Binoculars

   / Binoculars #31  
I bought a pair of Swarovski SLC 8x30 binoculars in 1996. Great glass but last summer the focus knob broke, it was just spinning. With little hope I called Swarovski about getting them repaired. Imagine my surprise when they said they could repair them. I shipped them off and three weeks later they came back good as new! They fixed the focus knob, replaced the seals and eye cups and recharged them at no charge, I only had to pay shipping to get them there.

I have three Swarovski rifle scopes, one I purchased in the eighties that's still crystal clear today and two PH series (30mm) that are 10+ years old and like new and can't recommend the brand enough. They are pricey but to me are worth every penny.
 
   / Binoculars #33  
I am a little surprised, given the obvious depth of knowledge on here, that no one has mentioned DEPTH OF FIELD. To me, this is one of the most important characteristics of a pair of binos, particularly for panning around looking in the woods. I'm not really sure what all affects the depth, but I know that it is usually less at higher powers. So I don't like anything over 8x. I have an old pair binos made by Bausch&Lomb for the US Navy that are only 6x. Individual eyepiece focus. Old, mostly uncoated glass I suppose. But I love them because they can be set to be in-focus from about 20ft out to infinity. I have a decent pair of Pentax 8x compacts and some decent Burris 8x that both have wonderful clarity, but both require fiddling with the focus a lot when panning around. It's another reason to try your candidates out NOT inside the store.

- Jay
 
   / Binoculars #34  
I am a little surprised, given the obvious depth of knowledge on here, that no one has mentioned DEPTH OF FIELD. To me, this is one of the most important characteristics of a pair of binos, particularly for panning around looking in the woods. I'm not really sure what all affects the depth, but I know that it is usually less at higher powers. So I don't like anything over 8x. I have an old pair binos made by Bausch&Lomb for the US Navy that are only 6x. Individual eyepiece focus. Old, mostly uncoated glass I suppose. But I love them because they can be set to be in-focus from about 20ft out to infinity. I have a decent pair of Pentax 8x compacts and some decent Burris 8x that both have wonderful clarity, but both require fiddling with the focus a lot when panning around. It's another reason to try your candidates out NOT inside the store.

- Jay

Depends what you are trying to do with them. For hunting and especially elk hunting, I prefer binoculars with a narrower field of view.

Hunting elk in the timber after they have bedded for the day is probably one of the hardest ways to hunt elk. But most times that's where they will be during hunting hours, except right after sunrise and right before sunset. On some public land and when the moon is full they may never move any real distance in the day.

Fortunately, early in my elk hunting career I hunted with an old codger who really knew elk. (Well he was in his late forties and to a guy in his twenties that was OLD!)

Hunting with him was excruciatingly painful. He walked like a crazy man in the dark up mountains and to a guy from sea level there just wasn't enough oxygen to go around. Then after he announced the elk had already moved through and that death march I just endured was in vain, he would set off after them, me in tow.

He had an old pair of Zeiss binoculars and they pretty much never left his face, even to eat. Yes he would lower them when he walked but he never took more than three-five steps before looking through them again. For a god -awful long time I might add!

We would walk for a ways until he thought we might be close and then he really got serious. What he did was look at everything with his binoculars. He was looking for part of an elk and using the narrow focus of the binoculars to pick those parts out.

He showed me how to scan in "layers" and how the focus could be used to blur foregrounds and backgrounds to make things stand out. It's a very systematic way to cover an area and a great way to look into the depths of the forest. It's easier to pick out things and less strain on the eyes.

We got a few elk together and a few years later I used that technique to take my first elk by myself.

IMHO for rifle scopes and looking at the Grand Canyon, depth of field is great. For searching out something in particular in the woods, closer focus is better.
 
   / Binoculars #35  
Oh man loads of great brands out there. I use Leupold and Burris only cause I bought em at a great deal and liked how I could see through them.
Then thers also Steiner/Swarowski/Zeiss /etc.
If your looking for some with a lot of bang for your buck IMO I would give Vortex a hard look.
I was a Cavalry officer in the Army and we spent a lot of time looking through binocs. I used the issue binocs (made by Fujinon), Zeiss Jena, Steiner, and Nikon.

The first thing to know is the experts on binocs are bird watchers. Their reviews are far more detailed. And they spend more so they know what is good at low light, for example.

Second, you have to decide between military/marine style and the center focus type. I was partial to that type because of my army experience, but now use binocs on boats in the ocean so it's a requirement.

Third is power and size. It's generally considered that more than 7 power makes it hard to focus from a moving platform. 50mm size has better light gathering without being too big or heavy so 7x50 is very popular.

I really like the Fujinons, but I also have a pair of Nikons that are smaller and lighter. I have a pair of lower cost binocs that look like the Steiners but have a polycarbonate frame instead of metal. They've held up well and are lighter, but aren't great in low light.

If you wear glasses, try befor you buy because some binocs are a lot better than others. Look on the spec sheet: those with long eye relief work much better.
 
   / Binoculars #36  
Go look through them, but unless there are some high end stores near you- you won't find quality optics to look through. 400 gets you a poor man's optic! - but there still are some good ones. Educate yourself by reading reviews and specs and learning the terminology. At the least, you want what the binocs below have. For info- check out Eagle Optics and BH Photo.
Binoculars from Eagle Optics
I bird and clarity, resolution, no halos, and field of view is what it is all about. My binoc that I rely on is a Discoverer porro prism 9x35 Bausch & Lomb. The company is since gone. I have three other binoculars and a spotting scope for when I am at the ocean birding. -But I like these $400 binocs:

Bushnell Elite 10x42 Binocular
BAK4 Roof Prisms
PC-3 Phase Correction Coating
ED Lenses
XTR Multicoating

RainGuard Coating
Waterproof
Fogproof
Magnesium Housing
Rubber Armoring
Center Focusing

Error

(Just click on Error- takes you to site - can't make formatting work right.)

and these:

Bushnell Elite 8x42 Binocular-
BAK4 Roof Prisms
PC-3 Phase Correction Coating
ED Lenses
XTR Multicoating

RainGuard Coating
Waterproof
Fogproof
Magnesium Housing
Rubber Armoring
Center Focusing

Error

(Just click on Error- takes you to site - can't make formatting work right.)
 
Last edited:
   / Binoculars #37  
I bought a pair of Swarovski SLC 8x30 binoculars in 1996. Great glass but last summer the focus knob broke, it was just spinning. With little hope I called Swarovski about getting them repaired. Imagine my surprise when they said they could repair them. I shipped them off and three weeks later they came back good as new! They fixed the focus knob, replaced the seals and eye cups and recharged them at no charge, I only had to pay shipping to get them there.
The Gold Standard for binos and spotting scopes. But the OP specified a $400 budget....
 
   / Binoculars
  • Thread Starter
#38  
Yep - no doubt the Swarovski binoculars 'would' certainly fill my needs. But, like Garandman said, they're way out of my price range... double or more, up to a few thousand dollars. I'm thinking that you Northern guys have a lot more money to spend than us poor 'Texan living in Georgia' boys?

Just ribbing you a little though - thanks for the recommendation and info. Who would have thought that just buying a pair of binoculars could be so technical. I believe the saying "Buy cheap, buy twice" certainly applies here!
 
   / Binoculars #39  
Here on TBN we like to spend OPM. (Other people's money) Sure, little Jimmy SHOULD have braces and a State school is just as good for the first two years as a private one but a guy really NEEDS a good pair of binoculars! A man gots to know his priorities........:laughing:
 
   / Binoculars #40  
Yep - no doubt the Swarovski binoculars 'would' certainly fill my needs. But, like Garandman said, they're way out of my price range... double or more, up to a few thousand dollars. I'm thinking that you Northern guys have a lot more money to spend than us poor 'Texan living in Georgia' boys?

Swarovski spotting scopes are a few thousand but for a good used binoc could be found for under a thousand and well worth every penny IMO. just sayin :)
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

Peterbilt 377 Semi-Truck (A51039)
Peterbilt 377...
2017 John Deere 30G Mini Excavator (A50322)
2017 John Deere...
Neckover GL24-2-7K Gooseneck Trailer  24ft Deck, Dual 7K Axles, 14K GVWR (A51039)
Neckover GL24-2-7K...
2015 MACK GU713 (A50854)
2015 MACK GU713...
(INOP) CATERPILLAR 259D SKID STEER (A50459)
(INOP) CATERPILLAR...
2013 VERMEER RTX1250 RIDE ON TRACTOR (A51242)
2013 VERMEER...
 
Top