OT: Binocs

[Vir Campestris]

Long ago. And long after they were bought :)

Andy

[Davey]

But the occasions that we drive past this field are extremely rare, hence the lack of opportunity to return with a camera.

[dennis]

How about a monocular like an Opticron Trailfinder II 8x25?

Good image and a lot easier to carry than binoculars.

[Another John]

Excellent suggestion Dennis - never thought about that. I will take this into consideration.

Thanks also to the people so far who have made excellent suggestions!

John

[OG]

Binoculars are much more comfortable to use than Monoculars.

Lidl quite often sell decent binoculars as part of their 'specials' range at very good prices.

The main risk is that the two optical paths aren't aligned; so it's worth trying them out in the shop beforehand to make sure they're set up properly.

If you're not in a hurry to buy, it's worth keeping an eye on their websites to find out when they're going to be on sale.

[Theo Markettos]

Cameras on phones took a back seat in the early touch-smartphone era. So older phones (especially Nokias and Sony Ericssons) sometimes have better cameras than the modern ones - especially the old ones with good optics. For example, I have a Sony Ericsson C905, which is 8MP from 2008. It's not amazing, but it's OK for a cameraphone, especially one that was 20 quid on ebay.

Quality has picked up again on recent phones, but those are probably out of your price range.

Theo

[tony sayer]

On your recommendation Martin I'm going to get a pair of they!. Been meaning to replace those ones I've had since 1975 odd that are now pieced together with gaffa tape string and the odd spot of weld;)..

[stuart noble]

I picked up a pair of Carl Zeiss Jena in the charity shop for £20. Serial number suggests late 60s manufacture. Since then I've seen others at a similar price. A bit big to lug around though

[tony sayer]

Actually for a few dollars more I've opted for these, bit more light "gain"

1/dp/B0000AKGX3/

[Martin Brown]

I still have a pair of 7x50's CZJ binoculars of mid 1980's vintage for astronomy. My eyes are a little old for 7mm exit pupils these days.

If you are over 45 then 5mm exit pupil is usually optimum ie 10x50.

I would still strongly recommend that you handle a pair in the flesh before buying since the balance and feel in the hand is every bit as important as the optical quality of the image. Doesn't matter how good they are if they are uncomfortable for you to hold them steady.

(or for that matter carry them around) My tiny 10x25s get by far the most use. 10x50s is a very good choice if you are only ever going to own one pair for general purpose use.

[tony sayer]

Well AFAIK theres nowhere around here that stocks them, mind you the weight of them in my big mitts won't really be noticed;!..

Indeed that is the case, there're to live in the car in the course of work we sometimes have to look at aerial towers and suchlike structures to see best we can what's up them etc, and in the past they've been very good for that. I sometimes use a Fuji S1800 camera as the zoom is excellent for much the same purpose..

Plus of course anything else thats worth looking at around and about:)..

[Cursitor Doom]

A real bargain *if* genuine. You won't get a half decent pair for less than 100 quid off ebay - but beware there are a lot of Japanese fakes out there of somewhat inferior quality. I'm talking about CZJ 10x50s, btw. There are a few pages on the 'net dedicated to telling the genuine from the phony, which is handy.

[Cursitor Doom]

"Colmination" to use the proper term. :-)

[Huge]

Collimation.

You're welcome.

[stuart noble]

I see from the label they're Deltrintem 8x30. Nice and comfortable to use so I don't really care if they're genuine TBH.

[Vir Campestris]

IMHO 10xanything is a bit powerful for handhelds. The old Navy standard was 7x50.

Andy

[Martin Brown]

But it is wasting aperture and carry weight unless you are under 45 and anything other than totally dark adapted. In daylight 10x25 are about the most comfortable to use on land matched to the eyes pupil.

7x50mm has a 7mm exit pupil but in daylight your eye pupil is 2-3mm at most so only 14-20mm of the objective really contributes to the image. 10x50mm has a 5mm exit pupil so 10-30mm gets used. Hence 10x25 is a sweet spot for what I would agree is about the magnification limit for handheld binoculars (and on a boat it could very well be less!).

[tony sayer]

Well the Olympus 10 x 50's turned up today very quick free delivery from Amazon and there're fine:)

Bit bigger than the olde Ziess ones which were 7 x 35 but they do perform, and not as heavy as thought just gives a nice solid robust feel:)

Had a quick look at the local TV mast at Sandy Heath some 25 KM distance just of the M11 junction and could make out the individual mast lights so all OK as to my requirements!.

Good recommendation Martin, thanks:)..

[OG]

I bought the Mrs a pair of Canon IS 10x30s for our anniversary. Image Stabilisation makes a big difference, and makes 10x much more useable as it gives you time to see things.

Irrelevant for the OP, but if you're in the market they're well worth having a look at.

[newshound]

I have a similar pair of 8x30's which I bought second hand more than 30 years ago. Heavy, but still pretty decent optics.