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Buying Binoculars

Anonymous Mon 27 May 2013 03:55:04 No.124438 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>124519

Good day hiking at the State Park.

I was thinking about what would be the best pair of binoculars to buy, since I currently have a $50 Best Buy gift card. I found these poor things out in on a boulder field and decided whatever I buy should be armored.

Any brand suggestions would be nice, all I know I want is something for stargazing and bird watching, but I'm new to both so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Mon 27 May 2013 04:02:42 No.124441 Report

Quoted By: >>124465

>best pair of binoculars
>$50

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 27 May 2013 04:41:45 No.124465 Report

Quoted By: >>124489

>>124441

c'mon bro, just because he says he has a $50 gift card doesn't mean his budget is only $50

but yeah- any optics considered "decent" by an enthusiast is gonna cost $100 - $200 at the bare minimum

take a look at some bushnells or nikons as a starter

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 27 May 2013 05:35:39 No.124478 Report

Quoted By:

I've had my bushnell trophy for about 6 years and they're nice and rugged.

Swap the case for a nicer one though the original is a bit cheap

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 27 May 2013 06:09:19 No.124489 Report

Quoted By: >>124519

>>124465
and don't bother getting fancier brands. Sure it's better optics, but north of $300 if you are paying for a company name, gimmicks, and very rapidly diminishing quality to price ratio.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 27 May 2013 09:26:40 No.124519 Report

Quoted By: >>124533

>>124489
lolwut? Ever used a pair of Swarovski's?
>>124438
I have a pair of Nikon Monarch 5's. Really good for the money, and the best of the 'cheap' bino's out there IMO. If possible, you should go into a store and try as many different bino's as they have. But I would reccomend the Monarchs.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 27 May 2013 09:51:26 No.124527 Report

Quoted By:

Don't make the mistake I did and get a really compact pair, that has shitty light-gathering ability.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 27 May 2013 10:33:57 No.124533 Report

Quoted By:

>>124519

I second that. Nicon Monarch are have an outstanding price/quality ratio. I own a pair of 8x36 which are great and quite small compared to most 8x40.

I also own a brand new pair of Leica Trinovid 8x42. They are way better and also have a great price/quality ratio, but are still a 1500 dollar binocular. I am an avid birdwatcher though. So I like to pay for quality binoculars that will last a lifetime. But for most purposes, a lower quality brand is good enough. Leica, Swarowski and Zeiss are probably the best, but also very expensive (1000-3000 dollars).

The best recommendation I have is to remember that the best pair of binoculars are the ones you bring with you, hanging around your neck. It doesn't matter if you own great binoculars if you don't bother to bring them because they are to heavy/bulky. I would avoid the very compact models, i.e. 8-10x20-25. They are small, but not very good for most purposes. Look into something along 8x30 for a good allround binoculars. They will weigh around 500 g and 8x42 weigh around 800 g. For younger eyes especially there is not too much difference in light penetration between 30 and 40 mm.

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