What binoculars do you use?

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RufusM

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I am looking to replace my old and worn Tasco 7x50's and there seems to be a huge variance on price.

Is 7x50 the best magnification - it seems the most common and what does it mean?

I can understand the benefits of Nitrogen filling, floating straps and compass cards for bearings but you can still spend from £80 ( http://www.allgadgets.co.uk/ag/product.asp?dept%5Fid=5&pf%5Fid=AG2025 ) to several hundred for a pair of Steiner's.

Any thoughts particularly for a spectacle wearer? - and contact lenses are not an option!!

Thanks... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif



Ps. No allegiance to any site or manufacturer intended or implied
 
7 = the magnification 50 = diameter of the object lens in mm(ie the big one!).

This is thought to be the most practical size for use on a boat. The self-stabilising sort excepted.

FWIW I use my late father's 35 year old Steiners. superb optics, at dusk they gather more light than the naked eye alone.
 
50 divided by 7 = 7.1 which is dia. of light beam exiting the bins.

Average human eye pupil dia. ( fully distended) = 7mm

So 7 x 50 get the most light into your eyes.

Other light efficient sizes are too big and clumsy for use at sea.
 
I use a pair of 7x50's from Compass Marine(the one's with a compass in for bearings).They are now on offer for £79.16 from the website.I also have a pair of rubberised 12x50's which I got from 7dayshop.com for £15.These I use more at anchor for birdwatching etc(the feathered sort)
 
I bought a pair from Compass Watersports 7x50 with built in compass. They threw in a free monocular, which has been handy to take on walks ashore. I think they are now about £80.
 
I've tried many types and the best so far are a pair of relatively cheap 40pnds ish, auto focus or sometimes known as fixed focus.

The great thing is you just pick them up and point and the image is always sharp meaning you can identify the name/number on a bouy or marker much more reliably. Really a huge improvement over any that you have to manually focus. I bought mine in France three years ago.

These
http://www.everythingmarine.co.uk/item/Plastimo-Autofocus-7x50-Binoculars_11876.html
look exactly the same though, probably just re branded. If you buy them as a cheap spare pair I guarantee you'll end up using them more than you thought you would!
 
I use Nikon Travellite 8x25.

trav-V_3.jpg


Keep 'em in your pocket, superlight, and although the spec would lead you to believe they would be a bit demanding at dusk (small optic) there's a lot more to image quality including glass quality and prism construction. They are so crisp in low light. I'm delighted with them.
 
see to recall that the Fujinon ones were best for spectactle wearers, as their eye piece lens is larger than anything else on the market. Monk Optics are normally at all the boat shows touting them.
 
Fujinon make excellent bins. Their 7x50s are to be found on the bridges of very many merchant ships, where they usually stand up well to hard usage.
 
Seconded on the Comapss marine ones. Cheap, well featured and acceptable optical quality for me. Around 80 quid from TCS Chandlery.

However, these were gifted to me, and I have used Fujica 7x50s I bought from ebay for 3 quid for the last 2 years, which are also very good optically, but of course a bit old fashioned without the seductive rubber coating soft feel of the modern ones.
 
the plastimo autofocus are excellent for the price optically but keep them away from any rain as they are not waterproof, £24.99 in the gael force catalogue p79
 
I use the cheap £15 7x30s available from all sorts of different shops. always got 2 or 3 pairs on board. doesnt matter if they are dropped / fall in / get wet / are lost - they are disposible. the optics are quite good enough in my experience, and they have the great benefit that being light they do not shake / wobble anything like as much.

the "proper" bins stay in a locker if they are on board (I must have a look for them)

P>S> Aldi had some good ones on special offer recently. 12x32 about £15 and excellent for casual bird watching.
 
I have a pair of Steiner Commanders (retail price £600) which those nice people at YM gave me as a prize. The optics are superb - they are called 'auto focus' which in reality means they have a huge depth of focus so you never need to adjust them once they're set for your eyes. On the down side, they are pretty massive to hold.

Prior to that I splashed out on a pair of 10 x 30 Canon image stabilisers. I found them very disappointing as they just couldn't cope with the movement of the boat at sea. I now keep them for bird watching for which they are superb. Another big disadvantage is that the activation button isn't recessed and the case is fabric so if you lay them on their backs or something sits on top of them in the locker, next time you take them out the batteries are flat.
 
I have a pair of those (cost £25). Good backup to the old pair of Steiners on the boat. I can use them with my glasses on, and it is very handy that they are always focused. Auto-focus is a misnomer. They are just fixed focus, but reasonably sharp from about 50 yards away and beyond. At the price the optics are acceptable and they make a useful second pair.
 
I have a pair recently bought from allgadgets...

ag2025b.jpg


They seem well built and the compass spins fluidly and is fairly well damped. The light to compass without using the illumination button is poor and needs bright light. Otherwise, the illumination button works fine.

The optics are better than my old "Swift Skipper MkII" that used to belong to my grandad many many years ago, and which this was bought to replace.

Steve
 
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