Compact Binoculars 8 x 32

Irish Rover

Irish Rover

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I have a decent pair of 7 x 50 binoculars on the boat, and another pair for use at home, as I have an expansive sea view all the way to Samos Island. I'd like to buy a pair of compact binos for other uses - principally when I get seated up in the gods for football and rugby matches, for the occasional race meeting when I'm in Ireland, and for carrying with me when I'm cruising and go ashore on the dinghy. I'm told 8 x 32 is the best for floodlit stadiums. Any recommendations please, at a reasonable price not (much) more than €100, or less if possible.
 
I don’t know about using binos in a floodlit stadium, but in general use, 8 x 42 will be brighter than 8 x 32. I agree with the recommendations in #2, but I have a pair of these which I’ve been delighted with. They’re waterproof and nitrogen filled.

Opticron Adventurer II WP PC Binocular 8x42​


Opticron Adventurer II WP PC 8x42 Binocular - Bristol Cameras
 
For occasional use in decent light I would go even smaller to 8x25 which almost fit in a pocket. I use such a pair for ordinary walks in daylight. They are not as good as my 10x40 Canon stabilised but less tiring in use. Whether they would be OK in a stadium I can't say but I suspect they would be more than adequate for non-critical situations, and you can get good quality ones as well as cheap tat.
 
Whether any particular size of binoculars is satisfactory in lower light levels will depend to some extent on the age of the user. Older eyes differ from younger ones in a number of ways, none of which enhances low-light vision.
 
alan_d said:
Whether any particular size of binoculars is satisfactory in lower light levels will depend to some extent on the age of the user. Older eyes differ from younger ones in a number of ways, none of which enhances low-light vision.
Click to expand...
I presume you are referring to the exit pupil. We had a discussion about this a few years ago on another binocular thread. 7x50s have an exit pupil of about 7mm which matches a young eye, meaning that they are bright in low light but not overbright in full light. I photographed my eye and my dilated pupils was about 6mm a few years ago, which is quite good but maybe less now. In any case, almost any binoculars are going to be better than nothing.
 
I cannot tell you what 'size' they are, they are on the boat 1hrs drive away ... but after many years of standard bulky binoculars on ships etc - I decided one time to get a compact set ...

I was in Hamburg late 1990's and I went to a huge camera store that specialised also in binoculars ..... particularly Steiner.

As you do - you test as best you can and find what is comfortable for the eyes and also hands ... and being compacts - I wanted to be able to slip into jacket pocket.
I found the Steiner Commander compact ticked all boxes and paid the price ...

Just as a note :
I have US Navy standard bino's that my Father acquired (actually they were used on the B17 flight he navigated from USA to UK for movie War Lover) .. I have a set of chinese copy budget standard binos I carried to sea as personal .... I have a set of Russian Tank Commander Bino's ....

But out of all - those Steiner are best ..
 
johnalison said:
I presume you are referring to the exit pupil. We had a discussion about this a few years ago on another binocular thread. 7x50s have an exit pupil of about 7mm which matches a young eye, meaning that they are bright in low light but not overbright in full light. I photographed my eye and my dilated pupils was about 6mm a few years ago, which is quite good but maybe less now. In any case, almost any binoculars are going to be better than nothing.
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Not just the change in size of the exit pupil but also loss of sensitivity of the rod cells with age, reduced contrast perception and, of course, developing cataracts. What I have never been able to decide is whether those of us with old eyes should be paying for better optics in an attempt to combat the effects of aging, or alternatively not be wasting our money on refinements we will not be able to appreciate.
 
The thing I have found as I get older - is the reduced ability to focus / steady binoculars ... ie ... to read a sail number or boat name ... where 20yrs ago - it would just jump around a bit but I could still read it - now I find I'm winding the focus roller back and forth more to clear the fuzzinness.

This has led to my preferring less magnification binoculars ...
 
Refueler said:
The thing I have found as I get older - is the reduced ability to focus / steady binoculars ... ie ... to read a sail number or boat name ... where 20yrs ago - it would just jump around a bit but I could still read it - now I find I'm winding the focus roller back and forth more to clear the fuzzinness.

This has led to my preferring less magnification binoculars ...
Click to expand...
The Bushnell ones I'm looking at (#4) have something called permafocus
  • PermaFocus Technology - Keeps distant objects permanently in focus, eliminating the need for constant adjustment
 
Irish Rover said:
The Bushnell ones I'm looking at (#4) have something called permafocus
  • PermaFocus Technology - Keeps distant objects permanently in focus, eliminating the need for constant adjustment
Click to expand...

I had a set of Binos that had 'infinity focus' .... basically same thing ... all you had to do was set the eyepieces to your eyes (everyone has slightly different eyes and the adjustment is for that) .. and then use.
They were OK ... but someone 'lightfingered' them ......
 
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