Which Binoculars?

[07 Elephant]

I have a few Swarovski glasses and a 80mm scope. My wife wanted to carry something with a bit less liability over the EL's I was going to carry. We decided on a set of cabelas euro - meopta - 10 x 42's.

We're bird freaks and value the color that good glasses deliver at low light. These do everything she needs. I use them too...when my EL's aren't in hand. Where my Swarovski's ran 2k+ these were right at your price point - 800$ at the time, and I think we got 10% off because I asked. She's had them for 2 or 3 years and they've been great. I keep them clean and she uses them. For a lot of reasons these glasses beat out the many many others we looked at. We both like the rubberized shell that covers the magnizium case. The cyrstals are very nice as well and deliver all the color minus a bit of clarity that the Swarovski's have. She likes the overall feel and felt the cabelas were a bit more rugged than the Swarovski's and she wouldn't be worried about them all the time.

Anyway. Glasses are a hard thing to compare in text. But I'd buy another set of these if we lost them. Good glasses are important to us.

 

[07 Elephant]

If this links works check them out...otherwise look them up. These are great glasses. She could have any set of glasses she wanted. It really didn't matter what they cost. She picked these and I can't say enought about how right the decision was. I say the same thing about my Swarovski's and they were over twice the cost. We both think we have the right glasses for our eyes.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...abelas/en/common/search/search-box.jsp.form23

 

[haven]

"go look through everything on your short list."

Excellent advice. Buying binoculars without trying them is like
buying a brassiere by mail order -- it might not fit the person
who will be using it. The size of your hands, your visual acuity,
and other personal characteristics (such as the length of your
eyelashes -- really!) all play a part in the purchase decision.

And there are differences between individual bins from the same
manufacturer. Slight differences in the alignment of the optical
elements within each side of the binoculars, and differences in the
alignment of one barrel with the other do occur. A slight
difference in alignment (referred to as an error in collimation)
can make a big difference, particularly when you use your bins
for an extended period.

If you don't have a good optics shop locally, find an Internet purveyor
of binoculars that will allow you to try several pairs, and then send
back the ones you don't want to keep. One such store is Eagle Optics
in Middleton, Wisconsin. http://www.eagleoptics.com

 

[frgtwn]

These folks have a wealth of information, slanted toward birding, but binoculars don't care what you're looking at:

http://www.birdwatching.com/index.html



Dale

 

[spressomon]

I considered the same thing a few years ago. Thought about Zeiss, Leica, etc. They are sure nice. But really wanted/needed to keep it under a grand.

Ended up buying the Cabela's Euros. They've gone up a little with the currency rate difference today but still an incredible deal/value for a real pair of binos. And the warranty is without peer.

I was hesitant about getting 10x42's for general purpose use. But their size and weight make them super easy and stable to view through.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&indexId=cat601539&hasJS=true

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

In my opinion, you can't go wrong with Swarovski, Leica, or Zeiss. Zeiss were the first true quality optics I looked through. After being raised around Steiner, I looked through a friend's pair of Zeiss and saw everything I had been missing. That being said, I think you will find most of them out of your self imposed price range.

Those Cabela's badged bino's mentioned earlier are a really good glass at a reasonable price. While attending the 2010 Safari Club International show I had the chance to look through some Vortex Optics Binoculars and was very impressed with the overall package. I thought they were going to be much more expensive than they actually are. They are also a good value for your money.

http://www.vortexoptics.com/category/binoculars

I use a pair of Swarovski 15x56 and love them. Between my group of hunting friends we have a couple Swarovski users, one Leica, one Zeiss and a crazy guy (With quite a few record book animals) that uses a set of image stabilizing Zeiss. The latter, is a full time big game guide that makes his living with his eyes.

One thing to think of, is these are typically heirloom items. The quality and construction is made to last beyond us. I'm sure my son will use and benefit from my optics after I pass. The other point to consider is customer service after the sale. My friend lost the eye piece cover to his Swarovski Spotting Scope Cover (This was not the hard plastic piece that covers the eyehole, but the fitted neoprene cover). He called up Swarovski and inquired how much the replacement eye cover would be. They informed him "No charge." He repeated the fact that he "Lost" it on a hunt and he would gladly pay for a replacement. They thanked him for being a customer and repeated "No charge." Shortly after that he received a new eye piece cover along with a lens cloth and a note thanking him for supporting Swarovski.

Ask yourself how long it's been since you've received a hand written note from a company. I know how long it's been for me, years and it was a hand written thank you note I received in the mail after the purchase of a Louis Vuitton hand bag for my g/f.

I'd research the warranty being offered and ask about serviceability as well. Your about to spend a nice sum of money and quality manufacturer's recognize this.

Don't be hurt if she opens them, holds them up to her eyes and decides she would like to look at others to compare them with. Optics are very personal items and what look great to my eyes may not agree with her eyes.

Good luck and let us know what you end up with.

And since threads without pictures lack...

The deer we were glassing were two ridges away. :ylsmoke:

 

[Honu]

also check Costco they have some nice binocs some times

 

[spressomon]

Nice photo J!

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Nice photo J!

Thanks Dan, it was big country...As you know.

 

[mwigant]

My next pair will be the Swarovskis. They are simply stunning. I currently have Bushnell Elites which are very good and much less expensive. I also use a pair of Swift Eaglets ($500) that are very good when there's plenty of light. That brings up the problem of comparing binocs in the store, many inexpensive binos look good in excellent light, it's the gray days that really show the differences. On overcast/rainy/snowy days I would still get color in my Elites while my wife was seeing nothing but gray birds with the Eaglets. Bottom line, get the best you can afford. Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss, Nikon are the benchmarks. Be careful bargain hunting, I got a very expensive Kowa spotting scope because it was a little cheaper and got good reviews. The image is excellent, but a prism is loose and the company has not responded to emails. The benchmark companies all have great reps for customer service.

Mike

P.S. Think small, if the light is good I grab the Eaglets because I can focus them with one hand.

 

[ChadHahn]

Another brand to consider is Zen Ray. The have a couple ED lensed binoculars that cost less than $500 and give you about 95% of the viewing experience of the Swarovskis.

I have a pair of their first generation 10x43s and they are very nice.

Chad

 

[jammyauto]

After reading this thread I scored a pair to the cabelas bins on Ebay yesterday for 550.00 with all paperwork (used). Hopefully they are the real thing. There was alot of action so I figure I should be able to resell for the same price if I don't like them.

 

[Mike S]

I have a pair of Zeiss 10 X 40 glasses that I bought in Munich in the 1980s. They have served me very well, and are truly superior glasses. The Older Leitz Trinovids are also really good. Both of these glasses weigh under 30 ozs. due to the titanium construction. I use these glasses for general use but bought them for hunting. IMO, the 8X42 is closer to the ideal for most users.

There are vendors on the web who sell high quality used binoculars for significantly less than new prices. There are also a lot of sellers of black market binoculars. If you buy from them you will usually not get a valid warranty but you will pay a bit less. Buy using an Amex card so that you can get 'replacement insurance'. Easy to lose a pair when traveling.

 

[07 Elephant]

After reading this thread I scored a pair to the cabelas bins on Ebay yesterday for 550.00 with all paperwork (used). Hopefully they are the real thing. There was alot of action so I figure I should be able to resell for the same price if I don't like them.

Right on. If they're in good condition you'll be happy with them. They're a little heavier than my Swarovski's but they have a nice rubber coating all over them for protection. Let us know how they work out please.

 

[Dennis David]

Just to throw a different spin I use these


What sold me on them is the image stabilizer. Makes it very easy for me to look through them while hand holding.