[Big_E]

I am looking for decent set of outdoors/hunting binoculars. These are the two I am looking at

http://www.opticsplanet.net/steiner-binoculars-7x50-marine.html

or

http://www.libertyoptics.com/index1.html (8x42 model)

Vortex's customer service seemed to be very friendly and their warranty seems to be very good. However, Steiner's appear to be more proven but I do not know where they are made, because the $$ seems too low to be German made. Vortex Viper's are made in Japan.

The 50mm objective should gather light better but I don't know how much more so than the 42mm. I really just want a good binocular that won't let me down without breaking my budget ($500 max)

[redneck2]

I went thru the same thing maybe a year ago. If you go to the "birding" websites, they always have reviews. These are the guys and gals that use them a LOT. These are the only people that use enough different ones to make an objective opinion between brands. There are all price ranges.

You need to figure your intended use. I have a small pair that I use for deer in Indiana. Those have to be small, and I only use them occasionally for short periods. If you get something to take to the mountains for glassing large areas over a long time period, you'll need something different.

I got some Russian milsurp from one of the members here (USSR). 10x50's made by Zeiss. They were maybe $140 and I'd consider them extremely good for the money. Downside is they are large and heavy, but I got them for prairie dogs, so the weight actually helps.

[Big_E]

I would prefer lighter binocs but it doesn't really matter that much because I now have this,

http://www.crookedhorn.com/cms/shop.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.chcustom.tpl&product_id=31&category_id=12

But anything to help reduce weight is nice. I will see what kind of discount I can get from libertyoptics because I am saving up for an AR right now.

[rcmodel]

I would suggest you look at mid-price Leupold roof-prism binoculars.

I have a pair of 10x42's that are pretty light, and sharp enough to see .22 bullet holes in targets at 100 yards.

I paid around $300 for them a few years ago.

Quality being equal, roof prism's will give equal or better performance to porro prisms with less weight.

http://www.tasco.com/basic.cfm?s=Binoculars&faq=Optical%20System%20%26%20Coatings

BTW: 10x is too much to hand-hold steady for crisp viewing.
What you gain in power you loose in shakiness.
I wish I had went with my first instinct and got the 8x model.

rc

[Big_E]

Thanks, I ordered the Steiners already because I felt like I could use the $250 savings to get more ammo and parts for my firearms. If I don't care for them I will send them back but I am sure they will exceed my parent's old Bushnell's.

[Landpimp]

for the money(200-ish), there is no better glass IMOP than Zeiss Jena's, they are not new but the glass is awsome, I had given dad some Stiener Mil/Marines 10 years ago, for their new house they need another set, so I got him some 7x50 Zeiss Jena's........the Steiner are not used anymore. Now these are not waterproof.

Also have a set of new Zeiss Diafun.....gotta say they are light and have great glass for the $

the Hensoldts(Zeiss) are good as well, lot of those on the surplus market and priced well

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

I PM'ed you, but let me say that the Leupold Yosemite (Green Ring) 6x30 or 8x30 is not American-made like their Gold Rings, but you will not find a better all-purpose lightweight bino under $300 - and these are 1/3rd that price. I prefer porros for hunting uses because of the greater depth of field, but you have to love a nice roofie, too.

Quality being equal, roof prism's will give equal or better performance to porro prisms with less weight.

rcmodel, I must take issue with that - not really true on either count, I don't think. Or maybe true technically, but a bit misleading.

First, on weight: Roofies are SMALLER, but they are NOT lighter. Some are; some aren't lighter. On average, porros are lighter for the same specs, not roofies; but you can find examples of either being lighter than a comparable one of the other kind. Roofies have the advantage of the SIZE being smaller however.

On quality, roofies are harder to make - they take more engineering precision to make a good one. That's why porros are cheaper for the same quality; or to put it another way, for the same price, a porro will be better quality than a roofie. Now roofies DO have better color fidelity, but this is a hunting forum, and color fidelity doesn't matter in the least bit for hunting use. But porros will be equal or better (at the same price point), and usually better, in terms of light transmission, resolution, edge-to-edge clarity, etc.

And putting all that aside, the porros have the greater depth of field, which in deep woods hunting can be extremely important, which makes porros the superior choice for hunting, generally speaking, IMO. Having said that, if you have more to spend to get a roofie (so that you can get a phase-corrected one), and you're not deep woods hunting, and therefore have no need for the greater depth of field, a nice roofie will serve extremely well, due to them being smaller/handier to lug around, even if they are 1 or 2 oz heavier than a comparable porro. On a budget, the porro is the way to go, though!

Quality on Steiners can vary quite widely - I've seen the good, bad, & ugly. Shame that you can't just rely on the brand anymore to KNOW that you'll get something good.

As for magnification, I like a 6 or 7 power for woods hunting; maybe 8 power tops.

[bpl]

Sorry to hijack, but anyone have any thoughts on the Leupold Katmai (green ring) in 8x32? How would this compare with the Yosemite, for instance. I'd like to go to Cabelas and look at some binoculars.
http://www.opticsplanet.net/leupold-katmai-8x32mm-compact-binoculars.html

I have a set of the Leupold Wind River Cascades 10x42 (green ring) and I find them to be excellent! I just want something more compact for hunting.

Thanks!

[bpl]

Anyone have any experience with the Nikon ATB (All Terrain Binocular) line? I was looking mainly at the 8x32, I believe. Seemed very nice! I also looked at the Leupold Yosemites - definitely a nice binocular for the money ($119 full price), but not the same caliber as the Nikon ATBs IMO. Of course, the Nikon ATBs are $250-300! Cabelas did not have the Leupold Katmai's I wanted to check out.

[dakotasin]

i had atb's - they're ok, but i wouldn't buy them again. to be fair to nikon, i am very hard on stuff. where and how i hunt dictates that my gear must be tough, and i never had a problem w/ the atb's. i just felt there was better glass out there for not much more money.

some great glass for the money is bushnell's legends and pentax's (dcf, i think? can't recall which model was so good for the money, but you're eye will judge them, anyway).

sometimes a chain retailer like sportsman's warehouse will run last year's model at a huge discount, which will permit you to get excellent glass for minimal cash.

[cavman]

I bought the Nikon Monarchs right before Perry based on this and other reviews. They have been very nice so far. (sightseeing and going to the ballpark)

http://www.consumersearch.com/binoculars

[usmc1371]

I have the atb 10x32 nikons and so far I like them, BUT I would get the 8x next time mine loose out in low light pretty fast compared to my friends nikon 8x (expensive modle not atb) also the pentax was better in low light, and the sawro 10x42 el's were way way better. we did some comparing last year while elk hunting. During the day I like the nice light atb's for hiking and MT hunting.
I have been eyeing the stiener 10x C5 predator but befor I spend that kind of cash I will do a but load of research on the birdy sites, those folks are more snobish about glass than we are about 1911's and AR's.

[bpl]

usmc1371,

Are you saying that you think the 8x Nikon ATB would be better in low light than the 10x ATB you have, or that your friend's more expensive (than the ATB) 8x Nikon is better in low light? Which nikon 8x does he have?

As an aside, I have been very pleased with the way my Leupold VX-III scope performs in low light. Is there a way to determine which binocular series would provide optics on par with the VX-III scope?

[greenled]

I've been abusing a pair of Pentax DCF WP (8x42) for almost 10 years now. They've survived two trips half-way around the world, a boat wreck (binos were around my neck at the time).

Excellent value, with optics on par with some of the "bigger" names (Swarovski, for example).

[usmc1371]

Bpl, I will have to ask my friend what his 8x nikons are I know they were well over twice as much money as my atb's, Yes the 8x atb will be better in low light enough so that I am thinking about getting another pair in 8x. I think in mid priced bino's you will see more with the 8x glass than the 10x because, better light transmission, less visiable wobble-the higher the X the more you can see every tiny move you make and that seems to blur the image.
The much more spendy nikon 8x glass my buddy was using is better in low light than the atb glass but its more than twice the money. also the pentax were really nice in low light I will try to get the modle numbers and post them in the next couple days so you have apples to apples to compare. We did side by side compairing in bright sunlight, dusk, and full moon light, the darker it got the more the high dollor glass stood out. In moon light I could see animals with my 10x atb's but couldn't tell what they were othere than by size while my little bro was putting horns on the bucks with his swaro's and with the spendy nikons and pentax I could easly tell I was looking at deer.

[bpl]

Thanks usmc1371, much appreciated!

BPL

[moooose102]

personally, i like smaller compact bino's. i have enough more than enough stuff in the feild, and a big honking pair of bino's just get in the way more. the smaller ones, i can tuck comfortably inside my jacket. that way, there is no clunking, if i suddenly have to get the gun up to shoot.

[Pilot]

For hunting and general use when travelling I bought a pair of Steiner Predator Pro 8x22 for $179 and I really like them. I also have an old pair of Minoltas (not made anymore) that have been great. You can find them on Ebay for cheap.

For serious work, I have the IOR Valdada 10x50 military binos. Big, heavy, and rugged with great Schott glass.

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

bpl, If I remember right, the Katmai got a best buy or similar big thumbs upon on some birding optics website - on a par with Zeiss and Swarovski for a lot less $$...I'll try to find it. Seriously, in that test, the Katmai was the ONLY bino under $1,000 that got all 4s and 5s in the ratings - again, if I remember correctly. It was definitely a compact Leupold Green Ring, and I'm pretty sure it was the Katmai (not the Yosemite, Acadia, Cascade, Olympic, Pinnacle, etc., etc.).

[bpl]

I'd appreciate that, Dr. Tad!

[jeepmor]

I did the math.
50mm obj lens 1935.5 sq mm
42 mm obj lens 1385.4 sq mm

Difference is 29% in favor of bigger optics, this is huge for hunting conditions with all things being equal. 29% more light is not a small difference, it's huge. Bigger lenses means the same defect (aberration) of the lens provides less impact to your FOV.

Hope this helps, I'm doing this instead of process experiment writeups you know. Seriously, 5 in one day with an exploding German tool and me the process engineer in America stuck with this POS. Hard for me to vote for their optics right now regardless of how good they are. Okay, my bias is out of the way, follow the math please.

[bpl]

I understand that concept, jeepmor, but I'm looking for the best light transmission in a compact package for the money. Otherwise, I'd just carry a big spotting scope with me hunting - that would give maximal light transmission, I'm sure!

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Lookit:

http://www.google.com/search?q=leupold+katmai+review&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=com.google:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

There are some guys over at 24hourcampfire who are keen on the Minox 6.5x32 as a best buy under $250 in a compact bino, too. I cannot imagine that it's BETTER than the Yosemite, but equally good and more prestige - but who knows, maybe it is better.