Choosing binoculars

[epwc]

Daughter going on a field trip in South Africa, all she knows is that she’ll be looking for birds

Any advice appreciated, I guess compact but decent quality, not top end as they’re unlikely to be used again

[Calculon]

If for limited use something like this is more than adequate

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=nikon+aculon ... le-20_6_13

Better than any equivalent roof prism bins that's will be more than twice the price

[Slick]

Timely thread!

What should I look for in a decent pair? Have a very old pair of my dads which are excellent and a newish pair that are crap and looking to get an upgrade

[Monk]

recently bought these and am more than happy

Nikon 10x42 Monarch M7 Binoculars

[Slick]

recently bought these and am more than happy

Nikon 10x42 Monarch M7 Binoculars

What sort of price? Don’t have a big budget

[Tichtheid]

Can you use a good set of binoculars for star gazing? It’s something I want to try without shelling out on a telescope to begin with

[inactionman]

recently bought these and am more than happy

Nikon 10x42 Monarch M7 Binoculars

I've got a set of Monarchs, they're very good - very clear, undistorted image and well made. Mine are 8x42.

don't go too mad with telephoto, as they're hand-held and they'll just shake about all over the place - the first number (e.g. 8 or 10) show you the magnification, the second number (usually around 42) how big the front element is - bigger gives more light but gets fecking heavy and expensive). 8x42 or 10x42 would be a good bet but I wouldn't go any further.
Higher-end ones have special glass that better deals with chromatic aberrations, but these can get expensive very quickly.
More expensive adds things like inert gas and better sealing to reduce fogging.
It's sometimes worth 'trying them on', which sounds odd but some just have a weird eyepiece shape and spacing which aren't comfortable.

I'd recommend going to have a look at the RSPB sites near you, they tend to have a good selection -I believe the RSPB-branded binoculars are made by viking who are a good quality brand themselves.

Useful RSPB guide here:
https://shopping.rspb.org.uk/page/how-t ... d-watching

[inactionman]

Can you use a good set of binoculars for star gazing? It’s something I want to try without shelling out on a telescope to begin with

Yep. Make sure you get a decent (well, at least not awful) tripod but there's many stargazing binoculars. They might be a bit clunky for general use though.

[Monk]

recently bought these and am more than happy

Nikon 10x42 Monarch M7 Binoculars

What sort of price? Don’t have a big budget

I am a Saffa so paying a premium you should be able to avoid [ assuming you are in Europe]

anyhoo - I will not buy again and reckoned that into my transaction

[Torquemada 1420]

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/buyi ... binoculars

might help. In many ways, the same balancing act with camera lenses
- more magnification = less light or the need for bigger glass = more weight
- more weight = less steady/harder to hold
- more mag = smaller field of view

[epwc]

If for limited use something like this is more than adequate

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=nikon+aculon ... le-20_6_13

Better than any equivalent roof prism bins that's will be more than twice the price

Thanks having had a hunt around they do look like the best option around that price

[Calculon]

If for limited use something like this is more than adequate

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=nikon+aculon ... le-20_6_13

Better than any equivalent roof prism bins that's will be more than twice the price

Thanks having had a hunt around they do look like the best option around that price

I've had a pair of them in the past and they're surprisingly good optically. They're not particularly compact but I can't think of any good quality compacts anywhere near that price.

[weegie01]

recently bought these and am more than happy

Nikon 10x42 Monarch M7 Binoculars

What sort of price? Don’t have a big budget

I know nothing beyond what I have been told by relatives and friends. But they are farmers, game keepers etc and decent bins are part of their working life.

Vikings are the 'go to' brand for decent inexpensive quality.

I have Bushnell 10x42 bought for the sole reason they were cheap in Costco and I knew the name. As I recall about £30 - £40 a long time ago but are perfectly decent for what I use them for i.e. casual use to pick out deer and anything else too far off for me to pick out visually.

Try PC World, or if you are in Glasgow go to Jessops, where you can try a few and get a feel for the differences at price ranges. The staff will probably not have a clue and I can't think of anywhere else you can do this. Better still, go to the stand at the RHS next year if you are not in a hurry which has hundreds of binoculars and monos (some very cheap) and will happily talk you through everything you want to know.

The Prakticas at PC World are apparently surprisingly good and very cheap. Try them and see if they are decent enough, then try a Canon. You will see the difference but it'll give you a feel for the difference in price in and quality between OK and very good so you can decide if OK is good enough.