/out/ - Outdoors » Thread #2193687

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Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 09:07:41 No.2193687 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>2193694 >>2193759 >>2193867 >>2193877 >>2193981 >>2195389 >>2195396 >>2197744

How do I pick good binoculars, what to look at when buying and any recommendations?

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 09:24:44 No.2193694 Report

Quoted By: >>2193850

>>2193687
First, decide what your budget is. Then have a contingency plan to go over that by 10 - 20% in the event you find something nicer. Buy used from a brand with a lifetime warranty as your dollar will go further.

I have Vortex Razor 12x50's. I bought a slightly older variant in large part due to a time when they were made in Japan and a lifetime warranty. 12x50 because I don't have shaky hands and can use that power by simply holding. There really is a conspiracy with glass and you frankly do get what you pay for (to a large extent). No, you don't need rich fag Swarovskis or Leupold unless you want to floss on other hunters, bird watchers or peeping toms. Nearly all the baller brands have low tier glass made in China, while most all the top stuff is German or Japanese made. All of my rifle scopes are Nightforce ATACR and Elcans too.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 12:49:45 No.2193759 Report

Quoted By: >>2193916

>>2193687
>Go to the binocular store
>"Let me look through your finest pair of binoculars garçon"
>"But of course!"
>Look through eye holes to make sure they work
Boom, good binoculars.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 15:42:21 No.2193848 Report

Quoted By:

>what to look at when buying
Well, I´d look at the binoculars.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 15:44:19 No.2193849 Report

Quoted By:

What happens if you use binoculars to look through the eye holes of another binoculars? Can someone try and report back please

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 15:46:28 No.2193850 Report

Quoted By: >>2193942

>>2193694
>I bought a slightly older variant in large part due to a time when they were made in Japan and a lifetime warranty
vortex's expensive shit is still made in Japan or the US. their cheaper scopes and binocs are made in China/Taiwan.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 16:08:16 No.2193867 Report

Quoted By:

>>2193687
Kind of an in depth subject depending on what your actual needs are. Some serious recommendations are to go to a retailer with at least 50 different binoculars. Try a few out in the parking lot if you can. Don’t bring your wallet. You are just shopping for ideas at this point. Realize that a higher power isn’t always better, especially when you are moving and when the game/subject does. Does size/weight matter? I have seen people go on the trip of a lifetime and bring the dumbest shit because they read a 5 star amazon review. Realize that most people don’t have a clue what they are reading about and don’t compare options. Binoculars are kind of like footwear. Literally everything is a compromise and that any serious person will have multiple binocs for outdoor use. Just settle on a few models. Then go shopping online because optics can be grossly marked up. I have about a dozen pair and also am a photographer. I never regretted spending more on optics, only when I was confused about what I thought I wanted or when I didn’t get a deal.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 16:22:01 No.2193877 Report

Quoted By:

>>2193687
bought these several months ago, if you don't know what you are doing they might be a fit for you. i didn't know what i was doing and they seem good for me, kinda regret not spending more money to get a smaller size, these aren't too big but i feel the weight and space they take in the backpack sometimes. and since they are supposed to last for a long time, ideally 10 or 15 years i think it's worth it to get them as small as you can. and they are from cina but i don't think it really matter, i think it's the same quality but better price https://es.aliexpress.com/item/33048624401.html

but i can't offer you technical advice or compare these to anything else, hopefully other anons can.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 17:16:26 No.2193916 Report

Quoted By: >>2197763

>>2193759
>Go to the binocular store
>look at prices
>do a 360 and walk out.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 18:18:10 No.2193942 Report

Quoted By: >>2193955

>>2193850
There are people out there right now who have Razor's and Kaibads with 'made in China' stamped right on the housing.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 18:38:22 No.2193955 Report

Quoted By:

>>2193942
I don't know what any of that has to do with what I said.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 19:22:47 No.2193981 Report

Quoted By:

>>2193687
Not sure how new you are, but binoculars and monoculars are rated with 2 numbers:
eg. 8x25, 10x25, 12x35, etc..
The first number is magnification power, and the second number is lens diameter. The higher the magnification, the shakier the image and the more you need a base or tripod. The higher the lens diameter, the brighter the image you see. 8 or 10 mag. is good for hand-held. Anything smaller than a 20mm lens diameter will be very dark if used in a forest.
I like monoculars for /out/ because they are smaller/lighter, and simpler to set up.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 23 Aug 2021 20:49:29 No.2194052 Report

Quoted By: >>2195222

Most important for deciding functional choice is exit pupil. This is calculated as objective lense diameter divided by magnification. For instance 10x42, the most common binocular configuration has an exit pupil of 4.2

All other factors the same, the higher the exit pupil the better quality of image especially in low light, near dawn or dusk. How much lowlight performance you need will determine what exit pupil you want to shoot for. For most people you don't want below 3.5, so that immediately rules out goofy chinese amazon brand shit thats like 12x25. Yeah they may be light or small and have high listed magnification but likely won't offer the optical performance you want.

Next consider what your usage mode is, are you parking it and watching through them from a bench or tripod or are you walking around and looking at moving subjects off hand? Lighter and more compact will be easier to use standing or offhand but going bigger and heavier may make them cheaper for better performance and more forgiving in terms of how perfectly you have to hold your eyes to them to get a clear image (this is called eye relief). Higher magnifcation also means you need to hold the bins steadier.

Finally consider what prisms the bins use, generally speaking entry binos have porro prisms cus theyre cheaper to make, next step up is roof prism. Nice porro prisms can have better image than cheap roof prisms though so youre really gonna have to weigh what features/cost optimization youre looking for.

Additional features to consider include:
diopter adjustment (i consider this a must)
included accessories (a good case or harness is nice to have)
warranty
tripod mount
durability
water resistance and gas purging (cheap stuff is nitrogen purged, nicer stuff uses argon)

I backpack bowhunt so I want something small and light because weight is important when backpacking. Magnification wasn't as important to me considering bowhunting ranges are closer than rifle. I went with diamondback 8x32s

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 24 Aug 2021 09:20:30 No.2194445 Report

Quoted By: >>2195380

I just want some binos to look at stuff in the forest while them being compact and durable enough. i like birds.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 09:24:04 No.2195219 Report

Quoted By:

bump

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 09:30:52 No.2195222 Report

Quoted By:

>>2194052
Pretty good post anon.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 15:46:31 No.2195380 Report

Quoted By: >>2195476

>>2194445
Vortex 10x25 Solo monocular

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 16:01:34 No.2195389 Report

Quoted By:

>>2193687
I have 10x50 that are great for the night sky and birding

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 16:17:31 No.2195396 Report

Quoted By:

>>2193687
Zeiss Victory SF 42x10 are pretty good

Anonymous

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Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 17:33:42 No.2195459 Report

Quoted By: >>2195477

pick the cheapest possible thing, go outside and use it. the lighter the thing is the steadier you will be able to hold it and the more useful it will be for you.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 18:01:35 No.2195476 Report

Quoted By: >>2195591

>>2195380
I had this exact model and it sucked for birdwatching. FOV way too small and lack of depth perception made finding anything more hassle than it’s worth

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 18:02:29 No.2195477 Report

Quoted By:

>>2195459
the cheaper the optic, the more it will look like you're looking through a drinking straw. At least go to the sporting goods store and look through a couple things so you don't end up buying some shit you hate.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 21:12:03 No.2195591 Report

Quoted By:

>>2195476
What do you have now?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 27 Aug 2021 20:49:00 No.2196923 Report

Quoted By:

Never buy a zoom optic.
10x max handheld
$200 bare minimum
Pick a decent brand, Vortex or Nikon etc if mid tier or Gucci shit like zeiss if high tier
Pick a few at that price point and try them out. Look at total field of view, clarity, eye comfort, ergonomics, build quality (it will get dropped eventually, does it look like it'd shatter?), luminance.

Glass is one of those things you just learn through hours of use. Start mid tier and work up. $200-400 is a good entry point.

For more, find a hobby forum eg: https://www.birdforum.net/forums/binoculars.112/

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 29 Aug 2021 02:35:02 No.2197744 Report

Quoted By:

>>2193687
Big 5 typically has them on sale. I got a nice pair for 40$ that are usually 90$.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 29 Aug 2021 03:22:13 No.2197763 Report

Quoted By:

>>2193916
then you would still be facing the binocular store

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