what is the best high power binoculars to buy?

Question

I want to buy a really good high power set of binoculars to buy?
I need a lot of help with this, as i know absolutely nothing about buying binoculars, zoom, brand, the jargon etc. etc. so the more detail and help the better please. thanks

Answer 1

The pair that you want will depend on what you want to use them for.

Let me give you a few basics first.

The higher the power of the binoculars, the more they are subject to magnifying the natural shake of your hands as you hold them.

For that reason, unless you are going to place them on a tripod, the maximum magnification that most people are comfortable using hand held is 10x. And many prefer 8x because the image is more stable yet. I have both 8x and 10x binoculars. I once tried a pair of 12x and I could not hold them steady enough. The image jiggled all over the place.

For looking at wild life, especially birds, a wide field of view is prefered. If the field of view is narrow, it can be difficult to find what you are looking for through the binoculars. Sometimes totally impossible.

8x binoculars normally have a wider field of view than 10x. That makes them preferable for bird watching.

The next number normally advertised is the diameter of the objective lense. The larger this lense, the more light the binoculars are capable of gathering and the brighter the image that you will see. But the larger the objective lense, the heavier the binoculars.

So you might see advertised 8x40 binoculars. That means they have 8x magnification and the objective lense is 40 mm in diameter. That is a very popular size. But they can be rather heavy, especially if you are lugging them around all day.

The next thing to consider is the environment in which you plan to use them. If you plan on taking them to the cloud forests of Costa Rica, you will want a pair that is waterproof and nitrogen purged to prevent moisture from condensing on the inside of the binoculars.

The next important thing to consider is how close you will want the binoculars to focus. If you might wish to use them to look at butterflies and dragonflies, you will want a pair that fill focus close, 6 to 10 feet. Not beyond 10 feet.

The final thing to consider is whether you wear eye glasses. If you do you will require a pair of binoculars that will allow you to use them while wearing your glasses. This is called eye relief and you will want 19 mm preferably but no less than 17 mm eye relief.

Zoom binoculars are a compromise. The image will not be of as good quality as non-zoom binoculars.

The price range of a pair of binoculars runs for about $39.00 to well over $1000.00. A good pair will cost in the neighborhood of $200+-.

The two very best binoculars on the market are Nikon Premier LXL 8x42 and the Swarovski 8.5x42. The Swarovski will cost about $1700 and the Nikon about $1300. You will not find a serious birder that does not have a pair of Swarovski binoculars.

But I believe they are more of a statement than anything else. They tell others, "Hey, I am serious about this."

Both pair are waterproof and nitrogen purged. The Nikons have a field of view of 367 ft at 1000 yds. an eye relief of 20 mm and close focus of 9.8 ft.

The Swarovskis have a field of view of 390 ft at 1000 yds. an eye relief of 18 mm and close focus of 8 ft.

Both pair have a locking diopter adjustment. What that means is that your two eyes are not exactly the same, so one of the lenses must have an adjustment so that the two eyes are in agreement on the focus. If the adjustment locks, then it will not change when in use. Most binoculars do not have a locking adjustment and it tends to get out of adjustment.

The Swarovskis weigh 29 oz. The Nikons 28 oz. Both pair are roof prism binoculars.

There are two types of binocular roof prism and porro prism. Roof prism are a straight through barrel. Porro prism have an offset barrel. The current rage is roof prism. Porro are less expensive and in the past have been considered to give a superior image, but technology has improved greatly recently and that is no longer the case.

A pair of binoculars that is good but not so expensive is Pentax PCF WPII 8x40 binoculars at about $150. Or Celestron Regal LX 8x42 at about $400.

Here is a link to a vendor of binoculars with information that will help you select a pair.

Answer 2

I bought one 20 years ago. I went to a good store & tried out 6 different ones. Testing is highly recommended. I found Leica to be the best by far.

You may think you want very high power, but find that they are impossible to hold steady. The two classic types are 7x35 and 7x50.

The 1st number the magnification and the 2nd number the diameter of the front lens in mm. Most people think that the 50 mm lens collects more light (it does) and makes a brighter image (it doesn't).

The 7x50 design is sometimes called a Navy or Marine binocular. It has a larger "exit pupil" so that when you are bouncing around on a boat, your eyes don't lose the image.

The 7x35 image is just as bright & works fine as long as you are not bouncing around. This binocular is much smaller & is the right choice for most purposes.

Answer 3

So much depends on your own preferences and what you will use them for. The most powerful ones are much heavier than the slightly less powerful ones but the lighter ones work almost as well in good light. If you need to use them in not-so-good light, then a larger "second" number is important - 7x50 binoculars work better at dusk than 7x35, for example. My husband and I both just got new binoculars, and we looked at a lot of different models, and his are absolutely nothing like mine - mine work best for me, and his work best for him. Go to a store where there are a lot of models, and then try them out in as close a match as possible to the way you will use them. Let the person at the store explain the jargon to you; it's hard to do without having something to demonstrate the differences.

Answer 4

The "best" are Swift, Steiner, Swarovski, Zeiss, Leica, Nikon, Pentax, and more. If you are new to this, go to http://www.telescope.com to the Orion telescope website and you'll find some really excellent binoculars fro much, much less money than those top "name brands." They have quite a bit of educational material about choosing binoculars, also, so even if you do not buy their products, it will help you choose correctly.

Answer 5

The best are Bausch & Lomb but they are very expensive. Slightly cheaper are Leica. The numbers n x nn refer to the magnification x the area of the lens which lets the light in. So a large 2nd number would be good for good for low light levels.

Answer 6

Get the model with image stabilization, large lens and high magnification. Coated lens are great. Nikons and Canons are very good.

Answer 7

if its for astronomy you wouldnt need more then 10x 70 cost about 300 dollars. pentax do decent binocs for price about 100 dollars. see if you can get military surplus binocs.

Answer 8

U PERV!!! haha! nice1