Binocular Thoughts

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BigBraz15

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I may be looking to upgrade. I have the older green ring 10 x42 Leupold Cascades. They have been Great, but as I every year I seem to notice I have a harder time picking out little things. It's probably more my eyes than anything.

Anyway, I'm looking at possibly upgrading to a mid range pair. I would guess near the $600 range +/-... I am not a fan of vortex at all. Most reviews I have read show the vortex as a top contender.

My other option would be to sell my Swaro Spotter and buy a set of Swaro bino's, but I feel that bino's get beat around a lot more than a spotting scope and I'm pretty sure I would shed some man tears if I broke a set of $3000 bino's.
 
A set of Swaros would be so nice tho...
I wear Vortex most of the time, Bushnell 8x for thick bush. The Vortex are much brighter...
Prophet River had ZEISS Binos on sale, not sure what they have left
 
Get the Swaro's. I bought a pair of 8x30's many years ago before the prices went into orbit. I think they cost $550 back when they were new. Soooo glad I did that now, but if anything ever happened to them I'd never be able to afford to replace them.
 
I personally owned some Leo binoculars and upgraded to Swarovski 10x42SLC. Great glass. Huge difference in viewing quality. Two years later upgraded to the newer Swarovski EL'S. they are amazing. Love them and certainly do not think twice of my purchase. I use them for the whole hunting season, summer time bird watching and come out all year long on the boat.

If you can afford them I wouldn't hesitate!
 
I think the $600 range kind of puts you in an odd place simply because Leica Trinovids are available for just over $1000. I was looking for something for my boy's birthday present and after much thought, reading online bird forums and testing side by side I went with the new (+2016) Vortex Diamondback 8x42. I had seriously considered, and almost bought, the Nikon Monarch 7 10x42, which are right around $600-$700. I also looked at the Zeiss Terra ED at around $500. I honestly could not see the value in spending double of what the Diamonbacks cost. I figured that at $600 I might as well bite the bullet and spend $1100 on the Trinovids. One of the things that bugged me with the Monarch 7's is that I opened two boxes to inspect before paying - I was that close - and both had obviously visible flaws in one objective lens. It looked like a couple of tiny bubbles. The salesperson brought out a lens pen and after fiddling around acknowledged both had flaws. Not exactly confidence inspiring.

I compared the Diamonbacks to my Zeiss Conquest HD 10-42 the other evening. Is the Diamondback as good? No, but it's also 1/5 of the price and very, very serviceable.

Hint here - Omer at Precision Optics (sponsor) has great deals on the Trinovid and is top notch to deal with).
 
1899 said:
I think the $600 range kind of puts you in an odd place simply because Leica Trinovids are available for just over $1000. I was looking for something for my boy's birthday present and after much thought, reading online bird forums and testing side by side I went with the new (+2016) Vortex Diamondback 8x42. I had seriously considered, and almost bought, the Nikon Monarch 7 10x42, which are right around $600-$700. I also looked at the Zeiss Terra ED at around $500. I honestly could not see the value in spending double of what the Diamonbacks cost. I figured that at $600 I might as well bite the bullet and spend $1100 on the Trinovids. One of the things that bugged me with the Monarch 7's is that I opened two boxes to inspect before paying - I was that close - and both had obviously visible flaws in one objective lens. It looked like a couple of tiny bubbles. The salesperson brought out a lens pen and after fiddling around acknowledged both had flaws. Not exactly confidence inspiring.

I compared the Diamonbacks to my Zeiss Conquest HD 10-42 the other evening. Is the Diamondback as good? No, but it's also 1/5 of the price and very, very serviceable.

Hint here - Omer at Precision Optics (sponsor) has great deals on the Trinovid and is top notch to deal with).
Click to expand...

Is it worth the extra for the Trinovids?
 
BigBraz15 said:
I may be looking to upgrade. I have the older green ring 10 x42 Leupold Cascades. They have been Great, but as I every year I seem to notice I have a harder time picking out little things. It's probably more my eyes than anything.

Anyway, I'm looking at possibly upgrading to a mid range pair. I would guess near the $600 range +/-... I am not a fan of vortex at all. Most reviews I have read show the vortex as a top contender.

My other option would be to sell my Swaro Spotter and buy a set of Swaro bino's, but I feel that bino's get beat around a lot more than a spotting scope and I'm pretty sure I would shed some man tears if I broke a set of $3000 bino's.
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Get Swaro's.. 10x42 EL
 
A small bubble in a lens is not likely going to cause any issue with viewing. Years ago when Leitz and Zeiss were producing the 'Top' end camera optics this issue would come up frequently... both companies producing optics with large lenses that occasionally had small 'bubbles'..it was proven under careful testing then that this had no effect on highly enlarged prints taken with these optics...in short...your eyes will never notice these 'beauty' marks!

Fwiw some binoculars can be very tough.. have several Swarovski bino's including the older 10x,50 SL... they are large compared to what I prefer but are tough and give a great image. But they are also porroprism which allows the mfr the ability to produce an excellent image without phase correction and the other challenges associated with delivering similar images from roof prism designs. Unfortunately the large bino's (like the 10x,50 and even more so with their ultimate low light performer the 8x56 SL)....have relatively short eye relief... which can make viewing with spectacles (particularly the 8x,56) a little tougher. I have a soft spot for Nikon and if you do some careful research you will be impressed by some of their offerings. And their warranty (if ever required) is unparalleled.... I guess they dont need it too much.
 
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BigBraz15 said:
Is it worth the extra for the Trinovids?
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The reason that I didn't go for the Trinovids is because my boy is 11 and I think starting out with a more basic good binocular is a better way to go. Personally, I would go with the Trinovids right now. Either that or bite the bullet for a top of the line version: Victory SF, EL or Noctivid.

Generally speaking all of the birding reviews I have read say there is not any real difference in these three (optical quality-wise). I am currently using Conquest HD 10x42 and when I bought them I compared them side by side with the Victory HT and I have to say that the difference was not as great between the two as I had expected. The point is that you should go and look and compare side by side. And not just in a brightly lit store - try to go out evening and look at street signs in the distance, into shady brushy areas etc.

Here are some interesting reviews:

http://www.greatestbinoculars.com/allpages/reviews/shootouts/shootoutpremier8x42s/8x42shootout.html

https://www.birdwatching.com/optics/2012highendbins/review.html

https://www.birdwatching.com/optics/2017_titans_revisited/review.html

https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/explore/optics/why-are-binoculars-so-expensive.php
 
AP said:
A small bubble in a lens is not likely going to cause any issue with viewing. Years ago when Leitz and Zeiss were producing the 'Top' end camera optics this issue would come up frequently... both companies producing optics with large lenses that occasionally had small 'bubbles'..it was proven under careful testing then that this had no effect on highly enlarged prints taken with these optics...in short...your eyes will never notice these 'beauty' marks!
...
.... I have a soft spot for Nikon and if you do some careful research you will be impressed by some of their offerings. And their warranty (if ever required) is unparalleled.... I guess they dont need it too much.
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I do like Nikons, and used one for many years. It just seems sloppy that in 2017 a $250 binocular can have bubble free lenses whereas a $700 binocular does not. The Nikon EDG's seem to get very positive reviews, that is for sure.
 
I would certainly love the swaro's. Just don't think I can swing that much money into optics that don't get used all the time. Might be able to swing the Trinovids though. I saw some SLS's on sale for 1999, but are they really double the leica?

Is there anywhere in Canada that would sell demo models or lightly used models?
 
Omer from precision optics had the Trinovid on sale. I'd call him. Look at that birding website test I linked - the Trinovid finished ahead of the SLC.
 
BigBraz15 said:
I may be looking to upgrade. I have the older green ring 10 x42 Leupold Cascades. They have been Great, but as I every year I seem to notice I have a harder time picking out little things. It's probably more my eyes than anything.

Anyway, I'm looking at possibly upgrading to a mid range pair. I would guess near the $600 range +/-... I am not a fan of vortex at all. Most reviews I have read show the vortex as a top contender.

My other option would be to sell my Swaro Spotter and buy a set of Swaro bino's, but I feel that bino's get beat around a lot more than a spotting scope and I'm pretty sure I would shed some man tears if I broke a set of $3000 bino's.
Click to expand...

One thing about Vortex Is their excellent warranty.
If going with something he carries, Omer at Precision Optics really is Great to deal with.
 
I have a pair of Minox 10x42mm rubber armored Binoculars... they are better than Leupold in every aspect of clarity and 'light gathering' ability - when compared side by side with my hunting buddy in dim light conditions while hunting... reasonably priced German optics. I would highly recommend them.

Minox reviews here: https://www.bestbinocularsreviews.com/minox-binoculars.php

MINOX Optics are another manufacturer from Germany that produce binoculars of the highest standard. Like many of the other German optical companies including Steiner Binoculars, Leica and Zeiss, they pride themselves on the quality of their workmanship. MINOX are probably best known for their spy cameras which have some of the the highest quality lenses in the world, but they also manufacture monoculars, spotting scopes, night vision devices, riflescopes and the range of Minox binoculars are some of the very best available.

MINOX is also a very innovative company and they produced the worlds first purpose built digital camera monitor and eyepiece that fits to the end of a spotting scope as an affordable way of getting into digiscoping, perfect for both birdwatching and wildlife viewing.

The MINOX Range of Binoculars
The MINOX binocular range is based around the highest quality optics and produced mostly for serious bird watchers, nature observation, marine use and as hunting binoculars. All MINOX binoculars feature a multi layer coating on all air to glass surfaces. This reduces any reflection and makes the image sharper and even more brilliant. The prisms in the MINOX binoculars are coated with a phase correction layer which enhances the contrast, even in difficult light conditions, therefore increasing the twilight factor of these new variable power binoculars.
 
I recently heard that Vortex just dropped some of their pricing in Canada (not sure if there's any truth to this). I would have a serious look at the Vortex Vipers in your price range. My dad has the 10x42's and the only thing they give up to my Razor's is a smaller FOV.
 
Clocked92 said:
I recently heard that Vortex just dropped some of their pricing in Canada (not sure if there's any truth to this). I would have a serious look at the Vortex Vipers in your price range. My dad has the 10x42's and the only thing they give up to my Razor's is a smaller FOV.
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I have the Swarovski 8.5x42EL and I love them, but Wholesale Sports was clearing out their Vortex Diamondback 10x42 at $264 a week ago. No, they're not in the same league as Swarovski, but then I don't keep the Swaros under the seat of my truck. And it's hard to beat WSS' close-out price on them.
 
I have the Leupold proguide hd binos and I love them. Can't beat the warranty either. I would look into them. Solid glasses with a name that stands behind them.
 
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