Cheap 10 X 50 bins from Lidl anybody.
- Thread starter VicS
- Start date
roly_voya
Well-Known Member
They had these on last year, exellent the RRP is about £60
Blue5
Well-Known Member
I bought a pair of these last year from Lidl, used them weekly and they have just fallen apart, centre retaining screw thread stripped, having said that I will probably buy another pair.
Searush
Well-Known Member
10x magnification is just too high for hand use without tripod.
boatbuilder
Well-Known Member
I've got 3 sets, 1 in car, 1in boat. 1 at home. All good, i cant tell bad optics anyway.
Cheap so no worry if they fail.
Cheap so no worry if they fail.
graham
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
10x magnification is just too high for hand use without tripod.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think 7x 50 is fairly standard for boat use?
10x magnification is just too high for hand use without tripod.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think 7x 50 is fairly standard for boat use?
Alfie168
Well-Known Member
I've had a pair of Bresser Binos for 25 years or so. Mine are 8x50 wide angle, and whilst nowhere near the best optically they have proved very serviceable and not fallen to bits. My only problem is the centre focussing wheel has gone a bit stiff, and I'm not sure whether to squirt something down it to see if it loosens up. I don't want to even think about dismantling.
I also bought a pair of yellow marine 7x50 Binos in Aldi for £50, and they seem really quite good, and include a built in compass, range finder and backlight, and they float.
For the price, these Lidl ones look very good . Bresser seems to be a German branding of a far eastern product...and I hope thats not stating the too obvious, even though I have never been able to find a 'made in' label on mine . I certainly paid quite a bit more than this for mine 25 years ago in a reputable optics shop in Leeds.
Tim
I also bought a pair of yellow marine 7x50 Binos in Aldi for £50, and they seem really quite good, and include a built in compass, range finder and backlight, and they float.
For the price, these Lidl ones look very good . Bresser seems to be a German branding of a far eastern product...and I hope thats not stating the too obvious, even though I have never been able to find a 'made in' label on mine . I certainly paid quite a bit more than this for mine 25 years ago in a reputable optics shop in Leeds.
Tim
Searush
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
10x magnification is just too high for hand use without tripod.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think 7x 50 is fairly standard for boat use?
[/ QUOTE ]
I think they were a standard Navy size. 50mm is a good large size for object lenses, very good for use in poor light. 7xmag is good for hand held, esp if engine running or disturbed water is preventing you holding them still. I have also had 8x40 - adequate obj lens size & still hand holdable. Modern coatings can make a big difference to clarity.
[ QUOTE ]
10x magnification is just too high for hand use without tripod.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think 7x 50 is fairly standard for boat use?
[/ QUOTE ]
I think they were a standard Navy size. 50mm is a good large size for object lenses, very good for use in poor light. 7xmag is good for hand held, esp if engine running or disturbed water is preventing you holding them still. I have also had 8x40 - adequate obj lens size & still hand holdable. Modern coatings can make a big difference to clarity.
graham
Well-Known Member
I use binos a lot at night to look at the aspect of ships lights etc. possibly more usefull by night than in the day.
Also can look through them upside down to read small detail on charts tide tables etc.Maybe showing my age a bit there /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Roll on Summer.
Also can look through them upside down to read small detail on charts tide tables etc.Maybe showing my age a bit there /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Roll on Summer.
roger
Well-Known Member
I've had some for a while and find them very useful. 10X is OK if the sea is smoothish. In the Swedish skerries that's usually the case. Out in nasty rough water they would probably not be very good.
Incidentally we dont have much in the way of nights either.
Incidentally we dont have much in the way of nights either.
graham
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
we dont have much in the way of nights either.
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Even in winter??
we dont have much in the way of nights either.
[/ QUOTE ]
Even in winter??
Lizzie_B
Well-Known Member
They turn up regularly at intervals. Have bought 5pairs-- not all for me, but for other sailors who used mine and were impressed enough to want a pair for themselves. Don't know what this year's price is but have paid £15 per pair in past. They are excellent value for money. The ones I've bought had coated lenses and rubber armour.
At £15 they have stood the test of time and rough use well. Much more inclined to use them and only use more expensive bins on the rare occasion cheapo's won't do job.
My Serbian neighbour tells me the ones I bought were ex Czech soviet military mass production for corporals and the like, but entrepreneurs have been buying up whole military storage warehouses full of them (no doubt the factories are happy to keep producing them as long as they sell). The joys of cheap labour costs coupled to cheap cost of living.. No doubt the Chinese will start muscling in soon.
At £15 they have stood the test of time and rough use well. Much more inclined to use them and only use more expensive bins on the rare occasion cheapo's won't do job.
My Serbian neighbour tells me the ones I bought were ex Czech soviet military mass production for corporals and the like, but entrepreneurs have been buying up whole military storage warehouses full of them (no doubt the factories are happy to keep producing them as long as they sell). The joys of cheap labour costs coupled to cheap cost of living.. No doubt the Chinese will start muscling in soon.
reginaldon
Well-Known Member
Bought a pair last year - v. good, in fact far better than the zooms, I use at c. 15X which I used as handheld; the Bresslers can be used as almost fixed focus and I don't find 10X at all too great for handheld; the light transmission is good also.
VicS
Well-Known Member
Some good reports then. I was actually thinking of getting them for looking at the birds in the garden (our bird table and feeders are at the far end of the lawn so we need binos.) We only have 7X30 at the moment.
Lizzie_B
Well-Known Member
They are our weapon of choice when bird watching as they are much lighter than the boat's 'proper' bins /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
Searush
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
Some good reports then. I was actually thinking of getting them for looking at the birds in the garden (our bird table and feeders are at the far end of the lawn so we need binos.) We only have 7X30 at the moment.
[/ QUOTE ]
DOH! You missed the 20-60 zoom spotter scope with tripod for about £20 at Aldi the other month then? Try your local ALDI NOW, they may just have one or two left. I got one for use on the boat when dried out on the saltings.
Probably hopeless when floating, but excellent from a stable platform. There is slight edge distortion in the optics, but only really evident as you pan around.
Some good reports then. I was actually thinking of getting them for looking at the birds in the garden (our bird table and feeders are at the far end of the lawn so we need binos.) We only have 7X30 at the moment.
[/ QUOTE ]
DOH! You missed the 20-60 zoom spotter scope with tripod for about £20 at Aldi the other month then? Try your local ALDI NOW, they may just have one or two left. I got one for use on the boat when dried out on the saltings.
Probably hopeless when floating, but excellent from a stable platform. There is slight edge distortion in the optics, but only really evident as you pan around.
thurloo
Well-Known Member
hi give them a short squirt of lanolin will free them up like new ,
maxi77
Well-Known Member
7X50 is the optimum combination for getting light from the object lens, the big one on the front, to the eye so are the best for night use. As noted aboe 7X is also a good level of magnification for hand held use. Thus with 7X50 being the ideal for night time use and hand held it has become the standard for marine use.
VicS
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
DOH! You missed the 20-60 zoom spotter scope with tripod for about £20 at Aldi the other month then?
[/ QUOTE ] No I did not miss it. I just did not think a telescope on a tripod in a small kitchen was going to be very convenient.
DOH! You missed the 20-60 zoom spotter scope with tripod for about £20 at Aldi the other month then?
[/ QUOTE ] No I did not miss it. I just did not think a telescope on a tripod in a small kitchen was going to be very convenient.
actionoptics
Well-Known Member
Re: alfie 168 stiff focus
A little WD 40 type of oil will loosen the focus and it won't get into the optics from the focus thread but only a very little or it will be too loose. The original grease just gets "heavier" with age ( don't we all? ) To do a proper job, you will have to partially dismantle the bino. Give me a call on 023 8084 2801 and I'll be happy to talk you through the process - it is not that difficult.
A little WD 40 type of oil will loosen the focus and it won't get into the optics from the focus thread but only a very little or it will be too loose. The original grease just gets "heavier" with age ( don't we all? ) To do a proper job, you will have to partially dismantle the bino. Give me a call on 023 8084 2801 and I'll be happy to talk you through the process - it is not that difficult.