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Need a decent not too expensive poro

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Acenturian View Drop Down
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    Posted: November/22/2005 at 01:33

Hi, I am looking at getting father in law a new set of hunting binoculars to replace the big Tasco's.  I know you get better optical quality out of a poro for less money (trying to stay under $150).  I bought myself a pair of Swift Audubons Ed's and love them but they are a little more than I am willing to spend, got other presents to buy as well.   So I am looking at the following poro prism models:

 

Bushnell Legend 8x42

 Nikon Action EX 8x40

Pentax PCF WP  8x40

Leupold Mesa 8x42

Sightron SII 8x42

Olympus 8x42

 

I am leaning to the Sightron or Olympus , but any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated.



Edited by Acenturian
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FrankD View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FrankD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November/22/2005 at 06:20

Out of the bunch I would probably opt for the Nikon though I would lean more towards the 7x35 model rather than the 8x40. I have heard nothing but positive reviews of it lately and the field of view is exceptionally large. Center field resolution is also supposed to be quite respectable for such an inexpensive glass.

 

I was not very impressed with either the Bushnell Legend or the Pentax WP though the Leupold Mesa seemed a bit nicer than the rest of the group that I looked at.

Frank
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucznik Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November/22/2005 at 10:14
Cabela's still has some of the Bausch and Lomb Discoverer Porros.  The 8X42s cost  $159.00 and the 10X42s are $179.00. I have the 10X model and have been very favorably impressed by it.  They are waterproof, fogproof, nitrogen purged, have impressive Fields of View, provide superbly crisp images, include the new RainGaurd coatings, and have a lifetime warranty. Considering they originally retailed for something like $375 to $425, I definately consider them a "best buy" among porros.
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Acenturian View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Acenturian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November/22/2005 at 11:53

Thanks for the suggestions.  After doing a little research I decided to go with Bausch and Lomb Discoverer, plus I had a gift certificate at Cabelas that I couldnt figure out what to buy with so the out of pocket cost was only $60

 

Lucznik:  Is the Discoverer series much better than say the Legened Poro's?  I take it that since there orginal price is in the same ball park as my Swifts they should be close in performance.

 

Thanks again

 

AC

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucznik Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November/22/2005 at 14:33

I have only had a very limited amount of experience with the Legend Porros.  However, that little bit of experience has led me to conclude that the porro Discoverers are vastly superior to any of the Legend line, porros or roofs. (My little brother has an 8X Legend roof prism that I have spent a fair amount of time examining.) 

 

I do not work in the optics field and am no expert on binocular design or construction so, I can't say exactly why this is other than that I have heard that the Discoverer used silver coated prisms, which is proported to be something special. Someone else with more knowlege than I will have to address this though. What I do know for sure is that (to my eyes at least) the images are sharper, brighter, flatter, exhibit more natural color transmission, and so on.

 

I think the Legends are a good choice for someone who only has around $100 to spend and wants a good binocular.  Certainly they are light years ahead of any roof prism binocular in their price range. But, they were always intended to be a $100 binocular and that does show when compared to other (more expensive) models.  As I mentioned before, the Discoverer originally retailed for closer to the $400 mark, which is pretty high end for a porro binocular. So to be fair, you have to compare them to other porros that sell at this price point. And in fact, they compare very favorably to these higher priced models. What this means to me is that at the current $150-$180 closeout price, they are an absolute steal. (Hence the reason I bought mine.)



Edited by lucznik
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