cheap Binoculars

[Hedgeland]

once of the reasons i was looking at Olympus 8x42 EXWP was they looked good value for money.

At £130 (at one online store but quite a bit more at others) they are more expensive than the Bushnells but being roof prism are slightly smaller and almost 100g lighter.

The olympus are also waterproof which is benificial.

Think the 8x42 is a reasonable size for what i need whilst not being too big for general use.

cheers
H

[diggleken]

Originally Posted by Hedgeland

once of the reasons i was looking at Olympus 8x42 EXWP was they looked good value for money.

At £130 (at one online store but quite a bit more at others) they are more expensive than the Bushnells but being roof prism are slightly smaller and almost 100g lighter.

The olympus are also waterproof which is benificial.

Think the 8x42 is a reasonable size for what i need whilst not being too big for general use.

cheers
H

Try a few H, ease of use is soooooo important, check use of focus wheel for example, you want it to be smooth and quick and easy to focus in with - Good bins are a big and important step to enjoying wildlife more, thats why I said not to rush it!!
Good luck, whatever you do.
Ken

[JW]

VIKING Vistron 8x42

Around the £100 mark. Waterproof and very close focussing, around the 2m mark.

I've a pair of Olympus bins that I use for astronomy.

[Darley]

I have some Olympus 8-16 x 25 Zoom, which is a cheaper pair than you're after, but the quality is superb. I can recommend the Oly optics - I use an Oly DSLR too.

[derelict]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

Astonishing value - I've also got a pair I keep in the car. IIRC they were about a tenner. The O.P. could buy 15 pairs for his target price!

Jim

Even I couldn't lose that many!

[Hedgeland]

tried out a fair few at weekend and opted for the minox 8x42 BV. Had to extend the budget a little to £169 but i took all the advice and chose the ones that felt the best in my hands.

Really pleased with them

[hammock monkey]

maushaus binos are pretty good, i have a pair of 10x42's that are several years old now but they're still rock solid. I got a free pair of 10x25's with them (they still do this) that were great for keeping in the car.
The bloke who runs the company is a really nice bloke, very friendly and extrememly helpful.
no affiliations or owt

[JB9302]

Got 2 pair , one is a Tasco 10 x 40 in rubberised green , I have had them for 28 years and they have survived all weather conditions .
A couple of months ago whilst in Aldi picked up a couple of pairs of their "el cheapo" 10 x 25 "s for £6.99 each , for the price they arn"t too bad and a nice handy size to keep in the car or jacket pocket .
If they last as long as the Tasco"s I"ll be surprised and in any case prob wont be here then

[Madelinew]

Nikon every time for me. £150 is what I call shelling out on bins! Before I saved up for my Nikons (which I risked getting second hand and have never regretted at £120), I bought a cheap pair of German ones with high magnification for about £20 on Ebay. They were great until I dropped them and one of the lens went a bit skew but they were cheap enough to dump. In the interim between buying the Nikons and dropping the cheapies, they were great for the kids to use.

[Blackdogjnr]

Bushnell natureview 10x42 got mine from ebay under £100.
Also there are some compact 8x25 on the rspb website, got those for the wife and she thinks they're fine.