Mid-level Binoculars - Best Bang for the Buck?

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KnifeFury

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I am wanting to get a good pair of Binoculars to take hiking. I was looking through a catalog and have seen models from $40 to $1,000. My price limit would probably be $150, if not a tad more if it is really worth buying. When I was young my Father had a good pair of binoculars that we used to use to look at birds and other animals on hiking trips. My oldest son is almost old enough to start hiking on his own... so I want to be prepared!

I do have a very cheap pair at the moment (Multitech Survivor 8x22 Ruby). One of the lenses scratched pretty easily and I have not been to impressed.

I was looking at...
HUMVEE (HMV1050) 10x50 - Not sure about the ruby red lens thoughz
PENTAX (PX65809) 12x50 - A little pricey!
NIKON (NN7218) 10x50 - There is a 12x50 version that is not much more $$, what does the 10 to 12 upgrade really mean in performance?
BUCKRIDGE (OT1050R) - 10x50 - Fairly inexpensive (relatively speaking!)

...but I do not know much about the brands out there today. Any comments on any brands I mentioned? Or if there is something better out there? Thanks for the advice.
 
In the 1980's I bought a Steiner 8X30 military-marine binoc's. They have served on outings of all kinds in all kind of conditions. In 1998 I bought a a pair for the wife, and they were even better as Steiner had improved them by making the exit pupil bigger for even better light transmision. They are just light enough and medium size they can fit in the side pocket of a field jacket.

The price in a Cabelas catalogue is 200 dollars. Worth every penny.
 
Try binoculars.com. That's where I bought my Nikon Monarch 8 x 42s. Do a search for binocular comparisons; you'll learn a lot. Bird watching websites have lots of useful information.
 
i would go with the steiners as well. i have 8x30 military marines as well.

optical clarity is very good for the money.

i would also recommend the 8 power, the 10x are a little hard to keep stable.

of the brands you mention, pentax and nikon make very good optics, depending on how much you want to spend. both brands have binos for the budget minded and binos for the bird watchers, who are among the pickiest when it comes to optics.
 
I just looked up the Steiner Military Marine ST280 8x30. Those do look pretty neat. Next time I am at Cabelas I will definately look at these.

www.binoculars.com has the "Nikon 8x40 Action Ultra Wide View (NN7216)" on sale for $68.84 in there Holiday Clearance Center. This might be a good one for my first pair of Binos!
 
Thanks Again! :D

After I found out that I would get free shipping from www.binoculars.com, well let's just say I ordered the Nikon 8x40 Action Ultra Wide View for $68.84 final price. Although, I will need to look into an upgrade - Steiner 8X30 military-marine. Then I can give the Nikon to the Wife & Kids!
 
Here's a Birding site that has some great educational articles on what to look for:

http://www.betterviewdesired.com/

Here's a place with some smoking deals on "demos" which are usually refurbs. I've purchased from Optics Planet several times and they've always been great. One set of refurbs I bought had an issue and they replaced them right away.

For most applications you want 8x magnification. 10x is high enough that the normal shake from breathing can make it hard to keep the image stable. For most people 12x is only useful if you have a tripod or some other stabilizing device. A 50mm objective lens will make for a big pair of glasses to carry. For most outdoor activities, an d8x32 or 8x42 set should give you enough magnification and still be pretty easy to carry with you.

Here's a set of Meade 7x42s that look like a good deal for a little over $200.00. They've got fully multicoated prisms and are nitrogen charged waterproof/fogproof. IT's going to be pretty hard to get a really good set of glasses for $150.00, but you can get some pretty good stuff for a little over $200.00.

DON'T BUY ANYTHING THAT ZOOMS! Friends don't let friends buy zoom binoculars :)
 
NOTHING ok NOTHING beats stiener 8x30 M&M's for the money, They make hundreds of thousands of them for almost all the nato countries and they are terrific, I have pair of Ziess 8x40's that cost nearly a grand and the stieners are as good, and tougher. $190 bucks out the door at a lot of places, you just can not beat them...
 
Guntotin, I know a lot of guys like Steiners, but if your Zeiss don't look any better, then you should send them in for service. I've never seen a Steiner set of glasses that has the same quality of edge to edge clarity as a Zeiss. The center image is fine, but where a Zeiss, Swarovski or LEica really whine is out at the edges of the field of view. I'm also not a big fan of Porro prism designed glasses, I prefer roof prism designs. I also don't like the fact that you don't focus the Steiners.

As it happens, Optics Planet seems to have a deal on refurbed Steiner 8x30 M7M for $149.00:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/steiner-binoculars-8x30-military-marine.html

While poking around I also found a nice looking pair of 8x42 waterproof roof prism designs from a company I'm not familiar with; Vortex:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/vortex-sidewinder-8x42-binoculars-swd-428.html

They are under $200.00 and claim fully multicoated optics as well as BAK4 grade phase corrected roof prisms and nitrogen charging. On paper that looks like a hell of a set of glasses for under $200.00. They look like they're even offering an unconditional warranty like the big boys. This might be one to watch.
 
Pentax, baby. Don't even look at the others. :)

Seriously, I bought a pair of Pentax WCP 8 x 30s from somebody on BF a while back; slightly used. My eyes cannot tell the difference between them and a pair of Zeiss that cost over a grand.
 
I've posted before on my search for a great pair of binoculars. My search ended when I purchased a Steiner Merlin 10 X 42. I love this pair of binoculars! It is pricey but worth it.
 
Don't go over 8x on hand-held binoculars. Your hands will wobble so much that you'll get no extra information from the extra magnification.

Save up every penny you can, then find an extra $100.

Buy quality and only cry once.

maximus otter
 
I notice you are leaning towards something with a 50 mm objective lens. That's a big heavy piece of glass. Just about all 50's are pretty heavy and will hurt your neck on a long hike unless you use a shoulder rig rather than a simple strap. I'd look for something lighter.

I also notice you want 10 or 12 power magnification. For hiking and birding that is generally a mistake. You might be OK with 10x but hand shake and small field of view in 12x will make them pretty useless unless you are toting a tripod.

More isn't necessarily better when it comes to binoculars. There is good reason that 7 or 8 power with 30 to 40 mm objective lenses are the most popular combinations.
 
+1 on the Steiner 8x30 military binocs.

Well worth a good hard look and comparison with the more expensive brands.
I believe you will be pleasantly surprised at just how good the Steiners are for the price.
There are some bargains on second hand Steiners on eBay, but as always "buyer beware".
 
I've been using Steiner 8x30s for a long time. 12+ years, now, I guess. I use them for everything, and haven't found anything that makes me want to replace them. You can get better, but not at anywhere near the same price, or at a price I'm willing or able to pay.

J. MacDonald said:
I also don't like the fact that you don't focus the Steiners.
Click to expand...
Why? If you've got them set right, there's no need to focus. I think people tend to set them by focusing on something too close.
They're especially great for football games, and other sports viewed from a distance. Doesn't matter how great those high-end binos are if they're out of focus.
 
I suppose for fast action sporting events, the "auto focus" of the Steiners would probably be a benefit, but for critical viewing of wildlife, birds, airplanes, etc. , I find the ability to bring precise focus lets me see more detail in what I'm looking at.

When I'm looking at a bird sitting on a wire about 200 feet from my back yard, I can see the outline and overall coloring without setting the focus preisely on my Zeiss 10x40, but if I do focus them precisely, I can see all the markings clearly as well as seeing the flys buzzing around the bird.
 
Go with the Zeiss or Canon Image Stabilized for higher mags
Less chromatic abberation makes a helluva difference
 
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