PBO Binocular Review

[Jurgen]

Hi All, hope someone can help.

PBO did a binocular review a few years ago, cant remember what their recommended winners were, think they were sub £80.

Does anyone know which pair were the winners.

Many thanks

Andy

 

[scottie]

Sorry no but ifyoucan get them lidl do a very good pair from time to time

 

[maby]

Sorry no but ifyoucan get them lidl do a very good pair from time to time

Do be very careful with Lidl - I have a pair of their large zoom binos and they are pretty terrible. Admittedly, they were also very cheap, so I didn't complain, but they don't get used very much.

 

[pvb]

The PBO Aug 2014 rated these a "Best Buy" - http://www.allgadgets.co.uk/marine/pc/Bynolyt-SeaRanger-II-7x50-Compass-Binocular-p46.htm

 

[Poecheng]

Binoculars are a fairly subjective purchase and I only offer the following for your consideration.

Richard of Action Optics (on these forums) is an expert and extremely helpful - has a website and sells and repairs.
Monk Optics are very good as well.

I now have three pairs on board (!):
a) Monk Argonaut II 7 x 50 waterproof compass bins bought at a Boat Show in about 1990. Very good and lasted me years.
b) Steiner Commander 7 x 50 waterproof compass - supposedly the best and, although my pair is absolutely battered, these are v.good binoculars indeed and nice to use.
c) Fujinon Image Stabilising bins which are, from memory something like 12 x 30.

This summer holiday I spent a fair while when at anchor comparing the Steiner to the Fujinon. The Steiners are said to let in lots of light at night time so that you see things you wouldn't otherwise see.

My very clear conclusion (subjective:encouragement was that the Fujinon's night time visibility was markedly better than the Steiner. Second that the usability of the Fujinons was better as you can actually use the increased magnification because of the IS (I got them after bouncing around the Thames Estuary and not being able to visually identify bouys because of the boat's movement).

Overall, whilst the Steiners are good, the IS Fujinons are better (even though their optics may not be quite as good - I am no expert) in the real world usage.

Each to their own but I would recommend trying a pair of IS bins before splashing out.

 

[maby]

The Fujinons should be good - they cost more than my first boat did!

 

[sailorman]

I have a Pr of Steiner Commanders I dont need, 2 Prs are really to many

 

[Lodesman77]

A fairly good selection here: -

http://www.scopesnskies.com/filter_products.php?category=16&filter=BINO11&sort=price

I have a pair similar to the Konus which cost me about £100 five or six years ago and seem good for all round use, I believe similar to the ones that come up at Lidl occasionally...

 

[pvb]

I have a Pr of Steiner Commanders I dont need, 2 Prs are really to many

Somebody should buy them off you ASAP! They are, even today, great binoculars. I bought mine about 30+ years ago, and they're still excellent. I'd like a pair of image-stabilised binoculars, but the waterproof ones are rather pricey.

 

[Poecheng]

The Fujinons should be good - they cost more than my first boat did!

Ha - interesting.
They were an Ebay buy for me and obviously didn't pay new. Absolutely cracking bins though.

 

[prv]

Each to their own but I would recommend trying a pair of IS bins before splashing out.

The problem is that as far as I know, nobody makes stabilised binos with a compass in (I believe there's a technical reason rather than that it simply hasn't occurred to anyone).

I use the compass in my binoculars a lot, perhaps half of the times I pick them up, so this is a deal breaker for me.

Pete

 

[Poecheng]

I have a Pr of Steiner Commanders I dont need, 2 Prs are really to many

OP could do a lot worse than these and would find it hard do better :encouragement:

For info, the Steiners I was using above are 1989 and perhaps the most knackered you could find short of a nuclear war. Optics good apart from a slight blooming round the edges of the port hand big lens (likely: breakdown of glue in lens components?).

 

[Poecheng]

I'd like a pair of image-stabilised binoculars, but the waterproof ones are rather pricey.

Next time you are in Brightlingsea :encouragement: come and have a play with them and compare.

 

[sailorman]

OP could do a lot worse than these and would find it hard do better :encouragement:

For info, the Steiners I was using above are 1989 and perhaps the most knackered you could find short of a nuclear war. Optics good apart from a slight blooming round the edges of the port hand big lens (likely: breakdown of glue in lens components?).

Mine still have 20 yrs of warranty on them

 

[pvb]

Next time you are in Brightlingsea :encouragement: come and have a play with them and compare.

Very kind offer, errr, I'll have to check my itinerary!

 

[actionoptics]

Hi All, hope someone can help.

PBO did a binocular review a few years ago, cant remember what their recommended winners were, think they were sub £80.

Does anyone know which pair were the winners.'

I was a bit critical of that review as so many good / better binoculars were omitted. Also many brands are made by the same factory. Some models will suit you better than others so it is vital to check for yourself to see for example, if the centre hinge can be opened, or closed, to fit your face; if the focus is easy to reach / turn esp if individual eyepieces; if you can get your eyes to match the exit pupil comfortably or do you get black areas; does it feel light eeight and plasticy so unlikely to withstand use on a boat, etc. Note that BaK4 is the best glass followed by Chinese BAK-4, followed by Bk-7.

 

[VicS]

Hi All, hope someone can help.

PBO did a binocular review a few years ago, cant remember what their recommended winners were, think they were sub £80.

Does anyone know which pair were the winners.

Many thanks

Andy

The PBO Aug 2014 rated these a "Best Buy" - http://www.allgadgets.co.uk/marine/pc/Bynolyt-SeaRanger-II-7x50-Compass-Binocular-p46.htm

A search revels two other reviews in recent years that are available for purchase.

One in 2005:

Category: Product tests
Author: David Pugh
Description: PBO Tested
Compass binoculars: Osculati, Dowling & Rowe, Konus Blue Cup, Swift Sea King, Opticron Marine-2, Compass Binocom, Bynolyt SeaRanger II, Bushnell Marine 13-7500, XM Compass Bushmaster Voyager, Silva Eterna Navigator, Fujinon Mariner WPC I/F and WPC C/F (ke

and another in 2002:

Category: Product tests / Buyers' guides / Gear & equipment
Author: Andrew Simpson
Description: Good Gear Guide
Binoculars on test: Steiner Ranger, Fujinon Polaris, Silva 8 x 25, Canon 8 x 23, Silva Eterna Plus, Vista 7 x 35, Fumoto Freedom, Fumoto Triton, Fumoto Classic, Inpro Optics 6 x 18, Dowling & Rowe 6 x 18, Foton 5 x 25

SEE
http://marinedirectory.ybw.com/reprints/results1.jsp

 

[pvb]

I must say I interpreted "a few years ago" as rather more recent than 2002 or 2005, although I have to confess years seem to slip by very rapidly these days! With the frequent advances in technology and new product introductions, I reckon comparison tests more than 2 or 3 years old are fairly meaningless.

 

[ghostlymoron]

+1 absolutely meaningless.

 

[VicS]

I must say I interpreted "a few years ago" as rather more recent than 2002 or 2005, although I have to confess years seem to slip by very rapidly these days! With the frequent advances in technology and new product introductions, I reckon comparison tests more than 2 or 3 years old are fairly meaningless.

All I found though. There may have been others but they did not turn up in the search .......... nor for that matter did the one from 2014 mentioned earlier in the thread!