School me on binoculars

[tmschuller]

Looking to upgrade my really old set of general purpose binoculars I’ve had for years.. want a pair to search the fence rows and my wife to spy on shenanigans the neighbors do…
I am sorta kidding but I have looked at some and am lost on a decent set to buy. I won’t be using them other than in the house. Might carry them out to the woods with the grandkids but nothing for hunting.. thanks in advance. Tim

 

[Mgderf]

Looking to upgrade my really old set of general purpose binoculars I’ve had for years.. want a pair to search the fence rows and my wife to spy on shenanigans the neighbors do…
I am sorta kidding but I have looked at some and am lost on a decent set to buy. I won’t be using them other than in the house. Might carry them out to the woods with the grandkids but nothing for hunting.. thanks in advance. Tim

I bought a set of Minolta brand binoculars some 30 years ago from my local tool rental yard.
IKR?
Seriously, I went in there looking to rent a pair of decent binoculars for a concert I was set to attend.
I was not looking to buy.
When I asked how much (to rent), the clerk said, "$8.00 to rent, or $35 to buy".

I opened my wallet and never looked back.
Great old set of binoculars that I use to this day.

 

[tmschuller]

I bought a set of Minolta brand binoculars some 30 years ago from my local tool rental yard.
IKR?
Seriously, I went in there looking to rent a pair of decent binoculars for a concert I was set to attend.
I was not looking to buy.
When I asked how much (to rent), the clerk said, "$8.00 to rent, or $35 to buy".

I opened my wallet and never looked back.
Great old set of binoculars that I use to this day.

I have an old Pentax set of binoculars that I still use but wanted something a little bigger/stronger? The grandkids use my old set.. heck I still have the old leather case they came in. I have looked at some of the vortex crossfire and diamondback models but have made a choice yet.
Wanted see what the other folks here had bought and see where I ended up. The old threads didn’t have much for me go on with new products out I thought I would see what INGO would inform me of

 

[Expat]

I decided to get a pair a few years ago. I ended up getting one from Alan at AAOptics. They were blems or reconditioned ones. They have been great for what I use the for, checking for critters in the garden, getting a closer look at birds, seeing what the neighbor is doing…

 

[OneBadV8]

Thought maybe the birding crowd would show up on this one.

@42769vette would be a good resource too

 

[snapping turtle]

The higher the magnification the less steady in the field or home use and harder to get to what you are looking at.
If home and say a nice walk around the fields then you don't need huge mountain goat style Binos. 8-10 power is fine.
The price goes up greatly for little improvement just like scopes.

Ps most of mine are old like others have stated or were lost and found and added to the collection

 

[42769vette]

The higher the mag, the closer the image appears.

The higher the mag the harder it is to keep steady. Most folks can use without a tripod 12x and below. Once you get above that, it's hard to use without a tripod.

First question I would have is how far away are those fence rows, and neighbors.

Second question I would have is what price range do you want to be in. Like most things optics related, the right product breaks down to purpose and price.

As a general rule of thumb, the 10x42 is considered the do all size.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I've gone through several pairs over the years, mostly for birding. I've never gone over 8X in years past, since you give up field of view as you go up with magnification. Another thing for me is that, as I've gotten older, an inherited tremor has gotten a bit more pronounced and with higher magnification it's harder to keep the field of view stabilized. Eventually, my tremor got troublesome enough that I pretty much quit birding (and shooting pistols at the 25 yard range).

A couple of years ago, my daughter got me a pair of Cannon 10X30 Image Stabilizing binoculars, and I really like them. The limited field of view can make it a challenge to track an active warbler up in a tree-top, but the image stabilization feature is like magic for me.

 

[model1994]

you’ll see that 8x42 is typical and most often recommended, but I prefer 10x50 for general use. It’s bit more magnification and does better in low light. Unless I’m backpacking or have limited space, I don’t use my smaller pairs. Specifically, the model I often use is Nikon Aculon. They are lower budget and don’t hurt as bad when they break or are lost. I’ve used some $$$$ optics before but that quality is kinda specialized - depends on your specific needs for proper recommendations

 

[k12lts]

If you're not going for long distances 8x42 is a pretty good compromise of magnification and field of view. I deer hunt in open country and use Nikon Monarch 7 10x42. They are fairly compact and have good clarity especially in low light. I've found $500 is the sweet spot for decent binoculars. Lower dollar gives up low light capability and it seems you have to spend a lot more to gain a noticeable difference. My son-in-law has Swarovski 15x56 binoculars and uses a tripod. They are so clear and bright you can really pick up details on deer several hundred yards away, but they are $2500 plus about $400 for the pivoting tripod.

 

[Alamo]

If you really want to be schooled, go here and read the articles, then the reviews:

The Best Binoculars & Binocular Reviews Website

Advice, Buying Guides and In-depth Reviews on the Best Binoculars, Monoculars & Night Vision Devices for Bird Watching, Wildlife, Safaris, Travel, Hunting, Sailing and much, much more

www.bestbinocularsreviews.com

This is not one of those review aggregator sites that is simply a robot that pulls together other reviews across the Internet. This is a fanatic, one guy, who goes into detail about how binoculars work of them what the different features in for, and how to choose the best binocular for whatever you wanna do. Well worth the time to study if you’re gonna invest in a decent pair of binoculars. I found it very useful.

Here’s how he describes his site:

My interest in binoculars and indeed in optics in general began whilst I was working as a safari guide (field guide) in South Africa, where as part of my job, I used bins almost every single day. The idea for The Best Binocular Reviews website came about from the frustration I felt whilst looking for a new pair for myself - It was really difficult to find any good information as well as unbiased and objective evaluations on the web about any of the models I was interested in.

Thus the aim of this site (BBR) is to help in some small way by providing useful information on binoculars and related optical products, as well as completely unbiased reviews on selected products and brands and offer tips and guides to those looking into buying a pair.

 

[Limpy88]

Using mine for woods duty. I picked up some 8x42 ziess conquest. I got a great deal new. The best under $1000 glass for sure. To get to better glass than this is almost 2k. Out of the budget for now.
I have a kowa spotting scope if I want to see long distance.
The 8x42 will give better light transmission than a 10x42 equivalent. The exit pupil is larger on the small power optics. You can always get some 18x56 for that large field of view and lots of light. But they really really big.

The biggest difference in modern optics is hard to see at first. Its in the last light when you will notice a difference. As well as how long you spend behind them. Your eye strain will be less behind a better(ie pricier) binos. In a store, it hard to tell the difference behind a $200 and a $1200. But use them in more situations and the nuisances will be come very apparent. And yes, $2500 pair of swarovski NL are visually better than others. But you can get about 90% of the same thing for alot less with other brands. The ole 90/10 rule.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Using mine for woods duty. I picked up some 8x42 ziess conquest. I got a great deal new. The best under $1000 glass for sure. To get to better glass than this is almost 2k. Out of the budget for now.
I have a kowa spotting scope if I want to see long distance.
The 8x42 will give better light transmission than a 10x42 equivalent. The exit pupil is larger on the small power optics. You can always get some 18x56 for that large field of view and lots of light. But they really really big.

The biggest difference in modern optics is hard to see at first. Its in the last light when you will notice a difference. As well as how long you spend behind them. Your eye strain will be less behind a better(ie pricier) binos. In a store, it hard to tell the difference behind a $200 and a $1200. But use them in more situations and the nuisances will be come very apparent. And yes, $2500 pair of swarovski NL are visually better than others. But you can get about 90% of the same thing for alot less with other brands. The ole 90/10 rule.

Zeiss are magnificient. Few years ago I found an end cap full of Pextax 8X42 roofs at the AAFES at Camp Atterbury. They were the price of a medium pizza and a TikTok dance so you can to luck into deals.


I like the new SIG binocs for the money too. I used the Kilo6s for spotting over Thanksgiving. My buddy loves them and he has high end German stuff.

KILO6K HD

10x42 mm binocular with SpectraCoat™ anti-reflection coatings for superior light transmission and optical clarity

www.sigsauer.com

 

[Limpy88]

I like the new SIG binocs for the money too. I used the Kilo6s for spotting over Thanksgiving. My buddy loves them and he has high end German stuff.

KILO6K HD

10x42 mm binocular with SpectraCoat™ anti-reflection coatings for superior light transmission and optical clarity

www.sigsauer.com

Yeah sig has a good warranty on there stuff. In the last years alot of new companies have came along. Sig, maven and GPO are all great products and competitive well above there price ranges. Some sigs amd mavens are made by the same company. Just rebranded.

 

[firecadet613]

I just picked these up as a black Friday deal for my boys. I used them today, and they are pretty good for $20.

They are still in stock. Today's the last day of the sale price.

https://www.menards.com/main/black-friday-2023/barska-reg-10x50mm-x-trail-porro-binoculars/ab13864/p-1642874279462529-c-13917.htm

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Yeah sig has a good warranty on there stuff. In the last years alot of new companies have came along. Sig, maven and GPO are all great products and competitive well above there price ranges. Some sigs amd mavens are made by the same company. Just rebranded.

Mavens are the new hotness. Nephew uses them for deer hunting. Supposed to be good during dawn/dusk.

I have been very impressed with SIG Optics. Now if they are shrink some of their chunky boys, e.g. Bravo3!