[arbys]

I'm looking at getting another set of binoculars. I have a 7 x 35 for general viewing but am considering a 15 x 70 or a 25 x 70 for viewing wildlife. Can someone clue me in on the pros and cons of these focal lengths?

[Old Man Taylor]

Anything above about 10:1 magnification will be very difficult to hand-hold still enough to view clearly. At those powers it is best to have binoculars with image stabilization, although they are a lot more expensive.

[marxjunk]

i have 10 to15 binoculars..many styles...many powers....

some NOS..i get them at estates sale..some really nice...no Zeiss...never found one yet

[arbys]

Yes, I do have a couple of camera tripods that I could mount them on. In reading the reviews the item mentioned most often was the weight if held for more than a few seconds.

[madokie]

yes weight is a factor, i had some steiner 7x50's great binos, but too heavy to hold up with both hands, you will need a mono pod at least.some good buys on e-bay, plenty of ex-military 8x30 steiners there.do your research then shop.

[marxjunk]

Arbys, before ya spend a lot of money..let me know what you want..ive got a bunch, i wasnt bragging i was trying to offer ya one cheap

[geeteeohguy]

OMT is correct, IMO. 10x50 is about as much as you want for hand held in the field. I found out from a friend who is an 'expert' in optics that the Japanese stuff made in the '50's and '60's is super high quality and can be bought on the cheap. I picked up a mint pair of 1966 Tasco 10x50's in case with owners manual for $12 off of ebay. They are superior in clarity and quality than a lot of very expensive new binoculars I have compared them to. Stay away from Taiwan made Tasco's (1970's and later). Made in Japan is a good thing when it comes to optics from the '60's, though.

[arbys]

How much difference can there be with 7 x 35 and 10 x 50?

[geeteeohguy]

3 more power and a bigger objective lens. More light gathering and more power. Bulkier, though. Like going from 6x to 9x on a rifle scope. Significant.

[Tim john]

As for powers. One way to look at the best image possible based on eye piece power is that you want the objective lens to be 4X the eye piece. As an example "8 X 32" or 8 X something better than the forementioned 32 such as 8 X 40, 10 X 50, etc. I have a couple pairs of Swarvoski's that I use for hunting and mountain glassing. My 8 X 30 SLC Swarovski's are superior but the objective lense (30) in this case is not the optimum objective but the next up size (40) was close to another $800.00 so I settled for the 8 X 32 and have been very pleased. The better 8 X 40's were a whole new world in clarity, briteness and sharpness but that comes with a cost. Also keep in mind that your eye can only take in so much light so bigger is not necessairly better. Same goes with rifle scopes, a huge ojective lens does gather more light for early morning and late evenings but YOUR eye can only take in so much light and you may not be taking advantage of all the extra light the objective lens offers. What ever you decide, buy better than you think you will need and they will always be a pleasure to use, it is money very well spent. My Swarovski's are superior to my Steiners and I have both brands in rifles scopes and binoculars. Had a set of compact Zeiss 10 X 25's and the same in Swarvoski's and the Swarovski's are better, sold the Zeiss to my friend, he loves them but compared side by side it is obvious the Swarovski's are more crisp & clear. I have owned a lot of field glasses over the years and had pretty good experiences with most of them but for my money it will always go towards high quality, superb reputation and ergonomics. I also own a 60 X spotting scope for glassing mountain sides/tops and valley floors while hunting/scouting. One last thing is no matter what you end up with get yourself a over the sholder harness "system" for carrying them. Absolute no neck pain from the weight, something such as this model: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabel...h-All+Products

One last thing is that I too agree with Mr. Taylor in that 10 X is about the largest you can hand hold, anything larger in power will require support otherwise you will get headaches and eye strain so 10 X or lower magnification would be reccomended. My next set will be another pair of Swarovski's in 10 X 40's or larger objective with a range finder built in. If you want my reccomendation for tri pods and securing devises PM me for I have a lot of experience there as well. I have an excellent tri pod and pivioting pistol grip for my spotting scope, it is priceless for long distance viewing, scouting, glassing and hunting outside of heavy forest. Bogen is the brand name. The tri pod legs will all but lay flat so I can sit on my butt with the legs stretched out and the eye piece is at the perfect height while seated on the ground with rock steady stability and the locking pistol grip allows me to swivel and "lock" on a target miles away, so very well worth the money. The legs also extend to stand behind the scope with the same stability, very adjustable. I can also adapt a digital or film SLR camera to the spotting scope and take pictures miles away as if they were 10 yards away, the locking pistol grip is worth its weight in gold here when switching from glassing to picture taking, I do not lose the image when switching gear around.

Tim john---

[beemergary]

Lot of good info. Use to do a lot of hunting having to climb a lot in Alaska, Bc, the Yukon so weight was a factor. Those light weight binocs. that to me worked as good as more $$$ (Zeiss) on a bright day didn't get it with dim light cloudy days. Got some Leopolds I had for years and my brother dropped them and one side was never right. Told a guy in Gabella's about them and said send them in-I did and there like new with no charge.

[tom s]

You might look at the Canon 12 power image stabilized bino.More money but very easy to hold.Not as good a gygo stabilized but they are stupid money.I have a pair of 18 power gyros on my boat and they are rock solid even in heavy seas.For day time use a bino with a 5mm exit pupil is fine.Example 7X35,divide power from the lens.For low light conditions larger is better like 7X50.In reg daylight the human eye cant see the diff from the 5MM to the 7MM.Most marine glasses are 7X50 as the 7 power is easy to hold and the 50 is a big help at night.Another choice might be a vari power like 7 to 12 by 40.Tom

[marxjunk]

i dont have anything close to the powers you sent me....

[Tim john]

There are plenty of options for you out there, some excellent glasses for the money today with several different manufactures. I am just bias with my own choices posted above based on years of use with my current (brand and power) field glasses. This has been a good thread for I really like hearing others opinions on this topic. Maybe go into a local Cabela's and ask to view through seveal sizes and brands outdoors for real world field testing, I think they would honor that request.

Tim john---

[beemergary]

I used to ask too look thru other guys binocs on hunting trips and always thought my leopolds 10 x 50's where the best choice and money. Have had them for a few yrs. so maybe there's some good choices out there now. Lots of honest info on this thread.

[arbys]

Thanks guys, I got a real education. I'm leaning toward 10x40 but don't want to outlay a bunch of money to see the deer around here and the red fox about 50 yards away. Like I said I already have a 7x35 but would like to step that up a little. I'd rather spend my spare money on the 66 or maybe build a 240sx with an LS1.

[Tim john]

Arby's, Perhaps also consider buying a pair of used "high end" binoculars. I think you would be much happier with high quality used verses brand new sub par. Just something to consider.

Tim john---

[geeteeohguy]

What Tim John says. And, as I previously stated, there are some very good deals on under valued, but high quality optics out there. My $12 1966 10X50 Tasco's are flat out excellent. But, I understand a lot of folks don't like buying 'old' or 'used' stuff. Whatever works best for you.

[tom s]

I would be a little carful of buying used unless I could look through them.If dropped and tweaked the image will not be one.Tom

[arbys]

I got my new 10 x 50 Bushnell binoculars yesterday and got a double image so rather than sending them back to Amazon I noticed that one of the barrels was not seated all the way in so I muscled them as I thought that they should be aligned and looked through the eyepieces and , voila, I had one image. Thanks for all the input and the 10 x 50 seem to suit my needs quite well.