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Porro Recommendations |
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RAG
Optics GrassHopper Joined: September/30/2012 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 34 |
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Posted: June/05/2013 at 11:41 |
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I'm looking for the best bang-for-the buck where weight/bulk/waterproof is of no concern (to be used from a stationary table for scanning for targets (squirrels/prarie dogs)).
I suppose a budget of about $500 is about right...I was about to order the Vortex Vipers 8x42s for this use ($590) when I came to the realization that my dollar might go further for this use with some Porro Prisms. At least I think... |
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stickbow46
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: January/07/2009 Location: Benton, Pa Status: Offline Points: 4678 |
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Steiner Police are very underated & an excellent bargain.European glass & a 10 year warrenty at a $350 price tag.Vortex are also good bino.
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Pearls of Wisdom are Heard not Spoken
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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Here's two recommendations for the little varmints:
I own six 20x binoculars, two of which are the Pentax 20x60 PCF WP models. |
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I prefer Porro prism binoculars especially those made in Japan. (i.e. Minox BD 10x44 BP) 8>)
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RAG
Optics GrassHopper Joined: September/30/2012 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 34 |
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Okay, those look nice. I'm not really familiar with Porros, but I'd think/hope the optics/clarity of these $350 bins would be on par with that of the Roofs costing twice as much? Or put another way, would I expect the overall optics to be as good as the Vortex Viper (I have their 8x28s and think the optics are great)? Thanks! |
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RAG
Optics GrassHopper Joined: September/30/2012 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 34 |
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I do appreciate all recommendations, but I don't think I want anything higher than 8x...I need/want a bigger field of view, I personally just use for quick scanning and if I need/want to get a closer picture, then my 20x or 25x scopes come into play.
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RAG
Optics GrassHopper Joined: September/30/2012 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 34 |
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I've never used Porro bins, and I'm wondering if I should be concerned with the fact they don't have a center focus wheel...having to focus individual eye pieces doesn't sound like fun. Maybe it's not necessary, but with roofs, I'm constantly re-focusing as I scan around. Maybe Porros are the best for this type of use?
Any thoughts... |
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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Both of these are center focus. Nikon has a 25 yr. warr. & Pentax has a lifetime warranty. |
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I prefer Porro prism binoculars especially those made in Japan. (i.e. Minox BD 10x44 BP) 8>)
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PhilR.
Optics Apprentice Joined: August/02/2008 Status: Offline Points: 162 |
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Best bang for the buck in indeed porros. In fact, a $625 Nikon SE is considered by many to be one of the best binos you can buy. The individual-focusing Steiners are good for quickly scanning landscape, as you do not need to constantly re-focus. Some people refer to these as "auto-focus". As long as you are glassing past a certain distance, you don't have to readjust the focus once they are set. Personally, I've owned three pairs of Steiners of various prices and they have all been disappointments. I wish I could recommend their center-focus porro (or any other one, for that matter), but I just can't do it. I only keep one now for nostalgia's sake, and I haven't even looked through it for several years. One thing about your budget is that there aren't a lot of 8x porros at the $500 mark. There's a lot of extremely good porros between $100 and $200 that out-perform many more expensive roofs, and some hugely great ones closer to $600 that are only out-done by the high-end alphas. Vixen has one (they are well-known for their telescopes), and the 8.5x ED from Swift would also be worth checking out, but I've not read anything specific about either one. Another good choice, if you are willing to hunt around for it, are the Pentax PCF V and PCF WP, which is earlier version of the WP II. These discontinued porros are better than the WP II's that replaced them. They are at the low end of your budget, where the porros excel in their price range. Personally, and with your budget, I would either save up another $110 and get a Nikon SE 8x32, or just spend a bit over $100 and get a set of 8x42 Olympus EXPS-1 porros. These out-perform roofs that cost three times as much. You can read about them at the allbinos.com website. Otherwise, if you really want to stay around $500, I would just recommend getting a set of ED roofs, of which there are huge number of excellent choices. |
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Klamath
Optics Master Joined: May/20/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1308 |
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I would personally avoid individual focus binoculars except for astronomy. Most you will find have a center focus wheel. It's been pointed out there are very few porros in the $400-500 range. The Swift Audubon 8.5x44 is a good one, but it's pretty huge. If you want to focus somewhat less, try to stay with a 7-8x class binocular. Depth of focus increases with decrease in magnification. You have better bang for the buck factor in the $500 class glass with roofs anyway.
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Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron |
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RAG
Optics GrassHopper Joined: September/30/2012 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 34 |
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Disregarding weight/bulk, would most consider the view of these $150 Porros on par with the $500 class of Roofs?
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RAG
Optics GrassHopper Joined: September/30/2012 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 34 |
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How much of a jump in quality is there from the $150 porros such as the Action Extreme and WPII to the $370 Swift Audobons, or to the $500 Swift Autobons, or to the $650 Nikon Premiere SE Porros?
I'm also trying to draw a correlation between the qualify of the roofs and porros. Would it be fair to say the overall image quality of the sub $200 porros equal that of the $500-$600 roofs? Also, I personally have a heck of a time noticing any practical difference between the $600 roofs and the Alpha roofs...the difference is negligible for my use and I have to work hard to find the differences (both get the "job" done equally well). Is this akin to the differences between the $150 porros and the $650 porros, or is there a unmistakable difference here. Because I really have no problem spending $650 if the difference is significant. THANKS! |
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RAG
Optics GrassHopper Joined: September/30/2012 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 34 |
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Huge is of no concern for me. The 430 FOV sounds great too. I don't have a problem paying $379, or $500, or $650...if the qualify is noticeably better on each step up. I'm just not sure where to stop. On a 5hr outing, I'm probably looking through the glass for 2+ hours, so maybe I just need to get the Nikon Premier Porros, I don't know (they don't have any well-documents rolling ball issues or anything like that do they...because I'm always scanning/panning around)?
THANKS!
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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I prefer Porro prism binoculars especially those made in Japan. (i.e. Minox BD 10x44 BP) 8>)
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Agustinmx
Optics Apprentice Joined: September/12/2008 Status: Offline Points: 67 |
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Hello I am on the same move, and want to know if the Pentax 20x60 are useful for finding mule deer in the desert...
anyone has any hunting experience with them? Or will have to break my wallet again and go for Vortex Kaibab 15x56.........
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Agustinmx
Optics Apprentice Joined: September/12/2008 Status: Offline Points: 67 |
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Im refering to the Pentax PCF WP II..... 20x60
I like 20X and 60mm objectives but have no idea how good they are, and if will be able to find mules or any other game animals There also the Minox 15x56... and dont know what to choose there arent to many reviews available I want to keep my budget easy.... as wont use this bnos often. Already have Swarovision 10x50, and other zeiss 8x, this will be used occasionally thanks
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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15x or 20x will require either a monopod with a pan head or a lightweight tripod with a pan head for steady views; a tripod is best.
You will also need a tripod adapter to connect the binocular to the tripod. Nikon action extreme is offered in a 16x50mm Porro prism binocular. I have both the older Pentax 20x60 PCF WP & the newer 20x60 PCF WP II. Excellent glass for the money but they have a very narrow FOV. The best thing you can do is order one and test it; if you don't like it you can return it. You can PM me if you have any further questions. |
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I prefer Porro prism binoculars especially those made in Japan. (i.e. Minox BD 10x44 BP) 8>)
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