binoculars

[bamboo]

HELP!! Looking to by husband a pair of binoculars for xmas. I know he wants 'auto' focussing ones (or prima?). I know nothing about binoculars :roll: so any advice would be helfpul! He has a wee fishing boat and will prob use them out on that. Not wanting to spend a fortune...

[Chrisf1961]

Id be keen to hear replies on this.i bought some 10x50s off Argos a while back but dropped them then i saw an offer from Lidl recently for same spec and missed them! wanting mine for birdie watching in garden.

[south view 7]

www.7dayshop.com (http://www.7dayshop.com) have 12x50 and 10x50 for £15.00 post free,just bought a pair 12x50 ,a good buy for price.

[picturegifts]

Forget about auto focus. By the time the optics have focused on bird/animal etc it will have taken off!
Forget about buying optics from Lidl, the saying "you get what you pay for" is very true. Cheap prices mean cheap lens, usually plastic as opposed to glass

Bushnell (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=bushnell&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=6347829425&ref=pd_sl_4n2gev202t_e)are a prime manufacturer, and offer decent binoculars at a decent price.
if your budget allows then go for a product from Leica, who along with Swarovski (http://www.swarovskioptik.com/en/products/binoculars) produce the best that you can buy.
Be warned though these products are not cheap

[dafi]

If you are on a moving deck then you are generaly better off with low magnification and lots of light so something like 8x50 would be the sort of thing you would want. They would be bright and handy to search with. The 8 is the magnification and the 50 is the width of the front lens. These are a lot better than say 12x40 which would be quite dull in poor light with an image that bounces about and is dificult to hold still. I dont know about auto focus as i have never used that sort of system. Poro prisims are the thing to go for (these are the old fashoned type rather than slim tube shaped roof prisims) as they gather most light. Picturegifts is quite right Bushnell are a good name and well worth a look. Price is another thought, you can pay as much as you want for a set of bins!!! I would say stay away from sub £70 equipment and look at 70 to 150 quid, You should find something durable in this price range and it wont break the bank if they are dropped or lost. After that you can go 200 to 350 then 350 to 500 then 500 to 750 then 750 to the skys the limit. Anyway hope thats of some interest.

[Gronnuck]

:eek: Which magazine best buys are; Olympus 8x25 PC I at £61, Nikon 10x25 Travelite EX at £99.00 and Opticron Vega 8x25 at £49.00. All suitable for bird watching. The Nikon Binos are waterproof too. :D

[jimbews]

If you are on a moving deck then you are generaly better off with low magnification and lots of light so something like 8x50 would be the sort of thing you would want. They would be bright and handy to search with. The 8 is the magnification and the 50 is the width of the front lens.
I'll definitely agree with this. My uncle (retired captain & pilot) always recommended 7x50.
We bought a small set of zoom binocs which go from 8x to 24x.
Waste of money as they are always used at 8x.
Much bigger magnification and there is NO way you can hold them steady enough.

[bamboo]

Thank you all so much for replying - lots of v helpful info. I will look into all the recommended ones and let you know which ones I go for! (have looked at the Swarovski ones, but alas he ain't getting those ones :lol:).

[dafi]

Here are a few worth looking at when your on the search bamboo.

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-bushnell-natureview-plus-8x42-roof-prism-binoculars/p1005519

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-bushnell-h2o-8x42-waterproof-porro-prism-binoculars/p1005516

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-nikon-7x50-action-ex/p1002381

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-opticron-marine-7x50-porro-prism-binoculars/p1020074

[Geo]

"you get what you pay for" is very true. Cheap prices mean cheap lens, usually plastic as opposed to glass

Actually the Lidl binoculars get pretty good reviews from users. Just read this on a bird watching forum: "They don't deserve to be this good for so little money." I've had mine for a few years and have been very pleased with them. They seem to be glass lenses. I was looking at some moons around Jupiter recently with them. That was cool! :)

[dafi]

I am not having a go at you Geo but I bought a pair for me mum but thats as far as i would recomend them.

I had to open three boxes and check them out before i found a pair that wasnt out of true! they all had a double image. They are fine for her looking down the garden and good value for £15 but thats as far as they go really. I doubt they would do well kicking about the cuddy of a fishing boat!

[buggyracer]

deben have a new binocular range out, got a pair last xmas and they are around £100-150, waterproof, encased in a thick rubber, and a very clear sharp image, for the cost they won several awards etc and are comparable to the much more expensive brands.