21

I chose the Nikon Travelite 8x25 binoculars one of the "also rans" because I like Nikons for their high definition/sharpness at the budget end - but I didn't like the rather narrow view. (There is also a Travelite 9x25 version - but beware of steadiness and slightly less lower light capability when compared to the 8x.)

ConsumerSearch budget choice was the Nikon Action 7x35 - which would seem a very good choice and value. It does have a very wide view and is reasonably good in lower light levels. But I found that there was quite a lot of edge distortion - which is OK if viewing a static subject - but if scanning or following a moving object - I found that very disturbing - enough that I dismissed it outright.....

So as you see binoculars although there are common quality - still can be a personal thing - and it is important to try them before buying.

Note the top pick was the Nikon Monarch ATB 8x42 (~$250) - may be worthwhile trying those out and use that as a kind of benchmark?

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~$100 binoculars are generally a waste of ~$100. You just can't get good optics at that price range that will stand up to any sort of reasonable use in the "field". I find ~$300 is where I start to find a pair of bin's that will hold up for a few years and have adequate optical quality.
 
Perhaps the best advice in the $100 price range is the consumersearch. Aside from that, trying to find reviews on $100 binoculars, good luck; the market for binoculars is a much pricier one, with the median price is around $200-$250. Also, higher magnification generally means higher price, as it requires better glass because minor image problems become big ones at higher magnification.

I've heard the Leupold yosemite 6x30 and 8x30 is pretty good (around $100). Pretty much 8x is the best you can really use without a tripod. Perhaps a telescope is more up your alley, but again, same problem of price. For $200 the Sandpiper Stokes is supposed to be good glass.

Whatever you pick, best of luck. It's generally agreed upon that basic things such as collimination (alignment of the eyeglass and the objective lens, without it means that your eyes will strain to straighten a crooked image, or any movement at all will cause the image to blackout) can't really be done under $100, though the Yosemite is supposed to be pretty good there. Essentially, buy a $100 binocular and be happy, but there are no real good brands and bad brands at that price, nor are those binoculars meant to be a "good" long lasting pair.

Zero
 
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Price aside, I find that a 40ish mm objective lens tends to be a good balance between light gathering ability and portability. An 8x magnification will give great general viewing performance.

As a brand I like Pentax. Other companies may make better binoculars...but no one I've found so far makes better ones for the money. Really great stuff (although most is above your $100 price range)
 
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