I'm not affiliated with any of these companies, but you guys have helped me in many ways. So I thought I would point out that Nikon has discontinued their excellent Premier LX L and Bushnell their handy little 5x25's.
Go to betterviewdesired.com and read their reviews of the Nikons. Eagle Optics has dropped their price twice now, and, while still expensive, remember that these were a ~$900-1000 binoc, street price. At the new price, I pulled the trigger on a 8x32. Betterview thinks they are the finest birding binoc made, and they have looked through a lot of German glass (remember, of course, that in some ways binocs preferences are a personal thing). With the dollar so weak, it's going to be awhile before there are any good deals again in high end glass. Which helps me rationalize binocs that cost as much as my first car, a third hand beast that I drove happily for 60,000 miles. Beware of expensive binocs; once you have looked through a pair, it's hard to go back to ordinary ones.
The Bushnell 5x25 has an extremely wide field of view and is incredible and bright for scanning in heavy brush. Discontinued, they are on sale at Sierra Trading Post (and probably elsewhere).
Another cheaper binoc that all the optics sluts have been talking about is the Leupold 6x30 Yosemite porro prism. I bought one awhile back for my kids, and it's very, very impressive for a $80-90 binoc. So good I carry it when weight is critical in the mountains. Not discontinued, and very popular as a kid's/second binoc. It's optically easier to build a good low power unit, and these are good.
One final discontinued deal: an 8x32 roof prism build in Japan that Smith and Wesson labelled and sold for a lot of money. They are well under a c note now, and I see that the other branding of them is very highly regarded in British birding circles. I grabbed a pair as backups, and they are startling.
Keep in mind that the warranty for the S&W is probably meaningless.
Topic: Excellent binocs, discontinued (Read 255 times)
