binoculars with compass

[Lobbi]

Hi. Does any one have experience of any of the following bino's.
Bresser Compass, Helios ocean master, Highlander marine (all seem to be the same),
Adler promarine, La Scala Lsf 7x50, Seago bm750 (again these look very similar to each other
and Praktica (which look similar to Bresser and co.)
I'm looking for compass binoculars of about 7x50 but have not found any reviews. First hand knowledge is best and any suggestions at about £100 are welcomed.
Thank you in anticipation.

 

[PaulJS]

I bought myself a pair of Bresser Compass binos for Christmas. They seem ok, but haven't really been used yet. The case isn't much cop, but at sixty-something pounds I've no complaints.

I posted a link on the other recent binocular thread.

 

[Lobbi]

Thanks for that Paul.

 

[cimo]

picked up a pair of bresser 10x50 in lidl at the weekend.
17.99 yoyos. no compass & soft case - but well pleased & i'm telling everybody.

 

[Alfie168]

I've got a pair of Bresser Jaguar 8x40s wide angle binos which I've had for well over 20 years, and without being top quality they have proved perfectly good and well made. I'd certainly not dismiss Bresser on the strength of these but I'd certainly want to know the quality was not lower than mine. They are not waterproof or floating of course

I also have a pair of the Yellow Aldi marine binos which are an absolute bargain and really excellent for the price. Once again they are not the very best quality, but if you look in PBO ads you can find an identical bino in blue rather than yeallow for double what Aldi sell it for....which rather puts the Aldi price into perspective. They are waterproof and float and have a lit compass, and a range finder.

If you are looking for a good quality good value pair, I'd ask Aldi when they are doing them next as IMHO there isn't a better bino for boat work for £50. You need to have a look through them yourself of course and see how you get on with them, but I'm very pleased with mine.

I don't get on too well with binos as I have a prism in my glasses, but don't like using binos with glasses on....and the Aldi ones cope with me pretty well

Tim

 

[nickf]

Aldi Binos

I also have had a pair of the aldi binos with compass for a couple of years. Can not fault them for the price.

 

[ianj99]

Hi. Does any one have experience of any of the following bino's.
Bresser Compass, Helios ocean master, Highlander marine (all seem to be the same),
Adler promarine, La Scala Lsf 7x50, Seago bm750 (again these look very similar to each other
and Praktica (which look similar to Bresser and co.)
I'm looking for compass binoculars of about 7x50 but have not found any reviews. First hand knowledge is best and any suggestions at about £100 are welcomed.
Thank you in anticipation.

I have a pair of excellent 7x50 Bushmasters from Marinesuperstore which have compass (illuminated) and range finder.
They have a wide field of view, bright image and no focussing needed.

 

[Phideaux]

Hi. Does any one have experience of any of the following bino's.
Bresser Compass, Helios ocean master, Highlander marine (all seem to be the same),
Adler promarine, La Scala Lsf 7x50, Seago bm750 (again these look very similar to each other
and Praktica (which look similar to Bresser and co.)
I'm looking for compass binoculars of about 7x50 but have not found any reviews. First hand knowledge is best and any suggestions at about £100 are welcomed.
Thank you in anticipation.

See http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233323

I am in the same position as you, but I've decided to spend £165 and go for the Bynolyt SeaRanger II 7x50 Compass Binocular (as supplier to the RNLI) http://www.allgadgets.co.uk/ag/product.asp?dept_id=5&pf_id=AG1608

The things that decided it for me were:
a) the 25 year guarantee,
b) the fact that the RNLI don't spend unnecessarily but expect high quality for the best value,
c) and the helpful responses to my emailed questions from Mike at 'allGadgets' which have given me a sense of reassurance about customer support.
d) technical data at http://www.bynolyt.nl/producten.aspx?sel=6&L1=20020820091927:0,7055475&L4=20050714110818:0,7090379

Bynolyt also do a MkIII and MkIV. According to Mike at allGadgets "The main optical difference is the 'eye relief' of the optics. This is just the focussing distance from the eyepiece and longer eye relief can be more comfortable for specs wearers in particular. Personally I find the Mk III optics just slightly brighter but in most operational conditions you would probably be hard pushed to find much difference. Each eyepiece focuses separately and once focused no adjustment is needed from around 20m to infinity".

Please just don't buy the last pair of the MkII's

 

[shmoo]

picked up a pair of bresser 10x50 in lidl at the weekend.
17.99 yoyos. no compass & soft case - but well pleased & i'm telling everybody.

I had a pair of these but they went out of alignment after a couple of months. I cut them in half with a hacksaw (the aluminum frame cuts like butter but wrap the binos in cling film because the sawdust is very fine).

Now I have an excellent monocular that just squeezes in to my pocket and a box full of lenses and prisms to play with. Next wet weekend my grand-daughter and I plan to make a periscope.

 

[cimo]

thanks shmoo - I'll keep it in mind. bah!

 

[shmoo]

I had a pair of these but they went out of alignment after a couple of months.

To be fair, they will have been dropped, trodden on, or both, like most things on our boat.

We have long since given up trying to change and only buy cheap stuff so we don't get too upset when we break it. I expect if you treat them like optical instruments, they will be fine and have a long life.

The dog has learned to sleep quite high up with one eye open to avoid the danger of being walked on or fallen on in bad weather.

 

[actionoptics]

Binoculars with compass

Firstly I must declare an interest as I am Action Optics. I handle many different binoculars in my workshop.
On a boat anything more than 7x or 8x will produce too much extra wobble unless the sea
is very calm. 7x50 will also give you the maximum brightness that your eyes can accept. I won't bore you with the Physics but there is tons of technical information on my web site.
I have two 7x50's on board not just because I can but Janet prefers the Helios Oceanmaster - it suits her eyes / face - whilst I use a Steiner lookalike from Seapro.
You do need to take a long hard look through any bino to ensure it suits you - can you see the image and the compass card at the same time? Can you put your eyes into the rubber cups and not get vingetting / black shadows around any edge? The Helios are longer but thinner than the Seapro so they fit Jan's hands better whilst my larger hands prefer the wider Steiner shape.
Bresser / Helios / Practika / Monk / Bushnell etc are made by the same factory as none of those names actually own one. If they look the same then they probably are the same so don't be put off by the cheapest price. Happy to chat about bino's. Phone number on the web site www.actionoptics.co.uk