New Binoculars

Well, I find I need new binoculars. The old Swift I have been using have gone out of collimation. the "lifetime warrantee" doesn't cover this :( and will cost around $200 for work and round trip shipping. I think the original Swift Company is no longer doing business and the new one doing business as Swift is not the same quality.

In any case I have been looking at Nikon Monarch 8X42 for about $250 and Bushnell Elite e2 8X42 for about $450. They are both water proof and armored, have about the same eye relief etc. Question is do any of you have experience to say if the Bushnell are worth the extra $200?? I do not want to spend the $$ on Zeiss or any of the other very high end binoculars.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Hey Ed - No experience with those binos unfortunately (mine are Vortex). Anyway, if you can get a hold of Jim Zipp (or if he drops by here) he sells binoculars, so may be able to give you some insight into those brands/models. (He recommended the Vortex to me, but I had a much lower budget than you do.)

Good luck...

I agree with you on the old Swift versus the new. It was a sad day when I had to retire my old ones. My solution runs contrary to your current line of thinking though.

I bought Zeiss 10x25B for a little over $300. They're compacts and neither waterproof nor armored, but they fold so small and have such unbelievable image quality that it's a fair tradeoff. They fit easily in a small corner of a camera bag or pocket, and they're my constant companion. They have a near 100% record of selling themselves to all my friends who try them, and have resulted in "retirement" of a lot of other bigger, more expensive models owned by the friends.

If you have never tried a pair of Canon IS binoculars, you should give them a try. I have a pair of 10x30's and just love 'em. You can't imagine how much the IS helps until you see it in action.

Hi Ed,
I have not used that particular Bushnell but the Nikon is very good in that price range. In the price range of the Bushnell the Vortex Viper is a killer binocular and super light for a full size 8x42. On Swift, they used to be a great company but since Humphrey Swift died they have gone down hill and changed hands. I would not suggest them to anyone and do not deal with them anymore. Sad as they used to be a wonderful company.

Consider Cabela's brand Alaskan Guide.

12X50 for about $600.

Very good color rendition, big exit pupil, waterproof, armored.

The 50 mm objective has good light gathering. I guess if you're looking in well lighted areas that may not make a difference and smaller glasses would do OK.

However, if you look in shadows nothing beats a big objective and large exit pupil.

Half or less than Zeiss or Swarvorski (sp?)

I very much like mine. I have an older pair of Leica 10x25--no comparison, esp. the exit pupil. Alaska Guide on top; bigger but if you want to see you have to have the big stuff.

The sweetness of quality exceeds the bitterness of price...!!! Don't know who makes them for Cabelas--they won't tell you.

the fisch

Ed -

Birding magazines have regular reviews and comparisons of binos. For example, while it is a bit dated, there's an article here which at least describes the issues and considerations. I did spring for Leica Ultravids 10x42, moving up from some old, armored Zeiss 8x42s. Yes, they cost serious money but the color accuracy and performance in low light were important to me as a fairly serious birder.

The only way to really evaluate these things is to go to a store and try the various brands. Even under lousy store light, you'll be astonished at the difference in brightness, color accuracy and "feel" of the different brands.

At the lower end of the price ranges, beware of high degrees of variability inside a model line. QA tends to be sacrificed, and at least on Sportsman's Warehouse I've been to has a dynamite set of Bushnells as the demo binos, that are twice as good as any of the same model in the cabinet...

One last thing: unless you have steel arms and world-class birding skills, don't go higher than 10x. At higher magnifications, you have a hard time holding them steady, you have a hard time locating the bird in the narrow viewing angle, and the image is unlikely to be bright in all but the brightest conditions.

HTH.

Hi Ed,
I have not used that particular Bushnell but the Nikon is very good in that price range. In the price range of the Bushnell the Vortex Viper is a killer binocular and super light for a full size 8x42. On Swift, they used to be a great company but since Humphrey Swift died they have gone down hill and changed hands. I would not suggest them to anyone and do not deal with them anymore. Sad as they used to be a wonderful company.

Thanks for all the fast replies. I will run some of the numbers by my wife/accountant/boss and make a decision by weekend's end. Just for the record, I am mostly interested in 8 X sixe for various reasons, but mostly that it seems to provide a good mid point of magnification, brightness, weight and ease of holding steady. The Canon IS models just seem too bulky and adding yet another set of those pesky batteries in addition to camera, flash, flashlight, portable HD, GPS etc. can be a pain in the field.

Jim, my wife and I will check out your website when I get home form work. thanks again to all who responded.

Ed, dunno if it is too late, but I would recommend the following 3 options:
- Vortex Viper 8x42s (own them - superb binos!!)
- Minox BD 8x42s (discontinued - you should get them at a good price)
- Pentax 8x43 SPs (also discontinued, also available cheap).

Either of those will outperform the Monachs, IMO. I own the latter 2 in 8x32 and 10x43 configs and am very happy with them.

Vandit

Ed, dunno if it is too late, but I would recommend the following 3 options:
- Vortex Viper 8x42s (own them - superb binos!!)
- Minox BD 8x42s (discontinued - you should get them at a good price)
- Pentax 8x43 SPs (also discontinued, also available cheap).

Either of those will outperform the Monachs, IMO. I own the latter 2 in 8x32 and 10x43 configs and am very happy with them.

Vandit

Hi Vandit and all. I really appreciate all the advice. My wife gave me permission to order a pair of Vortex Viper 8 X 42 from Jim Zipp yesterday. Before ordering I researched the info provided by Jim and studied the Vortex website. i also read articles in "Field and Stream" and other sources and discovered that Vortex is the leader in my price range. Also very importantly, Vortex has an outstanding warranty.

I also like buying from fellow photographers and nature nuts. It is like doing business with family. Jim and his wife Carol handled the transaction professionally and quickly.

I can't wait to use them in the field.

Yep, Jim is a good guy. I got my Pentax 10x43s from him as well. Enjoy the Vipers - they are a superb bino and probably the best bino in the $500 range.

Vandit

Sounds great Ed. I love my Vortex's, and Jim was kind enough to give me good advice, even though I didn't have time to order them from him, needing them immediately for a trip. I'm sure you'll like them!