Recommendation? Quality Binoculars

In my opinion meopta is the best for the money.They basically are a swarovski knock off . I bought some and have been Bert pleased
 
wow, those sound pretty great. nice big exit for low light too. thanks for the recommend, they may be the ones to beat!
 
rbmcmjr said:
You want a big exit pupil to maximize light transmission.

As Officer of the Deck on a Navy ship, I spent hundreds, maybe even thousands of hours looking through binoculars under all sorts of conditions: rain, snow, bright sunshine, complete darkness, and everything in between. No binocular I ever used exceeded the performance of these: http://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/binoculars/mt/index.html#mt_7x50mtrsx
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Those are well above the OP's budget. By more than half again as much. +1.5 times the budget.

It always amazes me that on BF so many recommendations (regardless of the type item) are so far outside the budget of the one asking. Happens multiple times every time someone asks for a recommendation within a budget.
 
rbmcmjr said:
You want a big exit pupil to maximize light transmission.

As Officer of the Deck on a Navy ship, I spent hundreds, maybe even thousands of hours looking through binoculars under all sorts of conditions: rain, snow, bright sunshine, complete darkness, and everything in between. No binocular I ever used exceeded the performance of these: http://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/binoculars/mt/index.html#mt_7x50mtrsx
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I have a pair and used them at night from the deck of a sailboat. No center focus but I could see things no one else could. Very heavy. I wish I had Popeye arms to hold them up for long periods. I doubt they sell for $300 now.
 
Being a birder, we went to the forums and there is almost concensus on the monarch 5's. The choices they were suggesting were the 5's or something super luxe and crazy which I wasn't going to splurge on. Lol.
 
Have you considered Eagle Optics?
Pretty good for the price (and in your range)
I bird quite a bit, and have been happy with my 10x42, going on 10 years now.
Other birders I run into with them are equally happy.

(ps: we call them binos or binocs)

Brome
 
leghog said:
Those are well above the OP's budget. By more than half again as much. +1.5 times the budget.
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Only if you insist on buying new. I found a clean used pair on ebay for less than $200 without looking too hard.
 
leghog said:
Those are well above the OP's budget. By more than half again as much. +1.5 times the budget.

It always amazes me that on BF so many recommendations (regardless of the type item) are so far outside the budget of the one asking. Happens multiple times every time someone asks for a recommendation within a budget.
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True indeed, I realize the parameters he stated. He could also ask the lady at Wal-Mart that works sporting goods for her opinion. Like another gentleman stated he could always go the used route.
 
I like Nikon Monarch series. I have the 8x42, but other powers are available and run around $300. When I'm out wandering in the woods or whatever, I tend to carry either my Leupold Yosemite 6x30 or 10x30 binocs. I really like them at around $100-$125. They're small enough to carry just to have available and waterproof and I take them in my kayak or canoe for scoping river creatures.
 
22-rimfire said:
I like Nikon Monarch series. I have the 8x42, but other powers are available and run around $300. When I'm out wandering in the woods or whatever, I tend to carry either my Leupold Yosemite 6x30 or 10x30 binocs. I really like them at around $100-$125. They're small enough to carry just to have available and waterproof and I take them in my kayak or canoe for scoping river creatures.
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I do the exact same thing. I carry the nikon trailblazer atb 8x25's more often than not. Waterproof and super lightweight. About $95.
 
neeman said:
I have a 10x25
Excellent
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We almost went with the 10s but we also go reptile (herping) alot and found that it's easier to spot reptiles to photograph with the 8s especially in high contrast sunny/shadow areas!

I got within 8 feet of a red-tailed hawk eating a hatchling red shouldered blackbird on our birding trip to Cape may nj I have to post those photos up at some point.
 
Meopta are a great value but even the Meopro series run 2x what the OP is budgeting.

The Nixon Monarch 5 is a good suggestion as it gets you into ED glass territory at a low priced entry point. Others you might consider are the Zen-Ray ED3 and Eagle Optics Ranger ED.

My most carried bino are the Vortex Viper 6x32 as they offer a great view out and take little space. They are quite compact for a 32mm OD making them not much larger than most 25mm or 28mm while offering better light gathering and ergonomics. I sold or gifted my compacts, which included Steiner, Minox, Pentax and Fujinon sets, after acquiring the Vipers.

You can save a considerable amount by buying open box demo units from dealers such as cameraland, SWFA and Eagle Optics. I paid about $200 for the Vipers mentioned and about $240 for a Zen-Ray ED3 8x42.
 
leghog said:
The country of origin for current Nikon Monarch 8X42 waterproof is the People's Republic of China.
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Didn't know that. My Monarchs (8x42) were made in Japan or at least that is what it says on the binoc. These were my first step above the "cheap" Bushnell ones that run around $50 at places like Dicks and mine date back to the 1980's. Seldom used them until watching elk one day and realized the binos would not maintain focus even at infinity and no wonder I seldom used them. To the trash (actually grand kid use) they went. I picked up the Leupold Yosemite 6x30 to use for woods deer hunting with a handgun. Wanted something light and water proof but still big enough to be comfortable. They worked great and have no complaints. The 10x30's got added this year from a Cabelas store on sale ($100). Been pleased with them too, but have not used them much. They will get a work out in a month looking at deer and hopefully a few black bear at the Smoky Mt NP.

The Vortex binos are the ones that I want to look closely at in the coming months as folks really like them.

I hope your Fuji binos work out for you. They were not even recommended in this thread if I recall.
 
Just so you are aware, Leupold Yosemite are made in the People's Republic of China too. Same with many products from Vortex. Vortex's higher end are Japanese.
 
At that price point, China manufacture on the Leupold Yosemite does not surprise me. China has never been a deal breaker for me if I feel the quality is there. I would assume much of the photgraphy lens glass is made in China now to.
 
22-rimfire said:
At that price point, China manufacture on the Leupold Yosemite does not surprise me. China has never been a deal breaker for me if I feel the quality is there. I would assume much of the photgraphy lens glass is made in China now to.
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For many PRC as the country of origin isn't a big deal. For many it is. Many just want to know one way or the other.
 
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