In need of a break, so Mrs horace and I are planning a week on South Uist as a means of escaping the real world for a while.
Seems like a perfect excuse to invest in some binoculars. Gillian has some Trinovids (bought by me years ago) so is sorted. There is also a spare pair of old Opticron 8x42 which I can use, but they are too big and heavy for carting about.
What I really need is a pair of lightweight, compact bins with decent eye relief for my varifocals. I reckon 10x magnification will be about right. They will be used for general wildlife/birding in good light and in mostly open spaces (beaches etc).
I’m thinking 10x25 to keep size and weight down?
Budget up to about £200, less if I can find a good used pair.
Not quite ready for that level of investment, but I could stretch the budget a little if the gains would be worthwhile. I’m not really sure of the price point where the good stuff sits, though I know Swarovski/Zeiss/Leica are safe bets if you have the budget.
All very similar optically, more a choice of ergonomics. All way over budget.
Plenty of more than decent small/lightweight offerings from companies such as Nikon, Minox, Opticron etc.
GO TO A DEALER and try a few pairs, you’ll soon know what suits you and feels right in the hands.
Edit: Personally, I like the Minox range, I still have Lou’s old pair which were top-of-their-range when we bought them. They do offer smaller - and more affordable - models, such as these
I’ve got a set of hawke 10x42 that I’ve been really pleased with. British company and life time warranty. A pair of 10x 25 or 32 (depending on how compact you want them to be) would be around or a bit less than your budget.
Those look like good value - I’ve found them as low as £90.
The higher spec Endurance ED is also comfortably within budget.
I’ll do my best to get ‘hands on’ with a few options. The last time I used bins, I wasn’t a glasses wearer - getting a pair that are really good with specs will be key.
Like Paul said - try some.
I spent ages at the RSPB shop at Carsington reservoir and had a proper play.
Made me realise the big pair I wanted were unlikely to be ones I’d carry around.
Cue a complete change and a pair of tiny things.
They say the best camera is the one you have with you - that’s why I sold my full frame kit and went to M43. The same will be true of binoculars. If I can’t put them in a pocket or shove them in a small camera bag, they won’t get used.
100%. I had an enthusiast compact Panasonic which came with me everywhere and got some amazing shots with. Moved up to 4/3 thing with interchangeable lenses, it’s taken 10% of the pictures and lay in a drawer most of its life.
Spot on. I’d happily swap my m43 kit for a top quality compact camera that I could carry with me all the time. Sadly, they are thin on the ground and costly these days.
Caught myself thinking about another full frame camera the other Day. Gave myself a slap.
Right now, I am drawn to a good pair of bins at around £100. If they subsequently end up living in the car door pocket while I ponder something better, fine. If I drop them in the sea, fuck it. Better to be looking through them and occasionally thinking ‘this might be slightly better if I had Leicas’ than squinting at the horizon thinking ‘shit, I wish I had binoculars’.
These are so much better than any of the cheapo bins I’ve used over the years. I can’t believe how bright and sharp they are.
The supplied lens caps are individual push-on types, which are great for protection in storage, but will quickly become a pain in the arse in actual use. I’ve ordered a suitably sized rain guard and a wider strap from Opticron (very reasonably priced).
10x magnification was the right choice, I feel. That said, I wouldn’t go any higher than that. I’m used to 8x, which is easier to keep steady, but I’m not going to be dwelling on anything I see, so the extra reach is a fair compromise.
