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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 7, 2022 10:01:04 GMT -8
I went with a Swarovski Optik CL Pocket 10x25 (after a seemingly endless backorder at B&H) and I’ve hiked a bit with them now and love them. Glad you like them. After a fair amount of use now, I'm still very happy with my 8s. Thanks, I’d been a bit concerned the permanently attached eyepiece covers (threaded through the neck cord) would get in the way but after a day or so they weren’t noticeable.
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Post by bradmacmt on Jan 7, 2022 10:06:37 GMT -8
Well from my test drives so far my middle of the road Swarovskis are up to the jobs I’ve got for them. I'm happy for you, as you only have yourself to please. For me, the 10x20/25 isn't anything I want any part of.
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Post by bradmacmt on Jan 7, 2022 10:14:08 GMT -8
I with you on that. Field of view really matters to me, especially when I'm looking for things and trying to understand where they are in the landscape. Exactly - a part of the optical triangle.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jan 7, 2022 14:19:37 GMT -8
It's just not as simple as you imply, and a binocular isn't really comparable to a camera lens. A binocular has two optical barrels stuck to ones eyes and brain, a camera lens is a mono optical instrument capturing an image, with little visual interaction between the instrument and the eye/brain relative to that of a binocular. Neither Coolkat nor I was trying to say a camera was the same as binos. Just that you can use the camera for a lot of those "what is that" moments, and if that's all you want binos for, then the extra weight might not be necessary. It is definitely not as good, especially if you have to use my "photograph and enlarge" approach.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 7, 2022 15:29:27 GMT -8
I went with a Swarovski Optik CL Pocket 10x25 (after a seemingly endless backorder at B&H) and I’ve hiked a bit with them now and love them. Glad you like them. After a fair amount of use now, I'm still very happy with my 8s. As with so many out doors related items it does boil down to end use doesn't it? I've a liking for macro detail isolation, even my backpacking EDC lens for decades was one of several 80-200 zooms before my more recent 28-300mm, and my macro is a 105mm Nikon. I carry and use wide angles, 14-24mm, 20mm prime etc. but my instinctive goto is to isolate. So the tightness of the 10 suits my style and the OP criteria of route detail isolation of my first line intended use (and light in the Sierra high country is very much not an issue) and I've got steady enough hands it works for me, (though when I can I will tripod that 500mm!). If I carried an iPad linked to my camera scouting by photo recon might be useful: but absent that setup I don't see either my phone or camera back screen offering the view I'd like for route decisions. Not to mention the high elevation glare rendering most any screen I've used just about unseeable.
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Post by bradmacmt on Jan 8, 2022 6:57:01 GMT -8
Neither Coolkat nor I was trying to say a camera was the same as binos. Just that you can use the camera for a lot of those "what is that" moments, and if that's all you want binos for, then the extra weight might not be necessary. It is definitely not as good, especially if you have to use my "photograph and enlarge" approach. I wasn't responding to anything either you or Coolkat said, I was responding to HSF.
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Post by trinity on Jan 8, 2022 7:41:55 GMT -8
As with so many out doors related items it does boil down to end use doesn't it? Totally. For me, it's mostly bird identification. I have crappy eyesight, so a wider field of view is very helpful to me in locating the bird with the binoculars in the first place. My preference for 8x binoculars has everything to do with the purpose to which I put them.
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Post by trinity on Jan 8, 2022 9:00:19 GMT -8
By the way, if I were purchasing a pair of backpacking binoculars today, the new Monarch M7 8x30 would be a strong contender. Fairly lightweight, with a 30mm objective lens. In my experience, Nikon makes an excellent mid-pricerange binocular.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 8, 2022 9:27:15 GMT -8
By the way, if I were purchasing a pair of backpacking binoculars today, the new Monarch M7 8x30 would be a strong contender. Fairly lightweight, with a 30mm objective lens. In my experience, Nikon makes an excellent mid-pricerange binocular. At 16 ozs that’s what I’d look for for an in my truck birding accessory binocular (carrying multiple dSLR with lenses means I’m running out of chest area for stuff, so smaller is still better even in the front country, I really need to poke more at Cotton Carrier) , and my experience with Nikon microscopes, extremely positive, would second your thoughts on this being a nice choice.
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driftwoody
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Post by driftwoody on Jan 13, 2022 10:29:04 GMT -8
the new Monarch M7 8x30 would be a strong contender. Fairly lightweight, with a 30mm objective lens. In my experience, Nikon makes an excellent mid-pricerange binocular. 46% the price of the Zeiss Victory 8x25 45% heavier, +5 objective lens
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Post by dayhiker on Jan 13, 2022 12:48:47 GMT -8
I am happy with these: www.birdforum.net/reviews/pentax-ad-8x25-wp.509/Though I have used even cheaper TASCO models I often just use the zoom on my camera and don't take these at all, TASCOs are so cheap I don't worry about them , no caps to put on and off.
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driftwoody
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Post by driftwoody on Jan 15, 2022 15:25:24 GMT -8
If carrying for backpacking, I'm going with a mono, since there's not much I'd actually need them for other than "casual/curious" use. That's where I'm at, and why I pulled the trigger today on a Celestron Nature 10 x 25 Monocular. It's more for the occasional look at something more closely so my priorities were magnification, weight, and low price. At $39.95 plus tax (minus the 10% REI rebate) no big deal if this is a toy I don't stick with. Just picked it up today and went for a walk in the local forest preserve, and so far I'm quite pleased with the sharp clear image and what a difference 10x makes. I will admit it's difficult to keep still, but the shake isn't enough to ruin the view.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Jan 16, 2022 17:23:13 GMT -8
I have a good 8x25 monocular that I used to carry on occasion. It was better than nothing, but for me the extra weight of 8x32 binocular is worth the trouble when I really care about seeing things at a distance.
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driftwoody
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Post by driftwoody on Jan 16, 2022 17:36:10 GMT -8
I have a good 8x25 monocular that I used to carry on occasion. It was better than nothing, but for me the extra weight of 8x32 binocular is worth the trouble when I really care about seeing things at a distance. And if you don't care, why carry at all? I agree it's worth spending and carrying more rather than settle for an unsatisfying compromise. I have old cheap 8x21 Bushnell binoculars that were a freebie as part of a ticket package to an NFL game. On my local hike today I compared them to my new 10x25 monocular. The latter had the better image, but the fov was better with the 8x21 binocs. I may very well upgrade at some point, but I'll live with the monocular for a while. Besides the lower weight & bulk, I like how quickly it can be deployed -- though not as easy to find the subject of attention.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Jan 16, 2022 17:59:12 GMT -8
And if you don't care, why carry at all? I agree it's worth spending and carrying more rather than settle for an unsatisfying compromise. Yep, that's why I stopped carrying the monocular. I was thinking about it last night because of this thread. I dug them out and compared them again in the moonlight and during the day today.
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