binoculars

Bins

Andrew

I use 10x42B Lica's, they are an older model but are pretty good I think they cost me £500 second hand on Ebay about two years ago, in the past I have also had 7x30 & 8x56 Swarovski SLC's which I would now consider better to be honest having used all of them now.

I have a friend that has a set of the New Swarovski EL's they are the best I have ever seen -but at about £1,300 a pair I have better things to spend my money on at the moment.

If you have a gander on ebay there are always losds of Swarovski, Leica or Zeiss binos on there daily. For day to day use an 8x30 (very light) or 8x40 seems to be used by most stalkers, my 10x40's do give me a smaller field of view but a better look at the animal-which you will find with higher mag.

Hope this is of some help

Lee
 
Leica 7 x 42. Don't get too high mag as they will not perform in low light conditions. ;)
Mine came form Evilbay for about £400 secondhand.
 
Swarovski 10x42's they are fantastic,I bought them new for £700.00 but it was quite a while ago,and,I think they are well over a grand now..........'M'
 
Hi all i have a pair of swaros 10x42 slc's they are great but have been thinking of upgrading to 8.5x42 el's but dont know if you get much difference for the (quite a bit) extra money. :D
 
paulhed said:
Hi all i have a pair of swaros 10x42 slc's they are great but have been thinking of upgrading to 8.5x42 el's but dont know if you get much difference for the (quite a bit) extra money. :D

I tried both of these at the same time (broad day light admittedly) and opted for the slc 10x42. They are a bit heavier but cant say that I have noticed it when using them. Delighted with them so far.
 
swarovski's 8.5*42 EL's they are absolutely brilliant, not the lightest but the quality and low light is pretty good. Would never part with them!
 
Hi Andrew

All really good recommendations - but everyone has their own reasons for recommending them not least, budget, feel, 'value' what they've been recommended, what their 'role models' use etc....much better is too understand more about what you are buying... here is a good guide http://www.green-witch.com/acatalog/Advice_on_Choosing_the_Right_Binoculars_for_You.html (I have nothing to do with them but have bbought some bits from them and they are excellent guys to deal with and will give really good advice within budgets..)

An example is that a great pair of binoc (1k+) may apparently be out performed by a mid range set with the correct dimensions for what you are doing.. see exit pupil etc.. the max pupil size in humans is about 6mm at dawn/dusk so anything that has an exit pupil around this size will give max transmission - hence a pair of 8x50 will appear brighter at dawn and dusk than a pair of 10x50 of the same make quality etc.... but its all a balancing act

Me Ive got Leica 10x50s as I will suffer a bit of last light deteriation for the extra mags - but then Ive got reasnoably steady habnds (higher mag means more shake) - but there are many excellent mid range that will be almost as good..

One thing to bear in mind is your binos will be used probably more than any other piece of kit and whislt a good scope will make sure you hit something if you havent seen it to start with it wont make a bean of difference

The other thing to remember is too spend a bit more than you can afford and buy once - if you can and consider secondhand - most people dont use them as much as you think.

The differnce between the costs varies enormously as you go up the scale but also the performance is not linear.. for example if you assume 100% is absolute brilliance in every aspect cheap binos (in general less than 100) might perform at 50-60% mid range vary from 60-95% and then the top (1k+ and 750 more than mid range) might go to 99.9% so you can spend a lot going from 95 to 99% and under field conditions not really notice the difference


Lecture over and if you want some advice drop me a PM
 
Nautilus21 said:
. the max pupil size in humans is about 6mm at dawn/dusk so anything that has an exit pupil around this size will give max transmission - hence a pair of 8x50 will appear brighter at dawn and dusk than a pair of 10x50 of the same make quality etc.... but its all a balancing act

Thats the reason why the 6x42 scope is so good and the reason for my 7X42 Binos! 8)
 
exactly - and its no surprise that 'most' binoculars /scopes used for stalking fall into this 5-7mm range... but as said its a blancing act - because magnification, weight, brightness, feel, clarity, 'value' are also important and also vary from individual to individual..

Its like asking what car people have and getting Mondeo, Passat, Jag, Range Rover, Kia - they all do the same job to a greater or lesser extent but if you dont understand what the differences are its hard to judge what/why sis different/important/worthy of consideration
 
8x42 Leopoulds They are good easy to use binos which have surprisingly remained scratch free over 5 years with some fairly rough treatment

Not as good as the swarovskis but I doubt the Swarovs would help me shoot any more deer. Still when I have a spar £1K Knocking about that I manage to restrain my self from buying a gun with or leasing some shooting then I guess I will have a set of Swarovskis.

Dave
 
Dont be put off and dont think you need to have the best - its rgreat if you can afford it or are lucky enough to acquire a pair

The New Hawke frontier EDs are well worth a look and at 250-300 are a great mid range binocular - I looked through some recently side by side with Swaros and Leicas and was well impressed (in low light and poor vis) they were good , nicely designed and appear excellent 'value'

My leicas are a previous model and I was thinking of upgrading - If I do Ill buy these as the extra 700-+ certainly doesnt translate to useability/ability - although i love my leicas and they are brill

I also understand the RSPB range has some great value options - but on principle I wouldnt hand over the cash to em..

But there are also plenty of binos at 100-150 which will do a perfectly adequate job for 'most people' 'most of the time'
 
Minox BV 8x42 BR, £152 great value & brilliant optics.

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Chris
 
I just bought some Nikon Monarch 8.5x56 for under £300 delivered (Uttings), more than happy with them. Slightly heavier than some of the others but they come with a neoprene strap which makes them comfortable to wear.

If I get some land and go out more often I may decide to upgrade to a 'higher' spec pair but for the occassional outing they are more than enough. They're waterproof and the light transmission is fine.
 
Certainly I can see why the advice may be to buy the best pair available. I normally use a pair of 8.5 x 42 swaro's and if I am in a high seat and want to reach a bit further out I have some Minox 15x58s.
But I have become increasingly aware of the a side effect of carrying such these premium brands.
When stalking I carry the swaro's on a harness on my chest. They have lens caps front and back. The rifle is slung over my shoulder and I have a stick in one hand. If I spot something that requires closer investigation I have to stop, rest the stick against me, pick up the binoculars take the caps off look at the object, find its nothing and go through the same process in reverse.
Whilst sitting at work the other day pondering this I came to the conclusion that a monocular might be the answer. I found a guy locally prepared to let me test some. They were horrible, I couldnt see a worthwhile application for them. Before leaving I tried a very small set of binoculars in 8x25. And bingo, a eureka moment. They fit in one hand and they can be adjusted without changing the grip.
Having used them for a few days now I can tell you that they are certainly are good enough (in good light) to spot and watch wildlife. I can now carry a rifle and a stick and stop as often as I like without a lengthy process being involved.
Would I use them at the extremes of the day, well no. Will I use these £35 binoculars when I am stalking at any other time, yes I will. Will I take my swaro's out with me as well, well maybe.
Whilst I am sure others would disagree with the way I do things and the conclusions I have come to, it might just be worth you giving it a go.
 
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