help on buying the right binoculars please

mils

Not sure if this is the right thread but its kind of techie orientated


I have no idea good brands/makes extras I need t be looking out for.
Basically im after a pair of Binoculars for a present for someone who has 8 acres of land. So the purpose of them would be to watch wildlife in the garden - Doves, deers, heron .....
A few weeks ago they mentioned they saw from a distance 6 deers but couldn't get a good view of them being so far away. They also have a dovecote in the garden which would be another reason.


So in my head im expecting to pay a few hundred pounds but would love some advise to point me in the right direction.


Regards


Paul

JJ_Egan

Suggest Bird Watching forums .
Its quite complicated and bigger magnification is not better .

bryanb

Field of view is important, if you just go for magnification it's hard to keep the subject in view. Think camera shake.

cajef

Have a read here for some advice

http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/binoculars

I have these which I find perfectly adequate for bird watching and general use.

http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/binoculars-scopes/binoculars/rspb-wpg-8-5-x-42-binoculars.html

Biggles

I found this site very useful when I bought a new pair last year
http://www.bestbinocularsreviews.com/

paddyrg

also consider a monocular - only half the optical path, so potentially better glass in the remaining half

System

We all got them, several pairs purchased simply because at the time, the price was right and we could see "over the road" with them, then in reality they are rarely used.

It is no exaggeration to say we have about eight pairs. The last pair purchased became TWO pair, not because of BOGOF, but because they were raved about on hotukdeal and came from the 7daydealshop in the channel islands. I think the 7 day bit is because you have 7 days to return them.

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=binoculars

London50

[QUOTE=islandman;6679161 I think the 7 day bit is because you have 7 days to return them.

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=binoculars[/QUOTE]

Incorrect, you have 7 days to inform them of any incorrectly received or unwanted items but have 30 days to return items.
I have been using the company for many years and to date have never had a problem with anything I have had and the prices IMO are very hard to beat :0)

Davesnave

islandman wrote: »

We all got them, several pairs purchased simply because at the time, the price was right and we could see "over the road" with them, then in reality they are rarely used.

So, the neighbours' activities were a tad disappointing, then?

System

London50 wrote: »

Incorrect, you have 7 days to inform them of any incorrectly received or unwanted items but have 30 days to return items.
I have been using the company for many years and to date have never had a problem with anything I have had and the prices IMO are very hard to beat :0)

Glad you put that right. I thought after that 7 days wasn't long to return. Even though we live by the sea, we still fail to take them out and say "if only we'd remember to bring them".

securityguy

We take a pair of Leica 8x20s into the mountains. Probably no good for animals, because the field of view is restricted and they're not good in low light. But 8x40 would be much bigger and wouldn't get taken; the 8x20s fold down very small, and being Leicas they are [STRIKE]wildly overpriced[/STRIKE] optically fabulous. We got them twenty years ago and they're the only pair we've ever owned. As with cameras, the binos you have with you work better than the pair in the boot of the car.