Binoculars - What are you using in the field?

I am very very hard on binocs. For the most part, I loose them. Davey will attest to that and maybe will be a real pal and keep me on his Xmas list when he rids himself of the Swarovski's. In the mean time Busnell H2O's will have to do. :D
 
I am very very hard on binocs. For the most part, I loose them. Davey will attest to that and maybe will be a real pal and keep me on his Xmas list when he rids himself of the Swarovski's. In the mean time Busnell H2O's will have to do. :D

Talking about it happening, ten minutes later they are gone to the wind. Bet your glad they weren't a $1700 pair, man would that hurt.
 
Binoculars are so much like women. They come in all sizes and shapes, and for most of the time, they are good :)

I have for many years used many different binoculars for my work on ships, and have found very little difference from one brand to another, and certainly not enough to justify the hefty price tag for some of these "snob appeal" binos.

For light gathering, I would recomment 7X50 bino's, a standart for ship use, and for compactness, I would recommend the 8X30 bino's, a standart for many of the world armies. Any bino's from Wal-Mart and up, would do the job for you.
 
I have a new pair of Zeiss 8x42 T* FL's to try out this year, they are remarkably nice. They have a lifetime transferable warranty.




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Pentax DCF SP 8X43, great mid/high range glasses, also got them from Doug at Cameraland. Got my Leica LRF 1200 from him as well.
 
10x42 Bushnell H20 not good at all, heavy, dull, but for now they are better then nothing. Id love a pair of Swaro's but I can't see myself spending $2500 on one item, I could almost buy a used quad for that kinda money.
The Elite 4200 bino's look nice and more for us working class.
 
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anything on the 10x50 class is going to be on the heavy side - it's just the nature of the beast- the old 20x50s that used to be ship mounted typically had a tripod- also when you get up into that kind of magnification, , things tend to get fuzzy and your field of view gets really small- 10x is good for a long range rifle scope, but not necessarily binocs- that's why most are 7 or 8 x with the higher powers left to the birdie watchers that use tripods- for more magnification, get a spotting scope- even a "cheap" pair of lower powered binocs is better,but if i remember correctly the h20 series is WATERPROOF, not just WATER RESISTANT- if that's indeed the case, there's the reason for the extra weight
 
Pentax DCF SP 8X43, great mid/high range glasses, also got them from Doug at Cameraland. Got my Leica LRF 1200 from him as well.

x2 for the pentax, good glass. Binocularscanada.com has the best prices I could find, 4 days and they are at your door!
 
I'm looking at getting a set of bushnell "Trophy" 10X42's. I tried a set out and was impressed. Running at around $175 and being fog/waterproof, I think they'll be worth a shot.

http://www.bushnell.com/general/binoculars_trophy_23-0142.cfm?section=Hunting

you want to be a little careful there - "waterproof" is NOT THE SAME as water/fog resistant- bushnell may claim "waterproof" on that series, but it may just be water resistant- as far as i know only the H20 series is PRESSURE TESTED - that's what makes them so DARNED HEAVY- they way bushnell honors the warranty is "send it back and we'll replace it for 10 bucks" which really gaurentees nothing right out of the box- btw, it's about 5-10 bucks just to ship it back unless you live close to richmond hill
 
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Celestron Outland 10 x 50's I am a little like GitRdone, mine take a bit of a beating. I am happy with them so far.


celestron_outland.jpg
 
you want to be a little careful there - "waterproof" is NOT THE SAME as water/fog resistant- bushnell may claim "waterproof" on that series, but it may just be water resistant- as far as i know only the H20 series is PRESSURE TESTED - that's what makes them so DARNED HEAVY- they way bushnell honors the warranty is "send it back and we'll replace it for 10 bucks" which really gaurentees nothing right out of the box- btw, it's about 5-10 bucks just to ship it back unless you live close to richmond hill

Thanks for the heads up. The top notch bino guy from SIR is now at wholesale in winnipeg... I'll consult with him... :D
 
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