Binoculars are confusing without experience.

[Plcamp]

ASR* being a trusted technical resource, I thought I would wing a request for help so I make a good choice. I bet there are experts on this here.

*Edit: Looking for BSR .

I am looking for a good keep-forever pair of binoculars that will be dominantly used for…

a) watching birds up to 50’ away in my back yard (75% of use) (even at dusk).
b) other things like stargazing

Edit from feedback

c) Macro capability for close ups nice, not crucial
d) my price range is an uneducated one and I am willing to change it.
e) I’d like as much to hear about what you didn’t like if you bought something you regret and why.

…and my budget is flexible, I would describe my target as the sweet spot of value…not really knowing what it is that matters.

My dangerously semi educated mind thinks now that a circa $300-$400 CAD spend is likely the best value range, and my target should be something in the 7x-8x magnification range with a min 35 up to 50 collector lens.

Questions :

Given my target use…can someone tell me ‘what to look for’ and what my targets in last paragraph should be?

Any specific recommendations?

With great thanks in advance,

Peter

 

[Blumlein 88]

Hand held no point in more than 8x. Hand tremor wipes out any gain in more magnification. For what you are describing 8x42 is the size you want.

Not up to date on best value in that price range. So no specific suggestions.

I will say several years ago I happened upon a super good deal on used Zeiss binoculars costing $1500 new at the time. They were so good I sold my other four sets of binoculars that ranged on price from $150 to $400.

 

[Plcamp]

…I happened upon a super good deal on used Zeiss…

That’s the scariest brand I’ve seen (from a $ pt of view) so far…and also the highest ratings

I should look around for used.

Edit: I thought of some questions. (“One more thing”…like Columbo)

a) if you had to name one thing, what was it about the Zeiss that convinced you the other four were better sold than kept?

b) what were those others?

 

[BillH]

I’m an avid backyard birder. A few years ago I asked for the Nikon monarch 8x42 after researching options.
I believe the Cornell ornithology website or mass Audubon have recommendations.
As previously mentioned, >8x is subject to jitter. Aperture size mostly depends on how much your willing to carry on hikes.

 

[Plcamp]

I’m an avid backyard birder. A few years ago I asked for the Nikon monarch 8x42 after researching options.
I believe the Cornell ornithology website or mass Audubon have recommendations.
As previously mentioned, >8x is subject to jitter. Aperture size mostly depends on how much your willing to carry on hikes.

Have you compared that Nikon to others? Were there significant differences? That model did show up highly recommended in my queries.

I detect that the porro lens system (older tech) is (at equal cost) higher weight and better image quality.

Are there any other ‘truths’ like that a buyer should be aware of?

For example, lens material quickly increases cost…but is that (in DAC terms) the difference of transparency vs not -or- just the next 2 db on an already transparent SINAD?

More humorously, am I complicating this beyond all recognition like so often happens in HiFi?

 

[GXAlan]

Nikon always punches above its weight for its budget. In the US, warranty service is hit or miss.

The Pentax Papilio is great. It lets you have close focus. Highly recommended even if you have an alpha binocular.

The Fujinon HyperClarity line is great especially when Amazon has it on sale.

Canon imaged stabilized gets you better high magnification performance but you do want to buy new since they make small improvements over time.

Last, the Zeiss and Swarovski are really special in part because of their warranty and service. When you buy Swarovski Optik, you get good performance but you also get great warranty. This is true with used Swarovski Optik also.

Leica, like Nikon, has service that is hit or miss. Optics are not as good as Zeiss or Swarovski but color may be better.

There are some tricks that flagship optics do to “color” the increase brilliance and subjective sharpness. Birdforum.net and Allbinos.com are great resources.

 

[SKBubba]

We have Nikon 8x for handheld and 10x on a tripod. Anyone know anything about the Canon and others with image stabilization?

 

[BDWoody]

We have Nikon 8x for handheld and 10x on a tripod. Anyone know anything about the Canon and others with image stabilization?

I have the Canon 10x42 IS, and absolutely love it. I use it for general critter watching as well as some moon/star gazing. The image stabilization, to me, makes for enough of a better experience that I ponied up the extra $$ for it. It's well outside of the OP's stated price range, but since you asked...

It's definitely a splurge, but a buy once/cry once kind of deal.

 

[Vladimir Filevski]

- Magnification bigger than 8x is not usefull without tripod. But if you musts see microscopic details of the feathers, there are high-magnification binoculars with active image stabilisation (usually expensive).
- If you want to watch birds at dusk, the diameter of the objective must be 42 - 50 mm.
- If you are wearing glasses and want to use them with the binocular, "eye relief" must be longer than 15 mm for comfortable viewing. Don't worry, almost all binoculars in the price range $400-$500 have eye relief longer than 15 mm.
- If you want to grasp the bigger picture (more birds in the view), look for wider "field of view" - it should be more than 7 degrees (368 ft/1000 yards).
- If you want more compact design, disregard all "Porro prism" binoculars.

Popular choices are: Nikon Monarch 7 8x42, Vortex Viper HD 8x42 and Zeiss Terra ES 8x42.

 

[Plcamp]

I have the Canon 10x42 IS, and absolutely love it. I use it for general critter watching as well as some moon/star gazing. The image stabilization, to me, makes for enough of a better experience that I ponied up the extra $$ for it. It's well outside of the OP's stated price range, but since you asked...

It's definitely a splurge, but a buy once/cry once kind of deal.

I was kinda guessing at best value price range…this OP will go more, but my problem is I don’t understand well enough what matters. Best value is to spend x. What is x, and why/which candidates is what I am really after!

 

[Timcognito]

I have several pairs on three floors as I live on the edge of the Pacific Ocean on the shipping route to the San Francisco Bay so family and guests are always clamoring for them. Most are garden variety like Olympus brand. My two favorites are by Oberwerk, one very large pair of 20 X 80 mm on weight balanced tripod and the other is their Sport ED model that is compact and right in your price and spec range. Both have been excellent.

 

[ZolaIII]

Maybe you should consider looking at this other way around like for instance some entry level camera with lenses for a bit more money. Just a suggestion and for example (only):

https://www.amazon.com/Rebel-EF18-55mm-75-300mm-Double-Zoom/dp/B0101RW3QK?ref_=Oct_d_obs_m_3017941&pd_rd_w=aWR1R&content-id=amzn1.sym.5f1632c6-a3b9-4fd7-9ee3-d2d2dc3efb7f&pf_rd_p=5f1632c6-a3b9-4fd7-9ee3-d2d2dc3efb7f&pf_rd_r=YHG6BPB3MQHG29JP2MRN&pd_rd_wg=8gMXV&pd_rd_r=4d13e43e-1e4c-4cdf-b135-73d31853349b&pd_rd_i=B0101RW3QK

 

[Plcamp]

Maybe you should consider looking at this other way around like for instance some entry level camera with lenses for a bit more money. Just a suggestion and for example (only):

https://www.amazon.com/Rebel-EF18-55mm-75-300mm-Double-Zoom/dp/B0101RW3QK?ref_=Oct_d_obs_m_3017941&pd_rd_w=aWR1R&content-id=amzn1.sym.5f1632c6-a3b9-4fd7-9ee3-d2d2dc3efb7f&pf_rd_p=5f1632c6-a3b9-4fd7-9ee3-d2d2dc3efb7f&pf_rd_r=YHG6BPB3MQHG29JP2MRN&pd_rd_wg=8gMXV&pd_rd_r=4d13e43e-1e4c-4cdf-b135-73d31853349b&pd_rd_i=B0101RW3QK

We need a pick up and view-only-quickly thing…we do already have a digital Ricoh (Pentax k mount) SLR with a range of automatic zoom lenses for more time intensive high quality photography.

 

[GD Fan]

Recently went through this same conundrum to an extent. Without time or interest in fully edifying myself on the vagaries, merely asked a friend I know to be quite knowledgeable on the subject. Based on his advice I ended up with an Orion 10x50 wide angle with fully multi coated lenses (for night sky viewing, my principal use case) and eye relief for use with eyeglasses.

They'll be delivered next week, so fingers are crossed I didn't screw up the choice too badly!

 

[JeffS7444]

I sold my set of Leica 8x32BAs in favor of Olympus 8x42 Pro:
https://www.allbinos.com/337-binoculars_review-Olympus_8x42_PRO.html

Where I really notice differences between binoculars is in high-contrast situations: Tree branches, or the ridge of mountains against a bright sky. That's where chromatic aberrations are most obvious to me, and I have a hard time un-seeing them. Olympus had less CA than the Leicas, though I did like the compact size of the Leicas, and if Olympus had offered their Pro models in that smaller size, it would have been my first pick, but 8x42 is still pretty compact. Purchased refurbished unit from Olympus web store for <400 USD, whereas the Leicas were 2x+ twenty years prior.

Extra $ for Leica does get you a nicer case, strap, and I did like the focusing mechanism, which makes adjusting left and right oculars a breeze, and switching from close to distant focus takes just a quick flick of the finger with the Leica, but is a bit less convenient with Olympus.

Wow was Nikon's product lineup confusing at one point, with parallel Prostaff, Monarch-3, 5 and 7 lines, etc. But at least in theory more $ buys more apochromatic performance and higher % of light transmission. Bought a refurbished set of Nikon Monarch-3 8x42s (under 160 USD) to give as a gift, and there's no mistaking the foam/fabric case for Leica's deluxe leather accessories.

Yes, more visible CA than the Olympus Pros under the right conditions, but the whole set costs less than 1/2 as much as the Olympus Pros, and probably less the Leica case and strap alone! A solid value in a mid-sized set of binoculars, I thought.

Earlier this year, my mom asked me to get her a compact set of binoculars. Leica and Swarovski offer some appealing compact models, but I feared that my mom would feel the need to "hide" such costly binoculars for safekeeping, so I ordered her a set of Nikon 8x24 Trailblazer ATBs @ ~70 USD. Double-hinged like the higher-end models so it folds into a compact package. For daytime viewing without a lot of bulk or weight, they seemed like a sensible pick.

Porroprism vs roof-prism designs: So far I've only mentioned the latter type so far, because I was prioritizing compactness. But it's my understanding that it's easier for a manufacturer to get really good performance at lower price with porroprism designs. I do have a very tiny set of porroprism binoculars (Nikon Mikron reissue), but such things are uncommon.

 

[JeffS7444]

I am looking for a good keep-forever pair of binoculars that will be dominantly used for…

a) watching birds up to 50’ away in my back yard (75% of use) (even at dusk).
b) other things like stargazing

(emphasis mine)

Whoops, silly me, overlooking some important details! If not going beyond the back yard, why the heck not choose a big set of porros, the bigger the better! When bulk isn't so much of a consideration, Canon's image-stabilized offerings become an intriguing possibility. Haven't sampled them since the first generation, but even then, the technology was impressive.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Well about those Canon IS binoculars, if you decide to spend the money get them, they are quite good. After getting the Zeiss I was super lucky again and got an even better deal on the Canon IS 18x50 binoculars. I think mine are the 2nd gen IS system. I use them mainly for star gazing. You can hand hold them even for birding. I don't use them for that due to narrow field of view and size/weight(though they are light for 18x50's). I would suggest the 10x or 12x for all around use. Maybe go to a store and see if the size is okay with you. Also you find your object to view and push a button to engage IS. Some people don't like that extra step. After a few minutes it didn't bother me.

The plain optical performance in the pair I have is not quite equal to the Zeiss, but very good and worthy of the comparison. Mine originally cost like $1800 so hopefully they haven't reduced the basic optical quality on the less expensive 10x and 12x models.

Back a decade ago Nikon was generally among the best bang for buck and Monarchs were some of their best. I did think at the time Pentax in some models were actually better. Seemed to have better coatings. I'm not up to date on current offerings and factories move around so on and so forth. My nephew has some of the mid-priced Vortex and the few times I've used them they seemed pretty good.

Porro vs Roof prisms. At one time unless you spent big money Roof prisms weren't best bang for buck. Roof prisms are good enough now even in mid-priced offerings are phase corrected and that would be my choice. They make for a much more compact, ergonomic shape vs Porro prisms.

As for the difference in the high end models, well unlike audio they are better. Chromatic aberration (CA) is handled much better. Coatings are better. And internal reflections and light leakage are much better controlled in the prisms. CA is important for birding if you want to see the fine color variations and detail. Another example say I want to see a moth sitting 4 feet below a bright street light on the pole. I aim to get the street light just off the edge of my direct view. A cheap set of binocs that otherwise seem okay in daylight, will have so much glare and internal light leakage it will white out or gray out the image so I cannot even see the moth. Same situation if you are birding in the early morning or late evening sun. With some good mid-range $3-500 bincos, there will be some lightening of the image, but I'll see the moth maybe without all the detail I could. With the Zeiss or even the Canon's I have, you'd see a good clean image, and never know from the image that a bright street light is anywhere near where you are looking.

And especially if you have glasses check the eye relief. Most now days have plenty, but check the spec to make sure.

This guide has in years past been reliable to ferreting out the best candidates. It looks like their last big survey of the field was in 2019. Of course with so many offerings it might help more than hinder.

The Audubon Guide to Binoculars

www.audubon.org

 

[RayDunzl]

I am looking for a good keep-forever pair of binoculars that will be dominantly used for…

a) watching birds up to 50’ away in my back yard (75% of use) (even at dusk).
b) other things like stargazing

Have you considered a "spotting scope"?

spotting scope - Google Search

 

[Plcamp]

It looks like the Nikon m5 monarch 8x42 is a great fit for what we want to do.

I’ll order tonight.

Thanks for comments, they helped!

 

[mhardy6647]

I have the Canon 10x42 IS, and absolutely love it. I use it for general critter watching as well as some moon/star gazing. The image stabilization, to me, makes for enough of a better experience that I ponied up the extra $$ for it. It's well outside of the OP's stated price range, but since you asked...

It's definitely a splurge, but a buy once/cry once kind of deal.

We had a pair and quite liked them -- great for birding (or whatever) from a platform such as a boat.
They served well but ultimately succumbed to years of use (and a bit of abuse, truth be told). Decent enough optics and the IS is absolutely wonderful to have. Not really expensive for what they are, either. The BIG IS Canons got a bit pricey, though.

Mrs H -- and there's no way to spin this -- is a serious binocular snob.
She currently rocks a pair of Zeiss Victory SF 10 x 42 mm roof prism binoculars for birding in the field. They're very good optically.
I have been a bit disappointed in their physical quality. She had trouble with gritty focus adjustment after a couple of years (a common problem with these, apparently). Zeiss's service is excellent (and free, in such cases). They made them good as new, but to my sense of touch they focus adjustment is getting a bit sticky-feeling again.

Her prior field binos (and always on the ready in the living room to this day) are a pair of Swarovski EL 8.5 x 42 mm These have quite a few years and miles (literally and figuratively) on them -- and they're superb. To my way of thinking, they better the Zeiss in "feel"-- but the 10x magnification of the Zeiss is invaluable to a birder relative to 8.5x (in a package of the same size and weight).

So... for better or worse, you really can't beat premium European optics for serious use.

That said, there are plenty of mid-grade/mid-line options, roof or Porro prism* (e.g., from Pentax, Nikon, and upstart brand names like Vortex) that are fine binoculars for most folks (myself included) at a fraction of the cost of the big guns (so to speak).

Our kitchen binos (and my usual field glasses) are a decidedly modest pair of Chinese-made Cabelas 8 x 42 roof prism binos. They're... fine, at less than a tenth a price as "equivalent" Zeiss or Swarovski models. Nope, they're in no way truly equivalent, but the quality of the image, contrast, and eye relief are all way better than $200 USD would buy in a pair of binoculars 20 or 30 years ago. They're a bit smaller, but heavier, than the aforementioned Euro binos.

One last, quick Swarovski story. I bought Mrs. H a pair of 8 x 25 Habicht roof prism mini binoculars to keep in the car about 30 years ago. About 5 years ago, she was grumbling about the image quality. A quick look showed that the waterproof seal had failed and the internal optics were dirty.
Swarovski rebuilt them to as new condition for the cost of one-way shipping (to them)... after 25 years of hard use. Count me, at least, as a very satisfied customer.
_____________
* Nothin' wrong with good quality Porro prism binoculars, except that I am not sure anyone makes a waterproof/fogproof model. It might be impossible, for all I know.