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Purchase of Binoculars |
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cp10
Optics GrassHopper Joined: August/17/2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2 |
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Posted: August/17/2006 at 21:24 |
I am trying to figure out which binoculars to purchase. I have looked at Leupold Pinnacle and Steiner Merlin. Either 8x32 or 10x42. Any suggestions and information would be appreciated. I am open to any make and model in the price range of the binoculars mentioned above. Thanks.
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anweis
Optics Master Joined: January/29/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1148 |
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I would get the Steiner 8x32. Steiner because i think that they are better than the Pinnacles, and 8x32 because it is my favorite configuration: wide angle of view, small package, light weight, good handling - and a good configration for whatever you use the binoculars for. The good 8x32's- and Merlin is one of them, are good for anything, hunting and all.
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anweis
Optics Master Joined: January/29/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1148 |
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I just noticed that you are talking about the Merlin, and that particulr model has a field of view of only 336 ft. That is way unacceptable for a 8x binocular. I had in mind a different model, the Peregrine. |
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cp10
Optics GrassHopper Joined: August/17/2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2 |
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The Peregrine are not within my budget. Any other ideas. Is the 336' field of view the only negative with the Merlin? How do the optics compare with other comparably priced binoculars?
What about the Steiner Merlin 10x32? |
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anweis
Optics Master Joined: January/29/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1148 |
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Recently, refurbished like new/lifetime warranty Bushnell Elite 8x43 and 10x43 have popped up; you may consider one of those, as they are fantastic, priced at about $550, and are in the "over 1000" class.
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anweis
Optics Master Joined: January/29/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1148 |
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just search "refurbished bushnell elite" on google |
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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If I were you I would go to a large Sporting Goods store & spend some time in their Optical Department & try on every binocular until you find the brand that fits your eyes the very best. Not too long ago I went to Outdoor World/BassProShops & tried on everything from the most expensive ($2,000) to the least expensive binocular. Personally, I found that the 'high-dollar' binoculars did not fit my eyes very well. The brand that fit me the very best overall was Leupold. I liked the Cascade line because it is made in Japan. I also like the Olympic series 10x50's because they are brighter in low light situations.
Leupold's least expensive binocular, the Yosemite series, has what is called Forgiving eye relief. This company has been making people friendly binoculars for nearly 100 years. That's pretty encouraging to me. |
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lucznik
Optics Master Joined: November/27/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1436 |
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Bird Watcher,
Can you explain more about what you mean by a binocular "fitting your eyes." With the possible exception of persons with exceptionally large or small faces (in which case there might not be enough adjustment in a given binoculars hinge to properly accomodate an individual's inter-pupillary distance,) the mechanical adjustment involved in fitting the optical barrels to a person's eyes are the same for pretty much every binocular. There would be some models which would have a stiffer hinge than others and a couple of models even allow that adjustment to be locked. There is also some slight differences in the diameter of the eye-cups with which I suppose someone with deep-set eyes could have trouble getting comfortable. I guess my confusion comes from the difficulty I have with the idea that a person could test everything from the ultra-high $2000 pricetag on down the line and would find that the only binocular that "fit the eyes" was one of the models at the very lowest end of the budget-class, good-quality, phase-corrected, waterproof, etc. end of the roof prism spectrum. Unable and/or unwilling to swallow the price tag of the higher-priced glass is one thing I understand. Not being fanatical enough about optics to care about the relatively small differences in image quality that come with the "elite" class of optics is another. But, that they "don't fit the eyes?" I just can't seem to wrap my brain around what you mean by that. |
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What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
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Bird Watcher
Optics Master Joined: August/30/2006 Status: Offline Points: 1523 |
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lucznik,
Sorry for the poor choice of wording (perhaps Optics GrassHopper has some meaning after all.) Clothing fits, shirts & pants fit, shoes fit, guns fit each persons hand differently, eyeglasses fit, why not binoculars? When I put a binocular up to my eyes & look thru it I can usually tell immediately if I 'like' the fit & the feel of it. Are they comfortable against your eyes? Do they feel comfortable or uncomfortable against your skin? Plastic or rubber eyecups? Round or curved eyecups? How's the eye relief? Do you have any problem with black out when looking through a binocular. How much black out? Is it something that you are willing to live with or is it too annoying & bothersome for your individual eyes? When you place them up to your eyes do they naturally feel & handle the way you would like them to, or do you have to fiddle around with them to try to 'make' them fit to your liking. There are circumstances that occur in human physiology such as: a non-tracking eye, macular degeneration, glaucoma, the normal loss of pupillary dilation common with old age, or the loss of vision in an eye. I have an astigmatism in each eye. I never wear my eyeglasses when I'm using my binoculars. (maybe some day I will 'have' to) I wasn't trying to put down all the big names. The Leupolds fit 'me' better than all the others & they just didn't happen to have any Golden Ring models in that store at the time. All the Leupolds required of me was getting them in focus. |
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lucznik
Optics Master Joined: November/27/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1436 |
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Fair enough.
Thank you for taking the time to elaborate. |
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What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
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