Binoculars

[Arzosah]

I'm wondering about buying a pair. I booked a holiday ages ago that's about the local scenery, and to make the most of it, I'd need binoculars. No idea about modern versions, though, so I'm wondering if anybody has any already, or has any advice, or a favourite brand, etc etc.

I *do* have a monocular, I've had it for about 30 years it breaks into two, and I know that the whole unit is way too heavy for me to use without perching it on a tripod, which of course immobilises me. Once its in two, and the special lens is locked in, it weighs 345 grammes. Which feels heavier than that number would indicate

The spec of the single part of the monocular is 12 x 40. Looking on Amazon, I could get similar binocs by Kylietech for £30 odd, though they're even heavier, 540g. RSPB sell binoculars too, massively more expensive for slightly lower magnification.

All advice gratefully received! I need to buy them in the next 4 days or so, especially since supply lines are really dodgy.


ETA - and there may be prepping issues I could also cover! Not a clue.

[jansman]

I have some old style Praktica bins ( East German) that mum bought me for my 21st. Still got ‘em . However; there are loads of lightweight ,compact ones on Amazon or eBay for only a tenner.And they aren’t bad - I have mates who use the cheapos to spot patrolling fish on lakes.

[grenfell]

Irony about those old East German optics is that I've looked for an old NVA ( army) pair . Same age as your Praktica and made in Dresden too , although labelled as Zeiss , and the prices are horrendous , I've seen one pair on ebay for around £800. And I thought collecting East German tat was a cheapish hobby...

[jansman]

Irony about those old East German optics is that I've looked for an old NVA ( army) pair . Same age as your Praktica and made in Dresden too , although labelled as Zeiss , and the prices are horrendous , I've seen one pair on ebay for around £800. And I thought collecting East German tat was a cheapish hobby...

They made good stuff. I had cameras by them too,and they were proper kit.

[Arzosah]

Just found some that are amazing value - BRGOOD, 12 x 25, £17.99. Detailed reviews look good. I'm not going to go to £800!

[grenfell]

They made good stuff. I had cameras by them too,and they were proper kit.

I still use a screw mount flektogon and sonnar on my Pentax DSLR

[British Red]

Just found some that are amazing value - BRGOOD, 12 x 25, £17.99. Detailed reviews look good. I'm not going to go to £800!

Personally I think 12x is too much for hand held - you tend to get too much shake. 8x is the most I can hold comfortably. Bigger lenses gather more light and hence work better early and late in the day (8x20 are only for full light 8x50 work at dawn or dusk)

Some good info here

https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/revi ... inoculars/

[Arzosah]

Red, thats a great article, thank you so much! I checked out those binocs on Amazon - I'd really like the Celestron, simply because it's a brand I know so well from astronomy telescopes, but it's heavy - 0.62kg, too much for me to be carting about all day.

One of the Opticrons sounds a better deal, and its only 260g, which is much better. Thats probably the one I'll end up getting (though there's only one left!).

I'm going to have a walk around my block seeing what my half-monocular, the 12 x 40, feels like to carry round (it has no strap). Worryingly for my digital kitchen scale that I weighed it on yesterday, it doesn't weigh 354g ... it weighs 420g today Weird day today, unexpectedly - it looks more like dusk, so I don't know what that will do to my monoc. I'm sure I'll end up taking it on the holiday, in any case.

Thanks again.

[Arzosah]

Took out the half of my monocular, the 12 x 40 part: the magnification is great, of course, but holding it is another matter altogether. Heavy, and just difficult to keep centred. So I've just bought the Opticron 10 x 25. That's for the days out - I'll probably be able to use the monocular from the base (okay, ship. I'll be on a ship ) as I'll be able to rest it on a rail sometimes.

[British Red]

I have a compact Opticron monocular and a pair of their compact binoculars. Both are very good and great value