what binoculars

[Alantoo]

I usually trot out my preference for Porro prism binoculars on these threads.

The apparent enhanced 3D effect created by the greater than eye-width distance between the objective lenses give a great sense of depth when looking through them. They are an advantage for picking out one object in front of another…like a deer camouflaged in front of a hedge.

When I have looked through high end roof prisms I have not seen any stalking advantage…I find the view quite flat...but then again I cannot hear the difference between £250 de-oxygenated cables on my Senheisser headphones and £30 OEM standard copper either…maybe I am just insensitive.

I can only recommend you to look through as many pairs and types as you can, and preferably try to ignore the branding hype.

Whether you choose to pay a high premium up front for excellent customer care with Swarovski, or buy cheaper and replace if damaged, is another consideration.

My last pair of nitrogen filled, weatherproof, soft bodied, rubber coated 8 x 40 Porro prisms from a Japanese camera and lens manufacturer were £50 or so second hand... and I find them slightly better with regard to the first and last light performance of my Swarovski Z4i 3x12x50.

Alan

 

[tozzybum]

As im ahem 50 in june i managed to get er indoors to let me have "Ow Much Bloody Hell " binoculars and despite my earlier post about Uttings managed to get Leica Trinovid,s in 8x42 for £726 from a camera shop.Like WOW doesn,t even cover it .The difference between my cheapo,s and these is vast .So pleased to become an old fart allows for niiiice presents ,buy what you can afford and buy once is so true

 

[enfieldspares]

Contour Flyer

Birdwatchers want to be able to have both normal and very close focus capability..

Stalkers/hunters/military do not need close focus so can have designs with less compromise..

Yes. Spot on. Which is why I prefer the old Leica "BA" binoculars to the later "BN" as the older "BA" were set up for long distance and had a useful close up capability...of a score of so feet...as an aside, as it were.

Whereas the later "BN" (and subsequent Leica) were set up with a nearer close up capability...of ten feet...at the cost of their long distance capability. For stalking the "BA" are better IMHO.

Leica can, they tell me, factory adjust if specified the current models to restore the "lost" long distance capability. Me? I just keep my old "BA" models!

 

[Southern]

Like Atlantoo, I am guilty of chiming in my support for porro prisms in these threads. It is much easier to manufacture a pair of quality porro prisms which are matched and in alignment than it is to make the more compact and lighter roof prism binoculars.

I have been hunting with a pair of Pentax porro 8x40 WP for 20 years in some harsh weather and they are very clear, with great color.I have been hunting with a pair of Pentax porro 8x40 WP for 20 years in some harsh weather and they are very clear, with great color.

As Atlantoo notes, the wider spacing gives better depth of field vision, more 3D, than just bringing things closer.

I like my new compact $100 binoculars for fitting in a pocket and focusing on bird at ten feet, but for hunting in dim light, a pair of quality 7x50 porro prisms in the $200 to $350 USD price range will perform as well as some roof prisms costing ten times as much.. Many are set up for long distance, for marine use, but require almost no tweeking of focus as the distance changes, because of the depth of field. And they are quite waterproof and have terrific light gathering, as they are designed to be used for night navigation and identification of landmarks and ships.

 

[Contour flyer]

Glad to hear others here recognise the superiority of porro prism binos. I fear the corporate marketing machines want to kill off these models and only sell us the very expensive roofs or junk cheaper roofs. Having mid priced Porros that are equal to roofs that cost 3-4 x as much obviously can't be allowed. Also we increasingly must have composite bodies with glued in lenses now instead of rubber coated magnesium alloy, fully serviceable ones that last a lifetime. Hopefully, long live the Swarovski Habict GA models and may they one day allow civilians to easily obtain the 8x30w in rubber again and all models in individual focus (not just via military contract suppliers).