In praise of cheap binoculars.

[Punkinhead]

I'm a big fan of quality optics as well. They can pick up small details in poor lighting and be absolutely stunning with good lighting.

I agree but it depends on what I'm doing. When I'm hunting and looking through a scope or binoculars all day I want the best optics I can afford. Cheap optics give me a headache. But when canoeing or hiking I'm only taking a quick look at a bird or other object so I don't need that level of clarity. Sure, it'd be nice, but I put a priority on convenience. I'm simply not going to carry my expensive binoculars in the canoe and risk losing them and they're too heavy/bulky to carry when hiking. For those activities I carry a monocular. I have Vortex solos in 8x25 and 8x36 that are small, light, relatively cheap, and come with Vortex's awesome warranty. The 8x25 are small enough to slip in my pocket and the 8x36, which have a clearer image and larger FOV, are small and light enough to clip on my belt/PFD. Which I take along depends on my mood and whether it's overcast or sunny. The 8x36 do better in lower light conditions but the 8x25 are incredibly compact.

 

[Nick Fisherman]

Please, advice me if 8x42 air of binos will be good for evening views of nature? Here I've learned https://binoculars-telescopes.com/binoculars/zoom-chart/ that these parameters will give twilight factor 18,3, which is considered good. Is it true? And also that they should have field of view about 140 meters. Is it much or not really? I'm about to buy Praktica Falcon 8x40 but am not sure. Anybody had Praktica binos, are they any good?

 

[Marten]

I prefer really good binoculars since I am a bird watcher but often leave them home. I prefer to.zoom in with my pocket camera and then I.can.even.enlarge that image on the screen. Birds flitting in tree tops or distant camp sites can be frozen in a still image to be studied.

 

[Nick Fisherman]

I prefer really good binoculars since I am a bird watcher but often leave them home. I prefer to.zoom in with my pocket camera and then I.can.even.enlarge that image on the screen. Birds flitting in tree tops or distant camp sites can be frozen in a still image to be studied.

Really good -- what brands do you mean?

 

[Marten]

If price does not matter find the one that feels and looks good to you. Not all can steady a 10x binocular and will see more with a 8x. I chose Swarovski 7x42 for this reason. Expensive binoculars are made to take abuse and stay aligned. Put mine to that test when a Pitt Bull attacked my wife and owner could not pull back his leased dog. I had the Swarovskis in hand and showed my love for my wife by bringing them crashing down on the Pitt Bulls snout as hard as I could. The dog let go and the binoculars are fine. My.wife took numerous surgeries.

 

[Nick Fisherman]

If price does not matter find the one that feels and looks good to you. Not all can steady a 10x binocular and will see more with a 8x. I chose Swarovski 7x42 for this reason. Expensive binoculars are made to take abuse and stay aligned. Put mine to that test when a Pitt Bull attacked my wife and owner could not pull back his leased dog. I had the Swarovskis in hand and showed my love for my wife by bringing them crashing down on the Pitt Bulls snout as hard as I could. The dog let go and the binoculars are fine. My.wife took numerous surgeries.

Oh my gosh, what a story! Happy it ended well. About 10x binoculars -- yes, I know that it may be difficult to hold image without a tripod.
No, I wanted something not expensive for a first time, that's why stopped on Praktika

 

[ErktheRed]

I wanted to get a really nice pair of binoculars for a while but didn’t entirely know what to look at and I didn’t want to spend a lot. Ended up with a light pair of Nocs for around $100 and they’ve been fine for my needs. It’ I’ve had for a few years. Although I want another more powerful pair now, I’m sill happy with this pair. These haven’t fogged up, my wet hands grip with ease and they brighten things up a light in low light. They do come in easy to locate colors if that means anything

 

[Nick Fisherman]

pair of Nocs

I'll check about Nocs binos, thanks

 

[kahel]

I've got this - it's not cheap.
but perfect for me as an canoeist

STEINER SkyHawk 4.0 8x42​

 

[Erica]

I was content with my standard $35 binoculars (50 years ago) until someone lent me a much, much better pair. Two blue birds I had been watching and just barely seeing them suddenly jumped so close I could see the feathers. It was amazing. Fifty years later, I have bought a pair of really good binoculars and they are marvelous. I also see "double" so binoculars have to be plenty good enough to accommodate my glasses, or I"ll just see double through the binocs. Yes, they are heavy. But they are water proof. Of course, if you drop them to the bottom of a lake, being waterproof does not help.

 

[Thestripper]

I've gone through a bunch of binoculars, both expensive and modestly priced ones and I love to use them all. My advice is to buy one pair that is expensive and then be happy for the rest of your life because that's how long they will last, and then some.

The more known high-end manufacturers offer stellar, no questions asked warranty and will clean, repair and align your nice binoculars for no cost, or in some cases next to no cost. It's not unusual to see 35 years warranty and in my experience they stand by their word!

The downsides of buying cheap binoculars is that you will have to live with their sub par performance until they turn so miss-aligned and fogged up or something else that they are unusable. They will not be worth the cost of repair which will be more than buying a new pair of cheap binoculars and the circle of crap is completed.

My strong advice is to read up and save up and then splurge on a nice pair. Buying second hand from someone at Cloudynights or BirdForum can be a great alternative!

 

[ppine]

Cheap binoculars have only one good point. They make people less sad if they are lost.

 

[Modified Ottertail]

I love cheap glass! I have a nice Vortex monocular that I hardly take anywhere because I have a bunch of $20 ones floating around that I'm not afraid to drop.

In addition to the high-quality optics, the warranty is one of the other great things about Vortex's products. You shouldn't be afraid to drop them, scratch them, et cetera.

https://vortexoptics.com/vip-warranty:

VIP stands for a Very Important Promise to you, our customer. We will repair or replace your Vortex® product in the event it becomes damaged or defective—at no charge to you. If we cannot repair your product, we will replace it with a product in perfect working order of equal or better physical condition.

You see, it doesn't matter how it happened, whose fault it was or where you purchased it. If you ever have a problem, no matter the cause, we promise to take care of you. You can count on the VIP Warranty for all Vortex Optics riflescopes, prism scopes, red dots, rangefinders, binoculars, spotting scopes, tripods and monoculars.

UNLIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY
FULLY TRANSFERABLE
NO RECEIPT NEEDED
The VIP Warranty does not cover loss, theft, deliberate damage or cosmetic damage that does not hinder the performance of the product.

 

[Thestripper]

In addition to the high-quality optics, the warranty is one of the other great things about Vortex's products. You shouldn't be afraid to drop them, scratch them, et cetera.

https://vortexoptics.com/vip-warranty:

VIP stands for a Very Important Promise to you, our customer. We will repair or replace your Vortex® product in the event it becomes damaged or defective—at no charge to you. If we cannot repair your product, we will replace it with a product in perfect working order of equal or better physical condition.

You see, it doesn't matter how it happened, whose fault it was or where you purchased it. If you ever have a problem, no matter the cause, we promise to take care of you. You can count on the VIP Warranty for all Vortex Optics riflescopes, prism scopes, red dots, rangefinders, binoculars, spotting scopes, tripods and monoculars.

UNLIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY
FULLY TRANSFERABLE
NO RECEIPT NEEDED
The VIP Warranty does not cover loss, theft, deliberate damage or cosmetic damage that does not hinder the performance of the product.

I have had to use Vortex warranty on three occasions and they stand by their word. With the lower price products from them you can expect to use this warranty sooner rather than later but their higher priced segment has some good products.
Swarovski has a very similar mentality when it comes to warranty and they only have top notch products. No lower price line.
Zeiss also has stellar warranty and service (at least with their higher priced products).

 

[Nick Fisherman]

I have had to use Vortex warranty on three occasions and they stand by their word. With the lower price products from them you can expect to use this warranty sooner rather than later but their higher priced segment has some good products.
Swarovski has a very similar mentality when it comes to warranty and they only have top notch products. No lower price line.
Zeiss also has stellar warranty and service (at least with their higher priced products).

Well, I guess now that Praktika is too cheap to be good. Vortex Triumph HD 10x42 seems to be just perfect to first time use. And costs 140€

 

[boy&hisdogs]

In addition to the high-quality optics, the warranty is one of the other great things about Vortex's products. You shouldn't be afraid to drop them, scratch them, et cetera.

https://vortexoptics.com/vip-warranty:

VIP stands for a Very Important Promise to you, our customer. We will repair or replace your Vortex® product in the event it becomes damaged or defective—at no charge to you. If we cannot repair your product, we will replace it with a product in perfect working order of equal or better physical condition.

You see, it doesn't matter how it happened, whose fault it was or where you purchased it. If you ever have a problem, no matter the cause, we promise to take care of you. You can count on the VIP Warranty for all Vortex Optics riflescopes, prism scopes, red dots, rangefinders, binoculars, spotting scopes, tripods and monoculars.

UNLIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY
FULLY TRANSFERABLE
NO RECEIPT NEEDED
The VIP Warranty does not cover loss, theft, deliberate damage or cosmetic damage that does not hinder the performance of the product.

Yeah that I didn't see right away when I bought the monocular but I just bought a new scope for my .22 and I saw that and I was sold.

The scope was just what I needed at the right price, plus the good warranty. I like it so much I'm going to buy another for my deer rifle.