Anyone any (genuine) expertise in binoculars?

[mik]

I have an old pair of tiny Pentax 10x21 which have a half decent image, but are crap in low light as you’d expect.

Bout a really cheap pair of full size (ie 12x50) by “BFULL” for £25 off Amazon as a cheap stop gap a couple of years ago. They are actually 8x mag at best, and the eyepiece lens structure is wobbly as fook - so image is crap. Cheap rubbish.

Looking for a new decent pair. Have decided 10x42 is what I want. Don’t want to spend more than £200.

Have seen recommendations for Avalon Pro HD at around £190, and also for
Gosky HD which are cheaper.

But it’s hard to get any decent comparisons online?

[Jobbo]

No, but under my Dad's old flat on Rose Street in Edinburgh is a lovely shop specialising in binoculars, run by a really nice bloke called Stuart who has been there for years. I've never bought anything from him but have chatted to him for ages, so if you're in Edinburgh go in and chat to him, tell him Simon Jobson from the flat above sent you in. He won't be offended if you don't buy anything from him because he's employed rather than it being his own business.

ETA: it's in the part of Rose Street nearest to Frederick Street: https://goo.gl/maps/BkPUjsVPmdnFRg5Y9

[Gavster]

I used to play around with binoculars when I was working at Jessops during my uni days, but the only help I can give you is that Leica bins were the tits back then, and also massively out of your budget.

[mik]

@Jobbo cheers - not going to be in EDI but will see if he could take a call…?

@Gavster yeah I am conscious I am playing at the bottom end of the market for proper bins

[V8Granite]

My Grandad had some issues to him in the Navy and they are beautifully made with a really clear image. There must be a lot of them about so may be worth looking into. I’ll grab the name of them when I get home later.

Dave!

[mik]

Ignore I just popped onto eBay and noticed a pair of Avalon 10x42 BNIB with the auction ending in 10mins.

Managed to snipe them for £164 delivered, so about £30 saving - supplied with original receipt from Avalon Optics direct from May-22.

Hopefully they are as good as the reviews suggest….

[Jobbo]

I look forward to the reviews. Of your neighbours' habits.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-new ... p-26047565

[KiwiDave]

I used to sell them a lot when I worked in the camera stores. By the sounds of it you've arrived at about the right choice for them - 8 or 10x42 were pretty popular and a sweet spot. Higher mag and you couldn't hold them still without the stabilisation models, bigger elements and they weighed too much and had the same issue.

In general we always found the old school optics manufacturers produced the best options, so Nikon and Olympus mainly. I wouldn't know what Olympus are like these days since the company all bar went pop a few years back. Bushnell were also great.

Evonomics though - I honestly never showed anyone a set of Leica binoculars who didn't instantly want them. So many people were like "fuck no, way too pricey!" Picked them up, looked through them and said "ring them up now, they're going on the credit card."

The lenses are SO much better and have so much clarity - little pocket sets out performed big sets like you're talking about. Just saying, in case you wanted to say fuck it.

[mik]

Nooo @KiwiDave : I know Leica will be superior, but couldn’t pump £850 (and I know these are basic Leica) into a pair of make-biggers that aren’t needed for a professional purpose.

[KiwiDave]

See every customer I ever sold them to.

Last people I recommended them to was a couple of representatives from an Iwi (Tribe) here who were going on a science voyage back the Kermadec Islands. They weren't scientists but they wanted to be able to see whales and birds and maybe use them to gaze at the skies to help re-learn how early navigators had crossed the Pacific. I pretty much got my ear chewed off for recommending them as the whole voyage was costing so much, then the shop they were buying from also said the same kinda thing. Eight weeks later, VERY happy people came back.

[mik]

La la la la la la

[mik]

Verdict = feckin’ awesume.

I obviously haven’t looked in all of the neighbours bedrooms yet, but the image is very bright and sharp, and all the bits that should move (focus, width adjust, eyecup height) do so with an oily smoothness. Hopefully the “platinum” finish doesn’t mark up over time.

I was a little nervous after ordering as I noticed Avalon offer a 90-day no-quibble return policy, but I assume the seller hasn’t noticed this either. Arrived with an original receipt dated 30-May-22 and both bins and packaging are spotless. Weird.

I have made a mental note to never look through a pair of Leicas so my happiness remains intact.

[dinny_g]

Don’t listen to Dave Mik… he’s a glass snob…

[Mito Man]

Just in time for the beach season.

[mik]

[KiwiDave]

Don’t listen to Dave Mik… he’s a glass snob…

I have made a mental note to never look through a pair of Leicas so my happiness remains intact.

[duncs500]

I was a little nervous after ordering as I noticed Avalon offer a 90-day no-quibble return policy, but I assume the seller hasn’t noticed this either. Arrived with an original receipt dated 30-May-22 and both bins and packaging are spotless. Weird.

Return them for a SERIOUS CASH PROFIT.

[mik]

I bought the wrong thing.



https://www.purei.co/products/high-powe ... m9lxqzg9i8

Depending which part of the spec you read, this has an objective lens of 52mm, or 40mm. It offers 10x magnification, but also offers 16x magnification, and it luckily is able to make the image both clearer and brighter.

The blurb then talks about magnification of hundreds of times, and the video has to be 1000+ times magnification, with a stable shake-free image.

“ Its performance is even much better than most astronomical telescopes”

All for under £24. Remarkable.

I’m so stoopid.

[Gavster]

Wow, it sounds powerful enough to see into the future

[dinny_g]

for £24, they're undoubtedly going to be shit but I'd be tempted to buy one just for pure curiosity