Binoculars ...what sort and brand ??
Discussion
I'm after a pair of binoculars for my brothers birthday present in a couple of weeks. Don't know anything about size/brands, etc so I was wondering if anybody could recommend me some ?
I suppose it always comes down to cost so I want to spend about 50-60 pounds. They don't want to be that heavy that they are difficult to hold, he wants to use them at the Biggin Hill air show in a couple of weeks, so needs to be good at being held for some time and view aircraft.
I suppose it always comes down to cost so I want to spend about 50-60 pounds. They don't want to be that heavy that they are difficult to hold, he wants to use them at the Biggin Hill air show in a couple of weeks, so needs to be good at being held for some time and view aircraft.
Go for the Canon Image stabilizing range.
They have a button which you press, which activates the gyroscope and steadies the lenses. Brilliant bit of kit.
Good for those shakey hands, on boats or vehicles etc.
They come in all sizes too. Don't buy any smaller than the 10x30 IS.
The first number is the magnification and the second number is the field of view of the lense. i.e How wide a view.
They have a button which you press, which activates the gyroscope and steadies the lenses. Brilliant bit of kit.
Good for those shakey hands, on boats or vehicles etc.
They come in all sizes too. Don't buy any smaller than the 10x30 IS.
The first number is the magnification and the second number is the field of view of the lense. i.e How wide a view.
Have a look here - the Fieldmaster 10x50 plenty of bang for your buck. Only downside is they are on the chunky side compared to compact models.
I would go for the largest apature you can afford.
http://www.telescopes-binoculars.co.uk/acatalog/Bu...
I would go for the largest apature you can afford.
http://www.telescopes-binoculars.co.uk/acatalog/Bu...
I bought a great pair of Magnaloux focus free 8x40's a few years ago, direct from them at the Eastbourne airshow. They now only do 7x50's which are £60 according to their website
http://www.thebinocularshop.co.uk/prodpage.cfm?Cat...
http://www.thebinocularshop.co.uk/prodpage.cfm?Cat...
I've had an excellent pair of binoculars for years now - Vanguard BR-7500s with 7x50 magnification and a 7.1-degree field. Perfect for astronomy, air shows etc. No fancy electronics but high-quality lenses. I've no idea how much they cost but I can't imagine they'd be as much as something with an electronic gyroscope in - and I don't have a problem with them (and I do have shaky hands sometimes).
SimonV8ster said:
I'm after a pair of binoculars for my brothers birthday present in a couple of weeks. Don't know anything about size/brands, etc so I was wondering if anybody could recommend me some ?
I suppose it always comes down to cost so I want to spend about 50-60 pounds. They don't want to be that heavy that they are difficult to hold, he wants to use them at the Biggin Hill air show in a couple of weeks, so needs to be good at being held for some time and view aircraft.
HmmmmI suppose it always comes down to cost so I want to spend about 50-60 pounds. They don't want to be that heavy that they are difficult to hold, he wants to use them at the Biggin Hill air show in a couple of weeks, so needs to be good at being held for some time and view aircraft.
I Have three pairs of binoculars,one pair were my grandfathers from korea,war deparment issue 1941,they work ok still.
The new pair I have I found in a van that I had bought for salvage,these are night vision all billet aluminium construction wtih auto focus and a two other buttons that bring some sort of meter up on the left eyepiece and a scroller to adjust the meter needle,but I dont know what this does,and there is no name or manufacturer on them but a serial no starts: ZcOa.....????.
Theuy are good compared to others I`ve tried,especially for free,helped to find that it was my own cat stealing our fish,as well.
But the best set I have for clarity and power are german from the second world war.
I was fishing at a weir in Kent with my brother a few years ago and he crossed my line so I swapped over positions and looked down in the water and saw this odd shape,
pulled it out and there was this big old pair of binoculars complete with stamped swastikas on the maetal part.threy have a threaded base plate for a tripod,ithink.I took them to motor trader friends father in law, who is a jeweller,he stripped and cleaned them and replaced the leather covering and they are as good as new,the azimuth screw adjuster worked straight out of the water and apart from some small pitting on the cast section,you would never know they were 60 years old,and spent most of it in a stream.
A tip of the hat to Nazi german engineering quality.
my grand father reckons they probably fell out of a german plane that was shot down during the war,they are too big for narmal infantry soldiers.
nether the less they are of the highest quality in build and vision.
The new pair I have I found in a van that I had bought for salvage,these are night vision all billet aluminium construction wtih auto focus and a two other buttons that bring some sort of meter up on the left eyepiece and a scroller to adjust the meter needle,but I dont know what this does,and there is no name or manufacturer on them but a serial no starts: ZcOa.....????.
Theuy are good compared to others I`ve tried,especially for free,helped to find that it was my own cat stealing our fish,as well.
But the best set I have for clarity and power are german from the second world war.
I was fishing at a weir in Kent with my brother a few years ago and he crossed my line so I swapped over positions and looked down in the water and saw this odd shape,
pulled it out and there was this big old pair of binoculars complete with stamped swastikas on the maetal part.threy have a threaded base plate for a tripod,ithink.I took them to motor trader friends father in law, who is a jeweller,he stripped and cleaned them and replaced the leather covering and they are as good as new,the azimuth screw adjuster worked straight out of the water and apart from some small pitting on the cast section,you would never know they were 60 years old,and spent most of it in a stream.
A tip of the hat to Nazi german engineering quality.
my grand father reckons they probably fell out of a german plane that was shot down during the war,they are too big for narmal infantry soldiers.
nether the less they are of the highest quality in build and vision.
If you want something (relatively) cheap but good, we have a 10x50 Carl Zeiss Jenoptem and they are excellent. They go for £50+ on ebay. Check they aren't the Jap copies though, there is a page on the 'net about how to identify them by photos, mainly the screw fixings are different.
Edited by g_attrill on Sunday 25th May 23:12
. It's over budget (isn't it always on the interweb?) but have a look at Nikon 8x25 Travelite EX's, they should be around £85. Very light, much better than the cheapo brands, beautifully made.
Make sure you go to a shop and try some, even if you end up buying online. The reality of holding them and looking though them is irreplaceable!
Make sure you go to a shop and try some, even if you end up buying online. The reality of holding them and looking though them is irreplaceable!
armynick said:
I wouldn't go go less than 10x myself.
Have you thought of buying a standard pair of binos and then a large cheap tripod which they can be mounted to?
I'm no expert by a long chalk, but for hand held Bino's isn't even 10x a bit big for hand use, particularly if you want to track aircraft Have you thought of buying a standard pair of binos and then a large cheap tripod which they can be mounted to?
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