Stiener bins

[oneworld]

Hi,

I have a good working knowledge of bins and have owned pentax and olympus 10x50's but I am looking for a smaller compact pair of bins 8 or 10 x 40(ish).

Ideally I'd love a pair of leica's but my budget doesn't stretch so far
I will use 10x50 for astronomy so that isn't a huge consideration in this case.

Does anybody have opinions on Steiner (about the right cost £200+ish) or would I be better off with some smaller leica's from ebay?? Are there other options I have not considered?

I would be using them for general wildlife and birds in woodland and open areas in all weathers. I tend to use my equipment and so it must be able to take a few knocks. Must be light and good quality.

I don't want much do I

Jas

[Tam]

try the bushnell range the do bins for all money ranges and though the are not lecia's are decent quality,usually waterproof and nitro/purged thingy,they also have a decent web site Bushnell Outdoor Products

[solus]

You could do worse than look at the RSPB range - my hubby bought a pair of their own-branded 10x40s a couple of years ago and I have to admit (somewhat crossly!) that they are as good as my admittedly now quite old Zeiss bins! His cost a bit more than your budget, but a fraction of the current cost of Zeiss & Leica and they are really good quality.

RSPB - Binoculars

If you're near a Reserve with a shop you can try some out to see which are suitable.

Opticron are pretty good quality too, I believe, and reasonably priced.

Let us know what you end up with!

[wellies101]

I have been looking at Steiner Skyhawk 10x42's recently because of price and value (compared to leica, zeiss, swarovski, etc.). I think comparables are opticron, RSPB and Bushnell, but what I like about the Steiner is the shape of the eyecups. They fit neatly around my eyesockets and therefore block out glare/wind and the latter can cause my eyes to water.

This is very much a matter of personal taste and I would recommend try a number of makes in shops, but I would say Steiner are excellent value for money are are what I will be buying in a month or two.