budget bins?

[stevecn]

im interested in buying some binoculars, i dont really have much money spare but could afford around 60/70 pounds, ive no experince in them and havent even looked at any yet, just thought id ask here 1st as to find out if i can get any worth there money at my budget or keep saving the pennys?
thanks.

[captaincarot]

you can't get a proper pair of birding bins for less than about £120.

when they are cheaper than this they're just not up to the job.

and the difference in image quality between a pair of £70 bins and £120 bins is about 5 times that what you will get between a pair of £120 bins and £300 bins.

[rossy]

this is only a suggestion , have a look around any charity shops if you have any near you, or put an ad in the local rag, that is if you dont want brand new, and hopefully someone will answer , good luck. rossy.

[accipter]

Like the man said pay around £120 I got a pair of Bushnell porro 8by40 they suit me fine the Bushnell range are just great.--Alan.

[stevecn]

thanks captain,just what i thought. Is there any name brands i should be going for as i did a quick search and didnt reconize most of them? whats the x zoom i should be looking for, for a birding pair?

and is it a case of having a feel for the bins u are comfy holding(is there a comfort issue) for the idividual or are they pretty much all the same in that aspect, i ask as i may have a look on ebay and see what they have to offer, no doubt the usual tat!

[accipter]

That should have been 8 by 42 try 8 by 32 they may suit you, they are a little lighter.--Alan.

[stevecn]

Originally Posted by accipter

That should have been 8 by 42 try 8 by 32 they may suit you, they are a little lighter.--Alan.

thanks alan, that was a brand name that come up alot when i did a little search. Will go check them out now, cheers

[captaincarot]

2 i've actually used,

bushnell natrueview birder series, 8x 42 porro. these are an outstanding binocular for the price, they won quite a few best in class choices in birding mags, being porro they aren't water proof. my father has some of them and he's very happy with them, you can actually get them a little cheeper than the £120 i said before. but you must get the new ones with twist up eye cups.

my own bins are opticron 8 x 42 discovery roof prisms. cost about £130 and they've worked perfectly fine for me for the last 51 weeks. they are water proof being roof prism and despite both of the ones i've mentioned being nominally 8x mag mine give a bigger mag than my dads once you put them in front of your eyes.

the most important factor in deciding which bins you are going to get is how you get on with them in order to do this the best way is to look out for optics demonstration days at your local RSPB reserve and in focus shop.

play with them there and see which ones you feel most comfortable with.
once you've narrowed it down to say 3 or 4 pairs then go and try them repeatedly in differing light conditions at your local shop.

[thebeard]

i've been using the same pair of 8x25 RSPB binocs for the last 2 years, they're really good in my opinion, small enough to fit in your pocket and very easy to use - good image quality too - cost 85 quid.

[captaincarot]

the trouble with 25's is they're fine for bright sunny days, but absolutley useless once things get dark and murky, as you just cannot get enough light into them to make a clear image.
They can be helped by sticking fluorite glass in them but fluorite doesn't come with an £80 price tag.