Some IMHO's needed on 10x50 bins, please!

[Special K]

Yours truly (Santa) has decided that a pair of 10x50 bins are on the cards and the budget is about £100. I like the Strathspey Marine due to the individual focus but they appear to be heavier than other makes. I definitely want to keep the size to 10x50 due to the weight and that the primary purpose is help in navigating the scope. I think 15x70 will be too much bulk and I have the scope for set piece observing. Having said that, optical quality is key and I don't want to buy twice, so the budget isn't fixed in stone....

Any views welcome!

[stargazerslivingroom]

I have previously recommended 10 X 50's as a starter size and then other people have said even they can be too heavy and that 8 X 42's are more practical so maybe you should widen your options to include these?

HTH

Steve

[stargazerslivingroom]

Here...Found the thread.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/167425-binoculars/

Steve

[ronin]

Many years ago there used to be a shop in St Albans for binoculars, looking at a map it would have been around Camp Road, I would guess after the time that has passed that it has disappeared. Bought an inexpensive set of 8x32's which I still have. Always remember the place as if you stood outside the shop to try binoculars at the end of the road was a flat brick wall. That grid of bricks was a good test of the optics. Quick look at a map and it could have been Ashley Road, but Camp Rd seems more like it.

Think I have seen somewhere around London Colney or Colney Heath advertise binocular sales.

Not that many places that seem to specialise in binoculars. If I want any I now tend to wait for the birdfair at Rutland water then pay them a visit, it is 10 months away.

Is the camera shop still up Adelaide St ?

The binocular shop to the south is at Bowmans Farm (recall it seemed an odd address) but they still appear to be around. Called In-focus slight problem is they are primarily birding orientated so most (all) are either 8x or 10x and for weight seem limited to 42mm objectives.

Opticron are just up at Luton, they do a couple of model at ~£100 just no idea if they have in effect a shop to sell direct from.

One of the nicest 12x50's I have tried were (I think) Vortex Diamond Backs, but well over £100.

[pete_gamby]

Opticron are just up at Luton, they do a couple of model at ~£100 just no idea if they have in effect a shop to sell direct from.

We don't have a showroom as such but callers are always welcome to visit to try out as many pairs as they like and we can direct them to the nearest outlet to buy.

HTH

Cheers,

Pete - Sales, Opticron

[Mrlangston]

I don't know exactly where you are (viewing on my phone) but I guess you are around Hertfordshire area from the previous posts. There is an astro shop in Tring which I believe has binos as well as other items so it may be worth a look. I have not visited yet but plan to in the near future as they have a showroom.

Michael

[Special K]

We don't have a showroom as such but callers are always welcome to visit to try out as many pairs as they like and we can direct them to the nearest outlet to buy.

HTH

Cheers,

Pete - Sales, Opticron

Many thanks all for the information, everyone. I made it to In-Focus near Willows Farm this afternoon and he has lots of new and secondhand. I tried an Opticron 8x32 roof prism and a Pentax 7x50. Sadly he doesn't have anything that is not a dual focus but I wonder how much that matters. They only stock for terrestrial viewing really. Having said that both pairs were sweet and I might consider second hand for Xmas.

I liked the porro 7x50's more than the 8x32s. I've noticed the 10x50s at FLO too. http://www.firstlightoptics.com/pentax-porroprism/pentax-10x50-pcf-wp-ii.html

Eye relief is 5mm which is good for my age though I wonder if 5 degrees FOV will be a good choice for me. Decisions decisions!!!!

[Roger Fairhurst]

Hi SpecialK,

I bought a pair of Nikon 12x50 Action Extreme - waterproof, BAK 4 etc from Microglobe for GBP 124 and they are excellent.

http://www.microglobe.co.uk/nikon-12x50-waterproof-action-ex-extreme-binoculars-p-1257.html

They will be my main astro bins for when I'm not using my scope.

Kind regards

[Special K]

Hi Roger, thanks for that. You've got quite a collection too, so that's saying something!