Binocular upgrade advise please!

[lovatscout]

for my money i would have gone that few quid more and bought leopold tacticals
10x50's great molle case tactical retical in left lense ideal for rangefinding distance measuring map scouting
i went to york guns for a pair of swaros for deer stalking but spoke to the leopold rep and got a pair of taqcticals for 299
there on offer at sportmans gun centre lifetime warranty just as good as swaros in my humble opinion
but if youve put your money down fair doos

[Manacles]

I though I would update this thread......

Well, uncharacteristically I did not rush into anything but carried on looking what was about - not like me, I'm not very patient! I also realised that thanks to my lack of work these that I best not spend too much (and I do have other hobby priority cash allocations!) So, long story short I have just bought some Hawke Frontier ED 8 x 43 for £239 delivered.

I never stopped looking and whilst 240 squids is still a chunk of money, I could not find a bad word wrote about them. I think you get what you pay for generally but these seem to have created quite a stir in the optics market.

I will comment further on them when they arrive and I am most looking forwards to them arriving!

Thanks for the feedback folks!

Marc

My daughter has a pair of those and I have used them a couple of times (with a critical eye) and they perform to a much higher standard than their price would indicate. A very good choice on your part, you won't be disappointed.

[marcelxl]

A few months in now and I 100% recommend them!

Used regularly for wildlife viewing and for archery and the performance is superb.......even in low light. Just got back from B.C. and spent a good amount of time watching the beasties with them of all sizes, distances and times of the day and they are just immense!

If anything they are a little big and heavy for a "I'll take these along just in case...." kind of thing but they are what they are and will be no different in that sense than any other bins in this size bracket.

Whilst in Canada Mrs B bought some quality bushnell 8 x 36's and I am now thinking that a similar size of bins would be useful and if I do get some it will be the Hawke's no doubt!

Are my mates Swarovskis better? yea, but £2000 better? no way!

[Silverback 1]

If anything they are a little big and heavy

Thanks for the update and glad that your pleased with your binos,my Swaros are a bit (a lot!) on the heavy side so i bought a 'Bino-buddy' harness and what a difference,the binos are held against your chest and the straps go over your shoulders so you don't feel any weight whatsoever but the binos are immediately accessible,great product,various brands out there but Uncle Mikes is a good one available from www.vikingarms.co.uk .........highly recommended, no conn/links etc.

[320ccc]

if you are seeing a crisp defined image with the bushnells just try a set of 7 or 8 power glasses. the difference in light xmssn should be significant.

i switched to nikon monarch atb's (8x42) for the money they are remarkable lenses.

i bought my wife a pair of swift audubons (8.5x45) several years ago. heavy but great glasses even in low light.

the pickiest binocular users are birders. browsing their forums will give you a quick overview of the current favorites.

it's absolutely true that you get what you pay for, but how much you pay isn't the criterion that should drive your purchase.

don't buy a pair of glasses without testing them in the environment you will use them in.
your binoculars must complement YOUR vision and YOUR intended usage.
there are so many variables at play that you can't take someoneelse's opinion.
their opinion is a good departure point but you will know what works when you see it.

i have a very old pair of japanese glasses that are still very usable and they are over sixty years old.
the glasses i carry for backup are a small pair of nikons that cost less than 100usd.
the glasses at my desk are a pair pentax binoculars, 10x and clear after twilight and before dusk, that were cheaper than that.

i've used zeiss glasses that i drooled over because they were zeiss glasses, but i couldn't see any better with them than with my nikons.

if you take your time and actually wring them out before you buy them you'll eventually find what works for you.

[johnbaz]

Hi

Have a look at some Russian Komz on fleabay if you get the chance, I bought a sit of Komz 8x30 and the crispness of the image is superb, I was told that the Russians removed the Zeiss tooling after the war (much like the Millard brothers did with Diana airguns- spoils of war apparently)and high quality of Russian bins are the result!!







I actually bought them from the bootsale for a tenner!!!

I bought a pair of Zeiss Jena from fleabay yesterday, they didn't sell at the opening bid (£40) so I offered £25, the ladt accepted so I went and bought them


The lady gave me a freebie set of 8x21 compacts too which are nice and crisp (the wife has an identical set in all but name!)..


Both are cased..


According to the serial on the Jenas, they were produced in 1976/77 before the lenses were multi coated apparently, dunno if this is a good point or bad, the bins are stamped DDR..



Cheers, John

[Firefly1]

Hi Guy's
I got a pair of these http://www.heinnie.com/Optics/Marath...100-1188-8556/ and have found that they are better than a pair of 10 x 42 bushnells, I must admit that my use for them does not justify spending the mortgage money on a pukker pair of Leica.

Firefly1

[Manacles]

Hi

Have a look at some Russian Komz on fleabay if you get the chance, I bought a sit of Komz 8x30 and the crispness of the image is superb, I was told that the Russians removed the Zeiss tooling after the war (much like the Millard brothers did with Diana airguns- spoils of war apparently)and high quality of Russian bins are the result!!







I actually bought them from the bootsale for a tenner!!!

I bought a pair of Zeiss Jena from fleabay yesterday, they didn't sell at the opening bid (£40) so I offered £25, the ladt accepted so I went and bought them


The lady gave me a freebie set of 8x21 compacts too which are nice and crisp (the wife has an identical set in all but name!)..


Both are cased..


According to the serial on the Jenas, they were produced in 1976/77 before the lenses were multi coated apparently, dunno if this is a good point or bad, the bins are stamped DDR..



Cheers, John

After WW2 the Zeiss factory was stuck with having one plant in East Germany and one plant on West Germany. What then happened was that, as you rightly say, the Soviets naturally ordered a lot of their bins from Zeiss in the east. The optical quality was superb for the time, and remained so really until the reunifiaction of Germany when Zeiss became one company again. Most of the significant moves forward in optical quality came after reunification (the lens coatings got developed and improved dramatically).

Pre-coating Zeiss Jena's are a good model and are also prior to the era of being gas filled, which means they can be stripped for internal cleaning without professional gas refilling (they do tend to get a mild fungus inside which can sometimes be seen on the objective (large) lens. Stripping them is not a job for the faint-hearted as they have extremely precise tolerances and can easily be reassembled missaligned spoiling them totally. A very good buy at the price

[johnbaz]

After WW2 the Zeiss factory was stuck with having one plant in East Germany and one plant on West Germany. What then happened was that, as you rightly say, the Soviets naturally ordered a lot of their bins from Zeiss in the east. The optical quality was superb for the time, and remained so really until the reunifiaction of Germany when Zeiss became one company again. Most of the significant moves forward in optical quality came after reunification (the lens coatings got developed and improved dramatically).

Pre-coating Zeiss Jena's are a good model and are also prior to the era of being gas filled, which means they can be stripped for internal cleaning without professional gas refilling (they do tend to get a mild fungus inside which can sometimes be seen on the objective (large) lens. Stripping them is not a job for the faint-hearted as they have extremely precise tolerances and can easily be reassembled missaligned spoiling them totally. A very good buy at the price

WOW!!

Thanks for the info Manacles

I bought another pair of bins a couple of weeks ago that are fantastic !!!!

Nikon Monarch 8x42 waterproof..





I paid £20 from an elderly chap and the clarity is phnominal though at first I kept seeing black blotches
After I looked at the manual I realised that the eye pieces need a twist, this gives the correct eye relief



Cheers, John

[ged]

... I bought another pair of bins a couple of weeks ago that are fantastic !!!!
Nikon Monarch 8x42 waterproof..
I paid £20 from an elderly chap ...

That sounds like daylight robbery to me. Has this elderly chap lost his marbles or something?

[zarkwon]

+1 for Opticron Discovery

[Silverback 1]

Has this elderly chap lost his marbles or something?

Yes, and a decent pair of bino's.

[Dave]

Im expecting to recieve a gift voucher from Bushnell next week, in the value of £200- £250, to be spent in their online store only,and have been wondering what to buy

I thought about one of their Spotting scopes, but have never used one before.
http://www.bushnell-store.co.uk/spot...5-45x50mm-p980

Or their Trail Cam:
http://www.bushnell-store.co.uk/trai...mouflage-p1043

Or one of their binos?

http://www.bushnell-store.co.uk/bino...s-10x42mm-p963

http://www.bushnell-store.co.uk/bino...rs-8x42mm-p926

http://www.bushnell-store.co.uk/bino...s-10x42mm-p960

http://www.bushnell-store.co.uk/bino...rs-8x42mm-p926

I know sweet Fa about Optics, so your opinions and advice would be welcome.



Which would you choose?


Edit: Also was thinking about a night vision scope as it would be nice to see that sheep rustling about, which sounds suspiciously like an escaped panther in the bushes during the wee hours.... but I have read mixed reviews, with many saying gen1 nightvision is not worth buying?

Night vision:
http://www.bushnell-store.co.uk/nigh...ion-2x24-p1037

[ged]

... Which would you choose? ...

Personally I'd go for a trail cam, but I have several pairs of binoculars already.

Agreed about the night vision scopes, some of them are useless. I have an expensive one (think export restrictions) and even that's a bit disappointing.

If you've never used a spotting 'scope before I wouldn't recommend getting one as you won't know what you want and you might end up not using it.

You probably can't go wrong with any of the binoculars you've shown although I've no personal experience of Bushnell so I can't make any recommendation.

I am a bit bothered by the two year warranty. The warranty on the Opticrons that I bought for my mum is thirty years.

[Dave]

Thanks Ged

[santaman2000]

I'd say nix on the Gen I night vision.

[Dave]

Ja, Im kind of assuming, that most would rather say nothing, than something derrogatory.

I suspect bushnell binos are more than enough for what I need.

[santaman2000]

Ja, Im kind of assuming, that most would rather say nothing, than something derrogatory.

I suspect bushnell binos are more than enough for what I need.

True for most of us I suspect. I have 2 pair of Bushnells (a full size pair in the truck and a compact pair for the pack/pocket) I know there are better optics out there but They're all in a vastly higher price bracket and the Bushnells have never let me down. If I were using them for long hours where eyestrain might be a problem I would spend the extra money, but for recreational use, the Bushnells are fine.

[Dougster]

I recently bought some Minox BV 8 x 42 from Sportsman Gun Centre for £200/ They are amazing when deer stalking at dusk. They are easily as good as my Schimdt and Bender scope.

Better still SGC have them for £130 in the sale - outstanding kit for a great price.

[Dave]

Personally I'd go for a trail cam, but I have several pairs of binoculars already.

I think you're right Ged. After a fair bit of web searching, I ordered the Docter 8x21 as reccomended by Doc and cbr6fs on this forum. At 80 grams they will always be taken with me, and hopefully offer superior 8x magnification, [as Docter Optiks are apparently the old East German Zeiss factory.]
I dont plan on using them for extended viewing.

I did have a look through the Opticron 8x30 yesterday, as I was passing as dealers, and was impressed. Not so impressed with the 8x25 opticron trailfinder 2. So Im hoping the Docter 8x21 porro will outperform them?

An american Airman reviews them here.



I may keep or sell the Trail Cam, and save the pennies for a bigger, heavier pair, that I would probably leave out of my rucksack.

[Dave]

Had a little parcel waiting for me from Germany today with the doctor Optik 8x21 inside. The sun is just setting here, and I've been trying it out against a pair of binos. The clarity of the mono in low light is excellent, and they weigh next to nothing. 82g. Really well made. Also like the microscope thing where you can focus in on insects and such.

[cbr6fs]

Had a little parcel waiting for me from Germany today with the doctor Optik 8x21 inside. The sun is just setting here, and I've been trying it out against a pair of binos. The clarity of the mono in low light is excellent, and they weigh next to nothing. 82g. Really well made. Also like the microscope thing where you can focus in on insects and such.

Glad your happy with them, i use mine more than all my other binoculars put together.