Compact bino recommendations

[huronhunter]

I have a pair of Nikon pro staff  8x32 that works great for me . They are light weight and have good glass . That said my personal needs are humble .

[LittleBen]

Originally posted by Steve O:
 

Originally posted by Bowwild:
However, I noticed on a recent antelope hunt that my 6x Leica range finder was much more clear than these binoculars.

 

I am constantly amazed at these optics threads here. Even when guys see it with their own eyes, they still want to somehow "beat the system".

You can't buy a $200 binocular and expect it to perform the same as a $1000 binocular.

More than anything else, you get what you pay for in optics.

If you buy the top of the line in the Zeiss, any Leica, or any Swarovski, you will never need to upgrade.  Zeiss Conquest are not Zeiss Victory. There is no way around it.  Vortex are not equal to those three; not even the Razor HDs.

If you buy the BEST binoculars you will use them more and see things you have missed for years.

Bowwild--you are a smart enough hunter, you will not spook game using your binoculars.

Save the extra, get the best glass, and you will never want to go back. Most spend double of a good set over time buying inferior glass always chasing "the deal". [/b]

Nailed it. You're not buying binoculars, you're buying glass and advertising. Pay for the best glass you can, in the biggest size you're willing to carry. But before we knock Zeiss Conquest, being someone who lived most of life with nothing but cheap glass, Zeiss Conquest changed my life. Put a 3-9x40 on an extra long bow in 30-06 and I will never go back. With that said I have some bushell 10x42 binoculars which I like. They are not great but they are good.

The problem with small objectives is just that they don't collect a lot of light. The difference in light transmission between Conquest and Victory is something like 92% vs 96% ... That's less than the difference in photons  between 40 and 42mm objective. Then again part of it is also aberration at edge of frame and other things.

At the end of the day, always wait and spend twice as much as you planned when it comes to optics.

I have an older Panasonic digital camera with leica glass ... It's 5MP and it will blow the doors off my wife's new canon 20Mp point and shoot travel cam.

Can't beat great glass ... Period.

[riser]

I used to do a fair amount of woodchuck hunting with a 222 Rem chambered rifle.  That translated to a lot of "glass time" checking for woodchuck head peaking out of their holes . I eventually got my first "good" pair of binocs.They are small enough to carry all day, but big enough to be comfortable and steady.  I got a pair of porro prism 8x30 Dr Optic binocs made in the early 1990's with their multi-coated glass.  I think they were $150 20+ years ago in "as new" condition.

Researching binocs years ago I remember coming across statements from "optic experts" that you can get better optical performance at lower cost with porro prism (zig-zag layout) binocs, compared to a roof prism design ("straight tube").  This is due to the roof prism lens design which creates phase shift and reflective issues of mating lenses.  These design issue required higher quality builds (+++$) to minimize lens surface mating issues(which drives up cost). So at what price point do you get equal optical performance from porro vs roof prism designs?  I'm not a man of means, and only have that one pair of binocs, so I can't answer that.  My guess is that a 300-400$ par of porro prism binocs would be close to $1000 roof prism binocs, but that's just a guess.

In short, you get more optical quality for the $ with "very good" porro prisms compared to similar optical quality of roof prism binocs (which needs more $ to make it work as well or better than porro /zig zag binocs). Hence my decision to get the 8x30 Dr Optic porro prism binocs.

The 8x30 porro prism binocs are a small package, but big  on optical performance for that price point.
   
No eye stain after a full day of glassing chuck fields. Very crisp image. Resolution (ability to see detail from quality lens material, and manufacturing) is where it's at, and what you pay for.

8x30 porro binocs are not "compact", but certainly small enough for my needs in rifle hunting and archery needs.  I'd like to try a pair of Nikon 8x30 EII porro prism binocs-just to "see" what they offer.  Maybe someday.

[Cootling]

I have the little Portugese Leupold 9x25 that was made around 1990.  Wonderful compact binocular.  Also have a pair of beat-up but still mechanically and optically perfect Leica 10x42s I bought around 1995 for about $800.  Almost never use the Leupolds.

If I could have just one binocular, and any binocular I wanted, it would be the old Leica 8x32 BA.  Perfect combination of optics and size.  The Ultravid may be even better, but I haven't any experience with it.