[South London] Looking for shop to buy my first binoculars

[DeerCapow]

Hello all,

I have spent a good amount of time online looking at binoculars, although I think this is one of those things that I need to experience in person.
I was in the Stalking Show Event, which gave me a bit of an idea, but wasn't ready to make any decisions there - which I may regret now.

I thought I would ask here if anyone has any shop recommendations around London or South East England that I can visit?

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you,
David

 

[sh1kar]

Hello all,

I have spent a good amount of time online looking at binoculars, although I think this is one of those things that I need to experience in person.
I was in the Stalking Show Event, which gave me a bit of an idea, but wasn't ready to make any decisions there - which I may regret now.

I thought I would ask here if anyone has any shop recommendations around London or South East England that I can visit?

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you,
David

William Evans, Beretta, London Came Exchange etc etc Depends what brands you want to try

 

[DeerCapow]

Thank you,
To be honest I'm not sure on which brand yet.

I normally would want to know about warranty, how the company supports the customer with repairs, how long does it take to do them - those are the questions that would come to mind to judge which brand I should choose. However it is possible that I may find that a certain binocular ticks most of the boxes and doesn't have a good customer support (I really don't know).

From my online research and magazine adds I guess people tend to choose between: Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski, Leupold.
I have found that of those brands, at least Leica says it may take about 10 months for some of their equipment, I'm not sure about the other brands

I didn't know Beretta had a shop in London, I will give a call to William Evans and understand what brands/stock they have - not sure it would be wise to just walk-in and hope for the best.

Thank you again

 

[sh1kar]

Thank you,
To be honest I'm not sure on which brand yet.

I normally would want to know about warranty, how the company supports the customer with repairs, how long does it take to do them - those are the questions that would come to mind to judge which brand I should choose. However it is possible that I may find that a certain binocular ticks most of the boxes and doesn't have a good customer support (I really don't know).

From my online research and magazine adds I guess people tend to choose between: Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski, Leupold.
I have found that of those brands, at least Leica says it may take about 10 months for some of their equipment, I'm not sure about the other brands

I didn't know Beretta had a shop in London, I will give a call to William Evans and understand what brands/stock they have - not sure it would be wise to just walk-in and hope for the best.

Thank you again

Of all those Swarovski has by far the best customer Service

You should also look second hand at McLeods of Tain

 

[sh1kar]

Of all those Swarovski has by far the best customer Service

You should also look second hand at McLeods of Tain

Beretta is top of St James

 

[Andyquadra]

For your first pair of binoculars, for warranty and quality I don't think you can go wrong with Vortex. Unless money is not an issue......

 

[Scuffy]

Leica are in Mayfair

 

[Sash]

+1 for London Camera Exchange on the Strand - great people and a good range of models to try

 

[NickJ]

If you go with a range finding pair the big brands (Swarovski etc) are sadly lacking in the electronics warranty to so I’d go Vortex if buying again for a lifetime one

By all means try them in a shop but there is some great value to be had on here in the Optics section of Classifieds for used, for none LRF there is the big 4 you mentioned but also look at Minox and GPO for a smaller budget

 

[Rasputin]

If possible find an rspb reserve that has stock and go on a crap day and have a look through them in something other than sunlight.

 

[DeerCapow]

A massive thank you to everyone!

I'm planning a trip to central London tomorrow morning to visit the top shops you all recommended: Leica, Williams Evans, Beretta, and London Camera Exchange.

I've also noted down the other brands mentioned, Vortex, Minox, and GPO, and hopefully after some browsing and chatting with the staff, I'll have a better idea of what I'm looking for. Then, I can check out the classifieds and McLeods of Tain (great suggestions!).

I wasn't familiar with RSPB, but a quick search shows the closest one is in Farnham. While it might be a bit of a stretch for tomorrow, it could be an interesting afternoon trip out to the countryside.

 

[SSN100]

+1 for London Camera Exchange on the Strand - great people and a good range of models to try

Nice chaps when I popped in to have a look.

 

[Roedeer 1962]

Buy good Buy once

 

[SSN100]

Buy good Buy once

Or, buy the best you can afford and make sure never to look through a more expensive pair.

 

[JosephKelly]

Buy good Buy once

Buy once, cry once

 

[enfieldspares]

The Leica Shop or the Red Dot Shop.

 

[DeerCapow]

Whenever I'm looking to buy something, I try and get my hands on the basic, mid-range, and top-of-the-range models if I can.
It helps me see where the extra cost goes, and often the basic option does the job perfectly well for what I need it for.

 

[Stover Rover]

It won't be first or last light when you check out your binocular samples. In daylight even a modest priced pair can give a good image, where the money goes is performance at first and last light.

 

[Roedeer 1962]

I bought a pair of Swarovski just over 40 years ago I paid £410 still use them now and crystal clear I could probably get more for them now , buy good buy once , even if it’s in instalments it’s worth it long term , hope we hear what you decide on !

 

[DeerCapow]

Good evening all,


This might not be the most glamorous review, but I did make up my mind today after having a long conversation with the good people of Beretta (very nice shop and customer service I must say).
I explained that I was after binoculars and that the motive was to do Deer Stalking within the UK, to which I was told exactly what Stover Rover pointed out regarding first and last light.
I was shown different models from the same brand (Steiner) and I chose the Ranger Xtreme 8x56 which I think was on sale for £600.

I spent most of the afternoon down the park getting a feel for them by checking out the birds. Sunset was around 8:29pm, and I could see better with the binoculars compared to the naked eye until about 9.26pm.
That's probably the limit though, couldn't make much out after that.

Maybe I'll manage to drag myself out of bed for sunrise and put them to the test in Richmond Park.
Wish me luck!

PS: Honestly I can't wait to do my first deer stalk